Musical Directors and Composers

Median Salary: $45,100

Many musical directors and composers across the United States share a few key professional traits. For example, self control, concern for others, and cooperation can be crucial for success in the industry, especially when blended with career training. Around 14,330 folks were employed as musical directors and composers nationwide in 2009. With that much workplace competition, it's vital to utilize these characteristics and receive solid training, particularly if you're aiming to progress in the field.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual income for musical directors and composers in the U.S. was $45,100 in 2009, which works out to a median hourly wage of $21.70. Of course, income can vary with training and by location. Below, you'll find more data about musical directors and composers, including wages and job density for metro areas all over the United States.

Musical directors and composers should be skilled in:

Speech Clarity
Auditory Attention
Speech Recognition
Deductive Reasoning
Finger Dexterity

Different folks go into different careers; musical directors and composers are typically:

Artistic
Enterprising
Social

Working as a musical director or composer requires knowledge in subjects like:

Computers and Electronics
Customer and Personal Service
Psychology
Sales and Marketing
Philosophy and Theology

Related Occupations

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Below, you'll see links to more information on the top cities for this occupation (based on the number of folks employed as musical directors and composers). Note: "Job density" refers to the proportion of musical directors and composers in each city as compared to the national average.

Alabama
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Birmingham	30	$44,200	$21.20	$51,300	$24.70	-36.4%

Arizona
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Phoenix	130	$40,100	$19.30	$47,600	$22.90	-31.8%

Arkansas
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Little Rock	50	NA	NA	NA	NA	27.3%

California
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Los Angeles (Area)	520	$46,800	$22.50	$79,200	$38.10	-25.5%
Oakland	330	$65,100	$31.30	$72,700	$34.90	202.7%
Oxnard	30	$50,600	$24.30	$67,300	$32.40	-2.7%
Riverside	120	$58,000	$27.90	$69,400	$33.40	-10%
San Diego	200	$66,300	$31.90	$83,400	$40.10	42.7%
San Francisco (Area)	480	$68,300	$32.80	$77,800	$37.40	122.7%
San Francisco (City)	150	$71,500	$34.40	$82,900	$39.80	42.7%
San Jose	130	$51,800	$24.90	$64,200	$30.80	34.5%

Colorado
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Denver	30	$31,900	$15.30	$43,300	$20.80	-76.4%

Connecticut
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Bridgeport	60	$52,800	$25.40	$73,000	$35.10	21.8%
Hartford	40	$51,500	$24.70	$73,100	$35.10	-38.2%

District of Columbia
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Washington (Area)	230	$48,400	$23.30	$71,200	$34.20	-32.7%

Florida
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Bradenton	60	$21,800	$10.50	$53,500	$25.70	112.7%
Jacksonville	70	NA	NA	NA	NA	8.2%
Miami (Area)	NA	$48,300	$23.20	$60,100	$28.90	NA
Orlando	40	$44,000	$21.20	$57,000	$27.40	-63.6%
Tampa	120	$46,000	$22.10	$51,000	$24.50	-5.5%

Georgia
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Atlanta	130	$47,000	$22.60	$65,800	$31.60	-47.3%

Hawaii
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Honolulu	90	NA	NA	NA	NA	90%

Illinois
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Chicago (Area)	690	$44,300	$21.30	$55,700	$26.80	56.4%

Indiana
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Indianapolis	50	$50,300	$24.20	$60,100	$28.90	-45.5%

Iowa
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Cedar Rapids	30	$32,200	$15.50	$44,300	$21.30	114.5%
Davenport	30	$37,300	$17.90	$66,600	$32.00	50.9%

Maryland
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Baltimore	150	$47,000	$22.60	$76,600	$36.80	9.1%

Massachusetts
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Boston (Area)	210	$51,800	$24.90	$69,400	$33.40	14.5%

Michigan
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Detroit (Area)	150	$56,500	$27.20	$63,100	$30.30	26.4%
Grand Rapids	30	$43,400	$20.90	$65,700	$31.60	-16.4%

Minnesota
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Duluth	40	$50,100	$24.10	$55,700	$26.80	215.5%
Minneapolis	240	$54,400	$26.20	$70,100	$33.70	28.2%

Mississippi
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Jackson	30	$45,900	$22.10	$55,400	$26.60	24.5%

Missouri
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Kansas City	60	$43,700	$21.00	$51,000	$24.50	-49.1%
St. Louis	60	$37,100	$17.80	$54,800	$26.30	-56.4%

Nevada
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Las Vegas	30	$102,500	$49.30	$126,500	$60.80	-68.2%

New Jersey
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Trenton	80	$46,800	$22.50	$79,000	$38.00	220.9%

New York
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Albany	180	$42,000	$20.20	$49,600	$23.80	270%
Buffalo	230	NA	NA	NA	NA	287.3%
New York (Area)	1,440	NA	NA	NA	NA	40%
Poughkeepsie	100	$28,700	$13.80	$32,200	$15.50	288.2%
Rochester	180	$27,000	$13.00	$43,000	$20.70	227.3%
Syracuse	80	$41,800	$20.10	$52,400	$25.20	130.9%
Utica	40	NA	NA	NA	NA	181.8%

North Carolina
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Charlotte	NA	$30,100	$14.50	$42,900	$20.60	NA

North Dakota
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Fargo	40	$45,500	$21.90	$57,500	$27.60	168.2%

Ohio
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Cincinnati	60	$47,800	$23.00	$64,600	$31.10	-45.5%
Cleveland	40	$51,900	$25.00	$65,300	$31.40	-60.9%
Columbus	80	$60,600	$29.10	$68,200	$32.80	-19.1%
Toledo	60	NA	NA	NA	NA	100.9%

Oklahoma
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Oklahoma City	50	$32,800	$15.80	$40,500	$19.50	-23.6%

Oregon
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Corvallis	40	NA	NA	NA	NA	941.8%
Eugene	40	$30,200	$14.50	$48,400	$23.30	125.5%
Medford	50	$50,900	$24.50	$55,100	$26.50	449.1%
Portland	430	$30,200	$14.50	$42,800	$20.60	291.8%
Salem	40	$47,800	$23.00	$84,100	$40.40	130%

Pennsylvania
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Philadelphia (Area)	150	$41,000	$19.70	$74,800	$36.00	-27.3%
Pittsburgh	170	$44,200	$21.30	$51,700	$24.80	39.1%
Scranton	70	$27,600	$13.20	$31,500	$15.20	138.2%

Rhode Island
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Providence	80	$38,000	$18.30	$57,400	$27.60	40%

South Carolina
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Spartanburg	50	$43,200	$20.80	$51,500	$24.80	261.8%

Tennessee
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Nashville	120	$41,200	$19.80	$47,200	$22.70	50.9%

Texas
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Austin	90	$44,800	$21.50	$49,700	$23.90	0.9%
Dallas (Area)	300	$60,200	$28.90	$71,000	$34.10	-22.7%
Houston	190	$56,400	$27.10	$70,000	$33.70	-32.7%
Longview	40	$46,300	$22.30	$53,900	$25.90	269.1%
San Antonio	100	$56,800	$27.30	$67,000	$32.20	11.8%

Virginia
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Richmond	40	$33,900	$16.30	$54,900	$26.40	-34.5%
Virginia Beach	120	$29,800	$14.30	$50,900	$24.50	52.7%

Washington
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Seattle (Area)	50	$62,400	$30.00	$73,600	$35.40	-65.5%

Wisconsin
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Madison	70	$57,200	$27.50	$64,200	$30.90	87.3%
Milwaukee	80	$53,900	$25.90	$75,900	$36.50	-6.4%