Musician earnings by seniority

90th percentile

Top-level musician earnings begin at:

$33.38 per hour

$69,426 per year

75th percentile

Senior-level musician earnings begin at:

$24.21 per hour

$50,347 per year

50th percentile

Mid-level musician earnings begin at:

$16.94 per hour

$35,232 per year

25th percentile

Junior-level musician earnings begin at:

$11.85 per hour

$24,654 per year

10th percentile

Starting level musician earnings begin at:

$8.60 per hour

$17,879 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 17% less than similar careers in Kansas. On average, they make less than music teachers but more than piano tuners.

Career Median Salary
Music teacher salary $65K
Composer salary $55K
Talent director salary $47K
Conductor salary $51K
Musician salary $35K
Singer salary $35K
Music artist salary $35K
Music therapist salary $35K
Piano tuner salary $30K

Source: CareerExplorer (Aggregated)