As of July 01, 2026, the average annual salary for Lighting Designer in New York is $49,081, equivalent to $24 per hour, $944 weekly, or $4,090 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 New York vary widely, spanning from $42,355 to $60,728. Most professionals fall between the 25th percentile ($45,561) and 75th percentile ($55,178), while top earners (90th percentile) make $60,728 per year. This $9,617 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, New York Lighting Designer often earn 6.3% higher than national averages due to demand from Fortune 70 companies. However, New York currently ranks 8 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 $42,355 NY July 01, 2026
25th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $45,561 NY July 01, 2026
50th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $49,081 NY July 01, 2026
75th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $55,178 NY July 01, 2026
90th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $60,728 NY July 01, 2026
25% $45,561 10% $42,355 90% $60,728 75% $55,178 $49,081 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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Location Avg. Salary Date Updated
Location Brentwood, NY Avg. Salary $56,975 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Clay, NY Avg. Salary $51,841 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Henrietta, NY Avg. Salary $51,025 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Huntington, NY Avg. Salary $58,968 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Levittown, NY Avg. Salary $57,296 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Nassau, NY Avg. Salary $52,708 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location New Suffolk, NY Avg. Salary $56,257 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Accord, NY Avg. Salary $54,891 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Acra, NY Avg. Salary $52,469 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Adams, NY Avg. Salary $51,592 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Job Openings for Lighting Designer in New York

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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