It’s not easy to dedicate yourself to a career as a musician. Of course, there are the hours and hours of rehearsal. And if your friends and relatives value stability and financial security above creativity and adventure, you might feel like no one believes in your dream. While you’re fantasizing about hitting it big, they’re worrying you won’t be able to pay the rent.
One way to help reduce the risk of financial stress is moving to a musician-friendly city. But just how musician-friendly are top destinations like Nashville, TN; Austin, TX; and New Orleans, LA? We examined four data points to come up with our ranking of the best metro areas for musicians:
- The number of musician-employing establishments.
- Wages for musicians.
- The potential for wage growth.
- An area’s affordability.
(Scroll to the bottom of this post to check out details about our ranking criteria.)
We looked at a select set of U.S. metro areas that are likely to be on the map for musicians, either because of their music scenes or their music history:
- Austin, TX
- Cleveland, OH
- Detroit, MI
- Kansas City, MO
- Las Vegas, NV
- Los Angeles, CA
- Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
- Nashville, TN
- New Orleans, LA
- New York City, NY
- Portland, OR
- Seattle, WA
Here’s how the 12 metro areas fared.
1. Nashville, TN
In terms of our first metric, the number of musical establishments per 10,000 people, Nashville demolished the competition. Music City has more than 4.5 times as many establishments relative to its population as the closest competitor, Los Angeles. It also had the fourth most affordable housing rent for musicians.
Metro population: 1,702,603
Number of music establishments per 10,000 people: 2.1
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $39.59
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $35.89
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 33
2. Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles may have fewer musical establishments per 10,000 people than Nashville, but it beat Music City in two categories: Musicians earn higher average hourly wages, and they have a greater promise of earnings growth. And it doesn’t take substantially longer hours to pay the rent in L.A. than in Nashville.
Metro population: 12,945,252
Number of music establishments per 10,000 people: 0.461
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $41.33
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $53.94
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 36.74
3. New York City, NY
Musicians in New York don’t do as well financially as those in L.A., nor are there as many potential employers per 10,000 people. However, it does take slightly less time working to pay the rent.
Metro population: 19,716,880
Number of music establishments per 10,000 people: 0.29
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $33.77
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $47.49
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 36.5
4. Las Vegas, NV
Musicians in Las Vegas are in a market that scores well across all four metrics we measured. They also need to work the second fewest hours to pay the rent. As a bonus, the No. 2 market, L.A., is a reasonable four-hour drive away. Although that’s obviously too far to commute, it’s not too far for the occasional audition for a potentially better gig.
Metro population: 1,976,925
Number of music establishments per 10,000 people: 0.253
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $31.94
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $44.15
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 30.43
5. Portland, OR
Portland also scores well across all metrics and is a three-hour drive to another good market, Seattle, which comes in at No. 6. Rose City musicians do better than their neighbors to the north across every category, though, so Seattle musicians might be looking south for opportunities.
Metro population: 2,260,591
Number of music establishments per 10,000 people: 0.203
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $31.24
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $44.48
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 31.09
6. Seattle, WA
The number of musical establishments per 10,000 people is lower in Seattle than in seven of our other contenders. That means fewer potential employers. Median rents in Seattle ($1,135) are higher than in all but two other places: L.A. ($1,265) and New York ($1,237). However, even with lower wages, Seattle musicians can work fewer hours than musicians in both of those places and still pay the rent.
Metro population: 3,504,628
Number of musical establishments per 10,000 people: 0.174
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $30.31
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $38.68
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 34.98
7. New Orleans, LA
In contrast to those in Seattle, musicians in the Crescent City enjoy lower median rents ($908) but must work longer hours to pay for housing. They do have relatively more job opportunities, though, thanks to the higher number of music establishments per 10,000 people.
Metro population: 1,209,239
Number of music establishments per 10,000 people: 0.207
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $31.99
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $37.18
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 45.54
8. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
Musicians who persevere in the Twin Cities can look forward to healthy future wages, as measured by the adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage, which is higher than it is in Seattle, New Orleans and four other metro areas. However, musicians must work the second longest number of hours to pay the rent.
