Musician earnings by seniority

90th percentile

Top-level musician earnings begin at:

$115.07 per hour

$239,343 per year

75th percentile

Senior-level musician earnings begin at:

$60.66 per hour

$126,175 per year

50th percentile

Mid-level musician earnings begin at:

$29.78 per hour

$61,950 per year

25th percentile

Junior-level musician earnings begin at:

$14.62 per hour

$30,417 per year

10th percentile

Starting level musician earnings begin at:

$7.71 per hour

$16,035 per year

Approximate values based on highest and lowest earning segments.

Musician salary by state

State Name Average Salary
Nevada $86,174
Hawaii $79,280
South Carolina $77,085
Connecticut $75,962
New Mexico $69,430
Massachusetts $69,014
Texas $66,789
Pennsylvania $66,768
Georgia $65,541
New York $64,813
District of Columbia $64,272
California $63,669
Illinois $61,950
Missouri $55,931
Minnesota $55,578
New Jersey $55,515
Rhode Island $54,288
Florida $54,038
Arkansas $52,320
Colorado $50,898
Ohio $48,485
Michigan $47,320
Alabama $46,015
North Carolina $45,727
Oregon $45,406
Iowa $42,751
Louisiana $40,539
Tennessee $39,054
Kansas $35,232
Montana $33,280
Nebraska $30,805
Arizona $27,040
Virginia $27,000
Washington $25,480
Maryland $20,280

How do musician salaries compare to similar careers?

Musicians earn 16% more than similar careers in Illinois. On average, they make less than music artists but more than audio engineers.

Career Median Salary
Music artist salary $70K
Musician salary $62K
Talent director salary $76K
Talent agent salary $67K
Music teacher salary $63K
Audio engineer salary $55K

Source: CareerExplorer (Aggregated)