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Film Composer Salary in the United States

How much does a Film Composer make in the United States? The salary range for a Film Composer job is from $44,514 to $61,228 per year in the United States. Click on the filter to check out Film Composer job salaries by hourly, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly, and yearly.

Average base salary
updated at March 26, 2024
$51,963
Per Year
The average salary for a Film Composer is $51,963
per Year in the United States.
Individually reported data submitted by users of our website

HOW SHOULD YOU USE THIS DATA?

Employees: Use this as a guide for salary expectations, but be aware that responsibilities can change across companies for the same job title, so there may be differences between this data, other free site and our subscription products bought by employers.

Employers: This data could be used as reference point in your market pricing, but not the only source, due to differences across jobs locations, and sizes of companies.Consider additional sources like our Employer reported data.

Base Salary
$44,514
$51,963
Medium
$61,228

Highest Paying Cities for Film Composer in the United States

Film Composer salaries in the United States will pay differently by cities. Below following are the eight cities with the highest income for Film Composer jobs in the United States. The city with the highest salary is San Jose. Click on the Film Composer salary in cities you are interested in to view detailed job salary information.

States with Higher Salaries for Film Composer

The five states where Film Composer jobs get higher salaries in the United States are: District of Columbia, California, New Jersey, Alaska, and Massachusetts. Compared with the average salary of a Film Composer in the United States, the state of District of Columbia with the highest job income for this job. The second and third states are California and New Jersey respectively. The high or low salary paid to Film Composer by the US has a greater relationship with the demand for jobs and the cost of living.

How Much Do Similar Professions Get Paid in the United States?

There are some different titles for Film Composer jobs, and the job title of Film Composer will vary in different companies. The job title has a lot to do with the department and responsibilities, and the same job title will vary in different departments. The following list is the salary of jobs similar to Film Composer, start to view Film Composer-related jobs you are interested in.
Composer
Average salary
United States
$57,280
per Year
Music Composer
Average salary
United States
$64,553
per Year
Music Director Or Composer
Average salary
United States
$53,273
per Year
Video Game Composer
Average salary
United States
$64,670
per Year
Film Editor
Average salary
United States
$61,900
per Year
Film Production
Average salary
United States
$65,009
per Year

How Much Should You Be Earning?

Get an estimated calculation of how much you should be earning and insight into your career options.

What Does a Film Composer Do?

In many cases, time constraints determined by the film's post-production schedule dictate whether composers orchestrate their own scores, as it is often impossible for the composer to complete all the required tasks within the time frame allowed.

December 20, 2021

The composer usually enters the creative process towards the end of filming at around the same time as the film is being.

December 19, 2021

Before a single note is written, a composer might spend days, weeks or months researching ideas and getting into the mental space of the film.

December 06, 2021

Others have become orchestrators-for-hire, and work with many different composers over the course of their careers; examples of prominent film music orchestrators include.

December 19, 2021

In both instances, the timings on the clock or lines scribed on the film have corresponding timings which are also at specific points (beats) in the composer/conductor score.

December 17, 2021

Harry Gregson-Williams is one of Hollywood's most sought-after and prolific composers whose long list of film and television credits underscore the diverse range of his talents.

December 17, 2021

Most Common Benefits for Film Composer

Social Security
Healthcare
401(k)
Pension
Disability
Time Off (days)

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about salaries for a Film Composer
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In many cases, time constraints determined by the film's post-production schedule dictate whether composers orchestrate their own scores, as it is often impossible for the composer to complete all the required tasks within the time frame allowed.
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Check the below career pages for detailed pay ranges for similar professions to Film Composer:
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Explore our personal salary report to know the Film Composer market value in the United States. And find out if any places are having a higher Film Composer salary.
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The highest Film Composer salary is $61,228, while the lowest is $44,514 in the United States.
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