Metro population: 3,391,191
Number of musical establishments per 10,000 people: 0.186
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $27.42
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $41.38
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 50.58
9. Cleveland, OH
In Cleveland, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, musicians can work the fewest hours of anywhere else in our analysis and still cover the rent. However, job opportunities are likely sparse with such a small number of music establishments per 10,000 people. And the adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage is lower in Cleveland than almost everywhere else.
Metro population: 2,070,965
Number of music establishments per 10,000 people: 0.082
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $25.40
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $30.94
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 28.9
10. Austin, TX
In terms of opportunities, Austin actually ranks third, behind only Nashville and L.A. That’s right — it’s actually got more musical establishments per 10,000 people than New York. However, its ranking took a big hit from the low wages. Average adjusted hourly wage in Austin, home of South by Southwest and the self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World,” was dead last among the locales in our analysis. The adjusted 75th percentile wage also was the lowest. On top of that, Austin’s rent is high enough that musicians would have to work more than 70 hours a month to pay it. That’s longer than anywhere else on our list.
Metro population: 1,782,032
Number of music establishments per 10,000 people: 0.297
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $21.26
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $21.93
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 71.48
11. Kansas City, MO
Musicians in Kansas City have the second fewest potential employers, and adjusted hourly wages aren’t high. However, musicians don’t need to work around the clock to make the rent.
Metro population: 2,025,297
Number of music establishments per 10,000 people: 0.079
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $26.40
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $29.98
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 33.78
12. Detroit, MI
In Motown, musicians don’t have much to look forward to in terms of earnings growth potential. The adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage is the second lowest of the metro areas in our analysis. Detroit also has the lowest number of music establishments per 10,000 people, so opportunities are sparse.
Metro population: 4,295,700
Number of music establishments per 10,000 people: 0.065
Average adjusted hourly wage for musicians: $25.16
Adjusted 75th percentile hourly wage for musicians: $25.16
Number of hours necessary to work at the median hourly wage for musicians to pay the median rent: 44.88
Methodology
For this analysis, we looked at:
- The potential opportunities for musicians in an area, as measured by the number of establishments employing musicians per 10,000 people.
- How much musicians earn on average and how far those earnings stretch, as measured by the average hourly wage for musicians adjusted for the local price level. For example, a musician might make more in New York City, but prices there are much higher than the national average, so the earnings might not have the same value as those of a musician making less but living in a cheaper place. The adjustment makes hourly wages comparable across places with various prices.
- The potential for earnings growth for musicians in an area, as measured by the 75th percentile for the hourly wage of musicians. Remember the SATs? If you scored in the 75th percentile, you scored better than 75 percent of the other students taking the test. The 75th percentile wage divides the musicians in the top quarter of the income distribution for all musicians from those in the bottom three quarters. It’s also adjusted for local prices.
- The affordability of an area for musicians, as measured by the number of hours needed to work at the median hourly wage for musicians in order to pay the median local rent. If the median wage for musicians is low, but the local median rent is high, your parents’ fears are likely to materialize after all. In addition, jobs for musicians may not be a full 40 hours a week, and musicians probably want free time to write their own music, practice and look for gigs. Being able to pay the rent without having to get a non-musician job is a big bonus. (Here, we are using the medians, not the averages.)
For the first three metrics, higher numbers are better. For the fourth metric, lower numbers — which indicate greater affordability — are better.
For additional details about the methodology, email blogs@sparefoot.com.
Data sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau
Los Angeles photo courtesy of Flickr/Sandunga Jaime, New York photo courtesy of Flickr/DeShaun Craddock, Portland photo courtesy of Flickr/parttimemusic, Seattle photo courtesy of Flickr/Sean Munson, Minneapolis-St. Paul photo courtesy of Flickr/Marcus Metropolis, Cleveland photo courtesy of Flickr/Scorpions and Centaurs, Austin photo courtesy of South by Southwest, Kansas City photo courtesy of Flickr/rawartistsmedia, Detroit photo courtesy of Flickr/Chris Atto
