Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 estimates

Music Directors and Composers

Illustration of a creative studio with a camera, canvas, and design tools

SOC code 27-2041 · Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

National employment
12,540
Mean annual wage
$90,470
Mean hourly wage
$43.50
Median annual wage
$73,710
Median hourly wage
$35.44

Wage percentiles

PercentileAnnual wageHourly wage
10th percentile$39,880$19.17
25th percentile$53,110$25.53
50th percentile (median)$73,710$35.44
75th percentile$104,090$50.04
90th percentile$165,760$79.69

See where a wage ranks

Estimate only, based on linear interpolation between this occupation's BLS OEWS reported percentiles above.

Wages by state (May 2024)

State-level employment and wage estimates for Music Directors and Composers (SOC 27-2041), from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) State estimates, May 2024. Data available for 38 of 51 states/DC for this occupation.

StateEmploymentMean annualMedian annual10th pctl annual25th pctl annual75th pctl annual90th pctl annual
Alabama90$43,270$32,370$26,240$27,410$49,580$59,040
Alaska40$56,380$55,810$35,460$55,810$55,810$101,330
California2,410$98,460$74,760$41,790$54,920$119,260$179,160
Colorado110$80,210$69,160$34,030$43,320$115,400$141,420
Connecticut150$115,500$91,810$48,230$53,450$140,130—
District of Columbia130——————
Florida670$69,760$57,350$34,910$45,980$75,440$105,420
Georgia—$70,460$61,270$21,340$54,240$95,490$123,620
Hawaii140$89,710$77,440$48,900$68,450$102,800$109,670
Idaho70——————
Illinois540$62,740$46,310$30,060$38,160$66,630$108,130
Indiana250$84,960$71,640$46,260$50,470$89,650$156,900
Iowa170$61,180$56,720$25,860$41,090$69,980$101,340
Kentucky50$51,150$41,870$19,400$21,960$69,100$93,620
Maryland140$80,180$57,740$31,200$37,650$96,290$126,450
Massachusetts260$86,440$72,760$53,860$58,930$78,050$159,480
Michigan260$53,300$42,030$32,120$37,800$64,380$86,300
Minnesota90$91,270$61,830$39,640$48,060$92,210$133,820
Mississippi60$60,590$60,250$23,930$52,450$74,660$89,450
Missouri70$69,220$58,640$41,630$46,250$78,010$108,020
Montana110$55,830$48,530$24,990$37,670$68,890$116,810
New Jersey380——————
New York1,610$108,980$80,230$36,890$51,230$130,590$238,300
North Carolina200$66,170$61,780$37,610$49,490$77,750$90,470
Ohio380$70,130$60,470$30,120$44,370$80,190$115,060
Oklahoma90$78,730$66,650$40,940$44,520$123,050$127,440
Oregon470$73,880$62,400$44,300$50,220$76,760$144,840
Pennsylvania450$68,810$60,410$33,390$37,950$93,600$115,750
Rhode Island160——————
South Carolina60$62,410$49,890$17,730$46,160$55,910$91,000
South Dakota40$36,460$36,990$30,930$31,340$37,710$38,690
Tennessee640——————
Texas650$81,660$51,380$39,870$47,510$81,930$142,460
Utah130$74,360$78,010$48,720$71,610$78,010$79,450
Virginia340$61,220$49,670$34,990$41,790$62,210$105,070
Washington390$86,200$77,840$50,990$61,760$106,400$120,070
West Virginia30——————
Wisconsin150$69,520$73,580$26,430$59,960$82,200$99,760

Hourly by-state wages are in the source dataset but not rendered here (annual only, to keep this table a manageable width); see the source link below for the full file. BLS suppresses some state-level figures for reliability: an em dash (—) means BLS did not publish that figure for this state and occupation. Per BLS’s own field definitions: "*" = a wage estimate is not available; "**" = an employment estimate is not available; "#" = a wage equal to or greater than $115.00 per hour or $239,200 per year (all three are shown here as —, not guessed). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), State occupational employment and wage estimates, May 2024.

Similar-paying occupations in Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 estimates. Wage figures are BLS OEWS estimates and may not reflect current pay.