As of July 01, 2026, the average annual salary for Lighting Designer in Virginia is $46,491, equivalent to $22 per hour, $894 weekly, or $3,874 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 Virginia vary widely, spanning from $40,120 to $57,524. Most professionals fall between the 25th percentile ($43,156) and 75th percentile ($52,266), while top earners (90th percentile) make $57,524 per year. This $9,110 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, Virginia Lighting Designer often earn 0.7% higher than national averages due to demand from Fortune 70 companies. However, Virginia currently ranks 18 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 $40,120 VA July 01, 2026
25th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $43,156 VA July 01, 2026
50th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $46,491 VA July 01, 2026
75th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $52,266 VA July 01, 2026
90th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $57,524 VA July 01, 2026
25% $43,156 10% $40,120 90% $57,524 75% $52,266 $46,491 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 Annandale, VA Avg. Salary $57,138 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Virginia State University, VA Avg. Salary $50,464 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Abingdon, VA Avg. Salary $47,225 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Accomac, VA Avg. Salary $49,438 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Achilles, VA Avg. Salary $49,039 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Afton, VA Avg. Salary $48,674 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Alberta, VA Avg. Salary $49,467 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Aldie, VA Avg. Salary $54,551 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Alexandria, VA Avg. Salary $57,270 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Altavista, VA Avg. Salary $47,583 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Job Openings for Lighting Designer in Virginia

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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