How Much Does a Lighting Designer Make in Boston, MA ? (2026 Salary Guide)

Lighting Designer Salary in Boston, MA

As of May 01, 2026, the average annual salary for Lighting Designer in Boston, MA is $51,297, equivalent to $25 per hour, $986 weekly, or $4,275 monthly. These figures, sourced from Salary.com’s real-time job posting scans, highlight competitive earning potential for Lighting Designer in cities like San Jose, Santa Clara, and San Francisco.

Annually Salaries for Lighting Designer in Boston, MA vary widely, spanning from $44,267 to $63,469. Most professionals fall between the 25th percentile ($47,617) and 75th percentile ($57,669), while top earners (90th percentile) make $63,469 per year. This $10,052 pay gap underscores opportunities for salary growth through certifications, specialized skills like Attention to Detail or Housekeeping, or targeting high-paying regions like District of Columbia or California.

Location and experience significantly influence earnings. For example, Boston Lighting Designer often earn 2.1% higher than national averages. However, Boston currently ranks 56 statewide for Lighting Designer job salary. Professionals are advised to focus on high-growth sectors like to offset market challenges.

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Lighting Designer Salaries by Percentile
Percentile Salary Location Last Updated
10th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $44,267 Boston, MA May 01, 2026
25th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $47,617 Boston, MA May 01, 2026
50th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $51,297 Boston, MA May 01, 2026
75th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $57,669 Boston, MA May 01, 2026
90th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $63,469 Boston, MA May 01, 2026
25% $47,617 10% $44,267 90% $63,469 75% $57,669 $51,297 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click
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What is a Lighting Designer ?

A theatre lighting designer (or LD) works with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create the lighting, atmosphere, and time of day for the production in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety, and cost. The LD also works closely with the stage manager or show control programming, if show control systems are used in that production. Outside stage lighting, the job of a Lighting Designer can be much more diverse and they can be found working on rock and pop tours, corporate launches, art installation and on massi...

Source: Wikipedia (as of 04/17/2019). Read more from Wikipedia

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Job Openings for Lighting Designer in Boston, MA

Career Path for this job

  1. This Job:

    Lighting Designer

    1 - 3 years experience
    Associate's Degree

  2. Up a level:

    Creative Production Manager

    5 + years experience
    Bachelor's Degree

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Understand the total compensation opportunity for a Lighting Designer, base salary plus other pay elements

Average Base Salary

Core compensation

 
 
 
47617
57669
51297

Average Total Cash Compensation

Includes base and annual incentives

 
 
 
50635
67507
58030
These charts show the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of Lighting Designer in Boston, MA. The base salary for Lighting Designer ranges from $47,617 to $57,669 with the average base salary of $51,297. The total cash compensation, which includes base, and annual incentives, can vary anywhere from $50,635 to $67,507 with the average total cash compensation of $58,030.

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47617
57669

 

About Boston, Massachusetts    Boston has an area of 89.63 square miles (232.1 km2)—48.4 square miles (125.4 km2) (54%) of land and 41.2 square miles (106.7 km2) (46%) of water. The....More

Boston, Massachusetts  area prices were up 2.5% from a year ago

Lighting Designer Salary in popular cities: Worcester, Springfield, Lowell

Skills associated with Lighting Designer: Design

Recently searched related titles: Assistant Production Planner, Producers Assistant, Senior Associate Producer

Learn more about: Compensation Packages, Employee Flight Risk, Gender Pay Gap, Job Openings for This Role

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