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Lead Guitarist Salary in the United States

How much does a Lead Guitarist make in the United States? The salary range for a Lead Guitarist job is from $37,873 to $51,437 per year in the United States. Click on the filter to check out Lead Guitarist job salaries by hourly, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly, and yearly.

Average base salary
updated at March 26, 2024
$42,235
Per Year
The average salary for a Lead Guitarist is $42,235
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
$37,873
$42,235
Medium
$51,437

Highest Paying Cities for Lead Guitarist in the United States

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

States with Higher Salaries for Lead Guitarist

The five states where Lead Guitarist 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 Lead Guitarist 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 Lead Guitarist 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 Lead Guitarist jobs, and the job title of Lead Guitarist 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 Lead Guitarist, start to view Lead Guitarist-related jobs you are interested in.
Guitarist
Average salary
United States
$52,926
per Year
Lead
Average salary
United States
$70,976
per Year
Lead Buyer
Average salary
United States
$115,630
per Year
Lead Pastor
Average salary
United States
$107,190
per Year
Lead Architect
Average salary
United States
$155,730
per Year
Lead Teller
Average salary
United States
$41,360
per Year

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What Does a Lead Guitarist Do?

Whether you want to continue as a rhythm guitarist or learn lead guitar, building good rhythm skills will help you become a solid guitar player.

December 21, 2021

You can become a great rhythm guitarist by mastering a few skills, while you need to master a lot of skills to become a great lead guitarist.

December 20, 2021

Lead guitarists need to be able to fit a Jack of All Trades, type of role sometimes.  Some bands don’t have more than a single guitarist, so it is important to be versatile and be able to play multiple roles.

December 14, 2021

Some bands (often three piece bands) feature a single guitarist who can act as either, by either assuming one role at a time or, in a recording studio, recording a lead track over their own rhythm track.

December 11, 2021

As a guitarist, you might wonder about the role, and about how important the lead guitarist is to a band.

November 24, 2021

Most Common Benefits for Lead Guitarist

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about salaries for a Lead Guitarist
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Whether you want to continue as a rhythm guitarist or learn lead guitar, building good rhythm skills will help you become a solid guitar player.
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Check the below career pages for detailed pay ranges for similar professions to Lead Guitarist:
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Explore our personal salary report to know the Lead Guitarist market value in the United States. And find out if any places are having a higher Lead Guitarist salary.
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The highest Lead Guitarist salary is $51,437, while the lowest is $37,873 in the United States.
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