As of July 01, 2026, the average annual salary for Lighting Designer in North Carolina is $43,874, equivalent to $21 per hour, $844 weekly, or $3,656 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 North Carolina vary widely, spanning from $37,861 to $54,285. Most professionals fall between the 25th percentile ($40,726) and 75th percentile ($49,323), while top earners (90th percentile) make $54,285 per year. This $8,597 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, North Carolina Lighting Designer often earn 5.0% lower than national averages due to demand from Fortune 70 companies. However, North Carolina currently ranks 36 nationwide for Lighting Designer job salary. Professionals are advised to focus on high-growth sectors like to offset market challenges.

Based on HR-reported data: a national average with a geographic differential
Lighting Designer Salaries by Percentile
Percentile Salary Location Last Updated
10th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $37,861 NC July 01, 2026
25th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $40,726 NC July 01, 2026
50th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $43,874 NC July 01, 2026
75th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $49,323 NC July 01, 2026
90th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $54,285 NC July 01, 2026
25% $40,726 10% $37,861 90% $54,285 75% $49,323 $43,874 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click
Change Search Criteria
Check out Lighting Designer jobs in North Carolina
Search More Lighting Designer Jobs in North Carolina

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

See user submitted job responsibilities for Lighting Designer.

Select a city to view specific salary and bonus information for Lighting Designer

Loading results...
Location Avg. Salary Date Updated
Location Aberdeen, NC Avg. Salary $47,160 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Advance, NC Avg. Salary $48,145 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Ahoskie, NC Avg. Salary $47,218 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Alamance, NC Avg. Salary $48,274 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Albemarle, NC Avg. Salary $48,185 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Albertson, NC Avg. Salary $46,866 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Alexander, NC Avg. Salary $47,845 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Alexis, NC Avg. Salary $49,706 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Alliance, NC Avg. Salary $46,727 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Almond, NC Avg. Salary $47,057 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Job Openings for Lighting Designer in North Carolina

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

Jobs with a similar salary range to Lighting Designer : Traffic Anchor, Certified Paraoptometric, Production Intern