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Broadcast engineer salary

Average broadcast engineer salary

$70,490

$33.89 hourly rate

Entry-level broadcast engineer salary
$50,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Broadcast Engineer Salary Overview

The role of a Broadcast Engineer involves the maintenance and operation of broadcasting equipment, ensuring that signals are transmitted effectively. As of October 2025, the average annual salary for broadcast engineers stands at about $70,490. This figure can fluctuate significantly based on factors such as geographic location, years of experience, and the specific industry segment.

Geographic Variations

Broadcast engineers in states like California and New York often see higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for broadcasting services. For example, the highest paying states for broadcast engineers can offer salaries exceeding $80,000 annually.

Experience Matters

Entry-level positions typically start lower, around $50,000, but with experience, engineers can command salaries in the upper ranges. Specializing in areas such as digital broadcasting or telecommunications can further enhance earning potential.

Job Opportunities

For those interested in becoming a broadcast engineer, job prospects remain strong, particularly as the media landscape continues to evolve. Positions are available in television, radio, and online platforms, providing a variety of opportunities across the country.

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Where can a Broadcast Engineer earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
134k
114k
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54k
34k
Columbus, OH$106,549
Bismarck, ND$63,621
Compare salary by company
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164k
144k
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84k
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Apple$134,351
DIRECTV Puerto Rico$74,346

Broadcast engineer salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, Comparably, Payscale and CareerExplorer, the average salary for a broadcast engineer typically falls between $44,740 and $87,592.
zippia
$70,490yearly
glassdoor[1]
$87,592yearly
indeed[2]
$78,681yearly
comparably[3]
$67,070yearly
Salary.com[4]
$46,301yearly
payscale[5]
$69,998yearly
CareerExplorer[6]
$44,740yearly

Average broadcast engineer salary by state

The highest-paying states for broadcast engineers are Virginia, New York, and Oregon. The lowest average broadcast engineer salary states are Hawaii, Kansas, and Mississippi.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for broadcast engineers

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Virginia$104,962$50.46
2New York$99,704$47.93
3Oregon$87,260$41.95
4Colorado$80,824$38.86
5Texas$82,001$39.42
6California$84,390$40.57
7Ohio$85,184$40.95
8Florida$76,746$36.90
9Maine$86,772$41.72
10Delaware$74,487$35.81
11West Virginia$85,685$41.19
12Kentucky$80,781$38.84
13New Hampshire$74,154$35.65
14Rhode Island$76,433$36.75
15Washington$71,721$34.48
16Utah$70,767$34.02
17Pennsylvania$75,321$36.21
18Connecticut$76,152$36.61
19Nevada$72,706$34.95
20Oklahoma$78,026$37.51
21South Carolina$73,467$35.32
22District of Columbia$73,483$35.33
23Vermont$71,335$34.30
24North Carolina$69,188$33.26
25Michigan$66,801$32.12
26Louisiana$71,040$34.15
27Massachusetts$68,410$32.89
28Illinois$67,178$32.30
29Wyoming$62,253$29.93
30Maryland$66,633$32.04
31South Dakota$67,963$32.67
32New Jersey$69,095$33.22
33Minnesota$65,354$31.42
34Montana$67,270$32.34
35Alabama$60,703$29.18
36Arizona$61,001$29.33
37Indiana$60,098$28.89
38North Dakota$63,835$30.69
39New Mexico$62,286$29.95
40Georgia$60,612$29.14
41Arkansas$59,573$28.64
42Tennessee$60,781$29.22
43Hawaii$57,929$27.85
44Idaho$59,982$28.84
45Wisconsin$59,434$28.57
46Nebraska$54,296$26.10
47Iowa$58,452$28.10
48Alaska$49,974$24.03
49Kansas$57,646$27.71
50Missouri$55,846$26.85
51Mississippi$55,930$26.89

