Musician earnings by seniority

90th percentile

Top-level musician earnings begin at:

$72.93 per hour

$151,694 per year

75th percentile

Senior-level musician earnings begin at:

$51.47 per hour

$107,058 per year

50th percentile

Mid-level musician earnings begin at:

$39.92 per hour

$83,034 per year

25th percentile

Junior-level musician earnings begin at:

$24.41 per hour

$50,773 per year

10th percentile

Starting level musician earnings begin at:

$19.34 per hour

$40,227 per year

Approximate values based on highest and lowest earning segments.

Musician salary by state

State Name Average Salary
Montana $97,427
Washington $96,824
Colorado $96,242
New Mexico $93,891
California $91,166
Indiana $83,034
Missouri $81,578
Maryland $81,058
Massachusetts $80,954
Michigan $76,190
Wisconsin $76,149
Maine $74,381
Iowa $74,152
Texas $69,867
Ohio $69,389
Pennsylvania $66,768
Georgia $65,541
New York $64,813
District of Columbia $64,272
Kansas $59,571
New Jersey $55,515
Rhode Island $54,288
Arkansas $52,320
Alabama $49,483
Utah $45,718
Oregon $45,406
Vermont $45,386
Louisiana $40,539
South Carolina $40,082
Tennessee $39,054
Nebraska $30,805
Arizona $27,040
Nevada $136,157
North Carolina $120,557
Minnesota $111,571
Illinois $110,490
Hawaii $109,387
Connecticut $105,560
Virginia $105,248
Florida $104,978

How do musician salaries compare to similar careers?

Musicians earn 7% more than similar careers in Indiana. On average, they make less than composers but more than audio engineers.

Career Median Salary
Composer salary $77K
Music teacher salary $76K
Singer salary $83K
Music artist salary $83K
Musician salary $83K
Talent director salary $60K
Audio engineer salary $73K

Source: CareerExplorer (Aggregated)