Highest-paying Cities for Music Directors and Composers

The top 100 highest paying cities for music directors and composers (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of music directors and composers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $108,680, Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut is the highest paying city for music directors and composers. It is followed by Colorado Springs, Colorado (average annual salary $108,530). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of music directors and composers in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Music Directors and Composers

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$108,680	$46,250	80
2	Colorado Springs, Colorado	$108,530	$52,450	30
3	Other Ohio nonmetropolitan area, Ohio	$102,290	$43,270	40
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$91,740	$48,710	210
5	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$91,010	$35,040	180
6	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$90,290	$23,950	40
7	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$90,060	$42,470	1,390
8	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$87,200	$40,170	70
9	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$84,730	$45,970	50
10	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$83,730	$64,630	60
11	Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, New York	$79,760	$30,060	150
12	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$79,540	$44,200	100
13	Richmond, Virginia	$79,420	$44,790	40
14	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$78,540	$39,350	100
15	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$77,700	$34,300	50
16	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$77,550	$45,290	70
17	Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$77,500	$77,500	n/a
18	Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii	$76,940	$37,290	40
19	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$75,530	$33,580	1,770
20	Madison, Wisconsin	$71,880	$31,530	50
21	Columbus, Ohio	$71,400	$30,170	100
22	Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa	$71,210	$18,320	50
23	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$70,520	$38,990	80
24	Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$69,470	$35,450	30
25	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$68,950	$61,810	70
26	Bakersfield-Delano, California	$68,390	$45,440	30
27	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$68,060	$25,340	50
28	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$67,710	$43,600	210
29	Toledo, Ohio	$67,320	$31,810	30
30	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$66,960	$31,750	350
31	Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida	$65,680	$39,940	30
32	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$65,610	$37,600	70
33	Jacksonville, Florida	$64,910	$32,660	60
34	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$64,750	$36,410	90
35	Worcester, Massachusetts	$64,530	$25,550	30
36	Spartanburg, South Carolina	$64,420	$18,170	50
37	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$62,900	$32,750	100
38	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$62,540	$38,030	80
39	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tennessee	$62,220	$18,830	470
40	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$62,150	$36,180	80
41	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$62,110	$19,220	60
42	Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio	$62,080	$33,510	50
43	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$62,070	$47,210	30
44	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$62,020	$37,660	140
45	Dayton, Ohio	$61,910	$30,910	40
46	North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida	$61,770	$29,010	40
47	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$61,170	$30,980	50
48	McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas	$60,660	$46,310	80
49	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, California	$60,480	$49,480	40
50	Modesto, California	$60,010	$45,410	40
51	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$59,690	$30,260	1,360
52	Bend, Oregon	$59,430	$40,310	50
53	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$59,420	$45,100	130
54	Rochester, New York	$59,390	$40,440	180
55	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$59,280	$40,840	90
56	Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$59,200	$34,410	n/a
57	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$58,850	$25,460	370
58	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$58,800	$37,200	90
59	West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area, Ohio	$58,360	$22,640	30
60	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$58,330	$41,290	220
61	Capital-Northern New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$58,070	$48,890	80
62	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$57,990	$20,650	30
63	Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Florida	$57,990	$19,630	80
64	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$57,850	$22,890	270
65	Northwestern Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$57,790	$37,940	40
66	East Georgia nonmetropolitan area, Georgia	$57,640	$34,040	40
67	Gulf Coast Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$57,510	$43,850	30
68	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$57,480	$27,690	170
69	Ann Arbor, Michigan	$57,110	$19,260	60
70	Springfield, Ohio	$57,000	$48,910	40
71	Akron, Ohio	$56,980	$25,200	30
72	North Georgia nonmetropolitan area, Georgia	$56,940	$29,260	50
73	Amarillo, Texas	$56,810	$44,720	40
74	Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Michigan	$56,730	$30,910	170
75	Albany, Oregon	$56,660	$46,430	30
76	Northwest Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$56,590	$24,560	30
77	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$56,580	$34,670	810
78	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$56,000	$40,440	n/a
79	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$55,800	$36,210	230
80	Tacoma, Washington	$55,310	$19,960	30
81	Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont	$55,220	$30,300	30
82	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$55,200	$34,430	50
83	West Central Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area, Pennsylvania	$55,200	$26,980	50
84	El Paso, Texas	$55,170	$44,970	120
85	Jackson, Mississippi	$55,140	$22,010	30
86	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$55,080	$22,930	100
87	Syracuse, New York	$55,010	$39,410	150
88	West Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area, Wisconsin	$55,010	$22,240	50
89	North Central Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$54,830	$38,320	50
90	Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	$54,760	$17,220	40
91	Eastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area, Wisconsin	$54,560	$36,190	100
92	Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, South Carolina	$54,410	$33,050	40
93	Mansfield, Ohio	$54,350	$27,800	40
94	Norwich-New London, Rhode Island	$54,310	$21,390	40
95	Springfield, Massachusetts	$54,090	$30,990	30
96	El Centro, California	$53,970	$40,560	30
97	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa	$53,760	$19,740	40
98	Kansas nonmetropolitan area, Kansas	$53,750	$41,200	40
99	Wilmington, New Jersey	$53,710	$24,080	40
100	Kansas nonmetropolitan area, Kansas	$53,580	$41,930	40

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for music directors and composers.