Highest paying cities for broadcast engineers

The highest-paying cities for broadcast engineers are Arlington, VA, New York, NY, and Sacramento, CA.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Arlington, VA$106,549$51.23
2New York, NY$99,822$47.99
3Sacramento, CA$90,558$43.54
4Cleveland, OH$86,591$41.63
5Irving, TX$82,473$39.65
6Centennial, CO$80,864$38.88
7Saint Petersburg, FL$76,903$36.97
8Hartford, CT$76,296$36.68
9Philadelphia, PA$75,712$36.40
10Washington, DC$73,576$35.37
11Seattle, WA$72,366$34.79
12Raleigh, NC$70,052$33.68
13Missoula, MT$69,215$33.28
14Jersey City, NJ$69,192$33.27
15Boston, MA$68,413$32.89
16Detroit, MI$67,146$32.28
17Columbia, MD$66,692$32.06
18Minneapolis, MN$65,436$31.46
19Rock Island, IL$65,177$31.34
20Bismarck, ND$63,621$30.59

Broadcast engineer salary details

A broadcast engineer's salary ranges from $50,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $98,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average broadcast engineer salary graph
Average broadcast engineer salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a broadcast engineer's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$98,000$8,167$47
75th Percentile$84,000$7,000$40
Average$70,490$5,874$34
25th Percentile$59,000$4,917$28
10th Percentile$50,000$4,167$24

Highest paying broadcast engineer jobs

The highest paying types of broadcast engineers are remote broadcast engineer, master control engineer, and station engineer.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Master Control Operator$52,528$4,377$25.2570,063
Board Operator$42,557$3,546$20.4631,348
Remote Broadcast Technician$29,076$2,423$13.9831,162
Audio/Video Engineer$85,179$7,098$40.959,309
Engineer$92,076$7,673$44.27618,207
Audio Engineer$55,853$4,654$26.851,750

Top companies hiring broadcast engineers now:

  1. Bloomberg jobs (5)
  2. ESPN jobs (10)
  3. Qualcomm jobs (6)
  4. EchoStar jobs (9)
  5. NBCUniversal jobs (14)

Which companies pay broadcast engineers the most?

Broadcast engineer salaries at Apple and Altice USA are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average broadcast engineer salary at companies like Boston College and Advanced Systems Group are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Apple$134,351$64.59
2Altice USA$100,328$48.23
3Boston College$97,208$46.73
4Advanced Systems Group$96,300$46.30
5Globecomm$94,670$45.51
6Fox News$92,272$44.36
7TEKsystems$85,576$41.14
8The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation$84,552$40.65
9AMC Networks$83,851$40.31
10Zoetis$83,264$40.03
11Univision Communications$80,824$38.86
12NBCUniversal$80,778$38.84
13Riot Games$78,420$37.70
14T-Mobile$77,409$37.22
15Comcast$77,004$37.02
16WNYC$76,724$36.89
17WarnerMedia$76,708$36.88
18NEP Group$75,729$36.41
19The Edward W Scripps Trust$75,729$36.41
20DIRECTV Puerto Rico$74,346$35.74

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$73,000$72,000$71,000$70,000$69,000$68,000
MaleFemale

Broadcast engineer salary trends

The average broadcast engineer salary has risen by $11,325 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average broadcast engineer earned $59,165 annually, but today, they earn $70,490 a year. That works out to a 13% change in pay for broadcast engineers over the last decade.

Compare broadcast engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average broadcast engineer salary over time

Compare broadcast engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Broadcast engineer salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$70,500$33.89+6.9%
2024$65,600$31.56+1.2%
2023$64,800$31.17+2.5%
2022$63,200$30.38+1.3%
2021$62,400$29.98+2.7%

Recently added broadcast engineer salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
FoxSenior Broadcast EngineerTempe, AZ06/28/2025$143,000
TeampeopleSenior Broadcast EngineerSunnyvale, CA06/25/2025$165,000
Major League Baseball Players AssociationSenior Broadcast EngineerNew York, NY06/22/2025$110,000
Corporation for Public BroadcastingSenior Broadcast EngineerCleveland, OH06/20/2025$65,000
Ideastream Public MediaSenior Broadcast EngineerCleveland, OH06/20/2025$65,000
Langston UniversityChief Broadcast EngineerLangston, OK06/18/2025$70,000
CosmBroadcast EngineerLos Angeles, CA06/14/2025$90,000
Sinclair Broadcast GroupBroadcast EngineerEureka, CA06/11/2025$44,871
MLBSenior Broadcast EngineerNew York, NY06/11/2025$110,000
Advanced Systems GroupSenior Broadcast Engineer-(California Based)Los Angeles, CA06/11/2025$130,000

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