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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2022

27-4014 Sound Engineering Technicians

Assemble and operate equipment to record, synchronize, mix, edit, or reproduce sound, including music, voices, or sound effects, for theater, video, film, television, podcasts, sporting events, and other productions. Excludes “Audio and Video Technicians” (27-4011).


National estimates for Sound Engineering Technicians
Industry profile for Sound Engineering Technicians
Geographic profile for Sound Engineering Technicians

National estimates for Sound Engineering Technicians:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Sound Engineering Technicians:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
13,420 5.1 % $ 36.34 $ 75,590 2.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for Sound Engineering Technicians:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 15.00 $ 20.00 $ 29.17 $ 47.82 $ 65.36
Annual Wage (2) $ 31,200 $ 41,600 $ 60,670 $ 99,470 $ 135,950


Industry profile for Sound Engineering Technicians:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Sound Engineering Technicians are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Sound Engineering Technicians, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Sound Engineering Technicians:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Motion Picture and Video Industries 3,860 0.92 $ 45.95 $ 95,580
Sound Recording Industries 2,690 13.40 $ 29.61 $ 61,580
Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations 590 0.49 $ 22.37 $ 46,530
Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events 580 0.41 $ 28.34 $ 58,940
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 520 0.02 $ 21.80 $ 45,340

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Sound Engineering Technicians:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Sound Recording Industries 2,690 13.40 $ 29.61 $ 61,580
Motion Picture and Video Industries 3,860 0.92 $ 45.95 $ 95,580
Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations 590 0.49 $ 22.37 $ 46,530
Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events 580 0.41 $ 28.34 $ 58,940
Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers 340 0.15 $ 41.55 $ 86,410

Top paying industries for Sound Engineering Technicians:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services 120 0.01 $ 52.69 $ 109,580
Software Publishers 250 0.04 $ 52.55 $ 109,310
Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing 30 0.01 $ 49.32 $ 102,590
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers 130 0.04 $ 46.98 $ 97,720
Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services 50 0.01 $ 46.47 $ 96,660


Geographic profile for Sound Engineering Technicians:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Sound Engineering Technicians are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Sound Engineering Technicians, see the Create Customized Tables function.



Map of employment of sound engineering technicians by state, May 2022


States with the highest employment level in Sound Engineering Technicians:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 5,080 0.29 3.17 $ 42.99 $ 89,430
New York 1,520 0.17 1.84 $ 44.04 $ 91,610
Florida 850 0.09 1.02 $ 32.58 $ 67,760
Texas 740 0.06 0.62 $ 25.30 $ 52,620
Tennessee 490 0.16 1.73 $ 23.74 $ 49,390


Map of location quotient of sound engineering technicians by state, May 2022


States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Sound Engineering Technicians:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 5,080 0.29 3.17 $ 42.99 $ 89,430
Utah 290 0.18 1.93 $ 20.89 $ 43,460
Maryland 450 0.17 1.88 $ 19.15 $ 39,820
New York 1,520 0.17 1.84 $ 44.04 $ 91,610
Tennessee 490 0.16 1.73 $ 23.74 $ 49,390


Map of annual mean wages of sound engineering technicians by state, May 2022


Top paying states for Sound Engineering Technicians:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Washington 210 0.06 0.69 $ 47.94 $ 99,710
New Jersey 250 0.06 0.67 $ 45.89 $ 95,440
New York 1,520 0.17 1.84 $ 44.04 $ 91,610
California 5,080 0.29 3.17 $ 42.99 $ 89,430
District of Columbia 40 0.05 0.60 $ 39.71 $ 82,600



Map of employment of sound engineering technicians by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Sound Engineering Technicians:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 3,700 0.61 6.69 $ 41.26 $ 85,820
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 1,460 0.16 1.76 $ 45.58 $ 94,800
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 690 0.29 3.16 (8) (8)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 340 0.11 1.24 $ 23.98 $ 49,880
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 280 0.27 2.93 $ 27.24 $ 56,670
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 260 0.10 1.09 $ 32.19 $ 66,960
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 260 0.20 2.18 $ 23.60 $ 49,100
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 240 0.13 1.41 $ 35.47 $ 73,790
Salt Lake City, UT 240 0.31 3.38 $ 19.77 $ 41,130
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 180 0.04 0.46 $ 32.93 $ 68,490


Map of location quotient of sound engineering technicians by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Sound Engineering Technicians:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 3,700 0.61 6.69 $ 41.26 $ 85,820
Salt Lake City, UT 240 0.31 3.38 $ 19.77 $ 41,130
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 690 0.29 3.16 (8) (8)
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 280 0.27 2.93 $ 27.24 $ 56,670
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 120 0.23 2.53 $ 26.02 $ 54,130
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 260 0.20 2.18 $ 23.60 $ 49,100
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 1,460 0.16 1.76 $ 45.58 $ 94,800
Trenton, NJ 40 0.15 1.64 $ 50.92 $ 105,910
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 180 0.14 1.53 $ 19.27 $ 40,090
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 240 0.13 1.41 $ 35.47 $ 73,790


Map of annual mean wages of sound engineering technicians by area, May 2022


Top paying metropolitan areas for Sound Engineering Technicians:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Trenton, NJ 40 0.15 1.64 $ 50.92 $ 105,910
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 110 0.10 1.11 $ 49.87 $ 103,730
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 170 0.09 0.95 $ 49.80 $ 103,570
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 1,460 0.16 1.76 $ 45.58 $ 94,800
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 3,700 0.61 6.69 $ 41.26 $ 85,820
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 110 0.04 0.42 $ 40.91 $ 85,090
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 130 0.05 0.52 $ 39.25 $ 81,630
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 100 0.07 0.74 $ 38.91 $ 80,930
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 240 0.13 1.41 $ 35.47 $ 73,790
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 100 0.05 0.58 $ 33.88 $ 70,470


About May 2022 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2022 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 25, 2023