Musician earnings by seniority

90th percentile

Top-level musician earnings begin at:

$79.81 per hour

$166,005 per year

75th percentile

Senior-level musician earnings begin at:

$56.48 per hour

$117,478 per year

50th percentile

Mid-level musician earnings begin at:

$31.16 per hour

$64,813 per year

25th percentile

Junior-level musician earnings begin at:

$16.02 per hour

$33,322 per year

10th percentile

Starting level musician earnings begin at:

$10.41 per hour

$21,653 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 about the same as related careers in New York. On average, they make less than talent agents but more than composers.

Career Median Salary
Talent agent salary $78K
Music teacher salary $79K
Music artist salary $65K
Musician salary $65K
Singer salary $65K
Audio engineer salary $68K
Composer salary $53K

Source: CareerExplorer (Aggregated)