Sound Engineering Technicians salary

SOC 27-4014 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$73,130

per year, nationally

Middle half

$49,910–$100,280

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

13,080

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-1.7%

1,200 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$37,570$137,370

10th: $37,570
25th: $49,910
Median: $73,130
75th: $100,280
90th: $137,370

Getting in

Typical education to enter: Postsecondary nondegree award
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where sound engineering technicians earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	New Jersey	$115,190	108.8	290	0.80×
2	District of Columbia	$106,630	109.9	90	1.60×
3	New York	$87,510	107.9	2,050	2.52×
4	Nevada	$84,570	100.0	170	1.34×
5	Maryland	$79,990	105.0	160	0.71×
6	California	$78,150	110.7	4,060	2.65×
7	Georgia	$77,010	96.3	200	0.49×
8	Kentucky	$74,100	90.2	60	0.35×
9	Illinois	$73,130	100.0	570	1.11×
10	Indiana	$73,130	93.3	50	0.20×
11	Connecticut	$72,800	103.6	60	0.45×
12	Florida	$70,360	103.4	590	0.71×
13	Arizona	$66,350	100.7	130	0.47×
14	New Hampshire	$65,630	104.2	30	0.56×
15	Ohio	$64,030	92.8	—	—
16	Nebraska	$63,810	90.1	50	0.59×
17	Massachusetts	$63,250	105.8	200	0.66×
18	Kansas	$62,710	90.1	30	0.25×
19	Missouri	$61,750	90.8	190	0.79×
20	Colorado	$60,630	103.1	170	0.69×
21	Tennessee	$60,500	91.9	510	1.83×
22	Montana	$57,600	94.6	50	1.15×
23	Iowa	$57,400	87.8	60	0.49×
24	Louisiana	$55,530	88.2	—	—
25	Idaho	$54,970	95.5	40	0.50×
26	Texas	$54,370	97.1	830	0.70×
27	Michigan	$51,840	96.2	200	0.53×
28	Virginia	$49,920	101.1	120	0.35×
29	Pennsylvania	$49,490	97.6	160	0.31×
30	North Carolina	$49,150	94.3	170	0.40×
31	Maine	$48,380	97.0	40	0.71×
32	Wisconsin	$46,780	94.1	90	0.36×
33	New Mexico	$45,690	92.2	50	0.74×
34	South Carolina	$45,240	93.7	—	—
35	Utah	$36,400	98.9	210	1.46×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where sound engineering technicians wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for sound engineering technicians

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$97,510	112.6	1,960	2.45×
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$94,990	115.6	460	2.32×
3	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$86,610	100.1	150	0.60×
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$83,810	104.8	380	2.29×
5	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$81,840	100.2	140	1.44×
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$79,990	108.9	240	0.90×
7	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$77,850	113.6	2,820	5.34×
8	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$77,420	108.3	140	0.61×
9	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$76,260	95.8	40	0.98×
10	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$76,050	105.4	100	0.98×
11	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$74,890	104.5	50	0.41×
12	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	$74,100	93.1	30	0.59×
13	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$73,140	103.6	450	1.18×
14	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$71,180	96.3	320	3.50×
15	Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	$69,400	98.2	40	1.37×
16	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$68,900	101.4	150	1.29×
17	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$66,360	103.3	90	0.47×
18	Omaha, NE-IA	$63,810	91.9	30	0.83×
19	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$63,720	106.7	70	0.77×
20	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$63,440	98.1	150	1.37×
21	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$63,020	111.9	140	1.10×
22	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$61,920	98.6	140	0.52×
23	St. Louis, MO-IL	$61,750	95.1	140	1.25×
24	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$61,740	94.7	40	0.40×
25	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$61,110	98.2	40	0.60×
26	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$60,670	106.4	80	0.55×
27	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$60,060	105.8	80	0.62×
28	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$57,400	91.7	40	1.21×
29	New Orleans-Metairie, LA	$56,120	92.6	—	—
30	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$55,090	96.9	30	0.51×
31	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$54,900	100.3	80	0.50×
32	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$54,200	102.6	120	0.51×
33	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$53,780	95.4	—	—
34	Pittsburgh, PA	$52,060	94.7	40	0.39×
35	Memphis, TN-MS-AR	$48,050	92.2	40	0.84×
36	Cleveland, OH	$47,860	93.9	—	—
37	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$47,800	95.5	30	0.68×
38	Knoxville, TN	$46,200	92.6	40	1.01×
39	Albuquerque, NM	$45,690	95.5	50	1.33×
40	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$44,790	97.3	70	0.59×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where sound engineering technicians wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Audio and Video Technicians$58,100
Photographers$44,660
Film and Video Editors$75,420
Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film$74,990
Broadcast Technicians$59,570
Media and Communication Equipment Workers, All Other$70,720
Lighting Technicians$68,060