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Event planner salary

Average event planner salary

$51,542

$24.78 hourly rate

Entry-level event planner salary
$35,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Average Event Planner Salary

The average salary for an event planner in the United States is approximately $51,542 annually, which translates to about $25 per hour. This figure can vary significantly based on several factors, including geographic location, years of experience, and the specific industry within which an event planner operates.

Salary by Experience Level

Entry-level event planners typically earn less, while those with several years of experience, especially in specialized areas, can command higher salaries. For instance, mid-level planners may earn between $40,000 and $60,000, and senior planners or those with specialized skills can exceed $70,000 annually.

Highest Paying States for Event Planners

Event planners in states like California, New York, and Texas tend to earn higher salaries compared to their counterparts in other regions. Understanding these geographical disparities can help job seekers target their applications more effectively and maximize their salary potential.

Job Opportunities and Growth

As the demand for unique and engaging events increases, the need for skilled event planners continues to grow. This trend opens up various job opportunities across industries, from corporate events to weddings and large public gatherings. Those interested should consider gaining experience through internships or entry-level positions to enhance their prospects.

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Where can an Event Planner earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
92k
72k
52k
32k
12k
Columbus, OH$71,569
Atlanta, GA$42,158
Compare salary by company
Vs
109k
89k
69k
49k
29k
Intelliswift$89,458
Burton Snowboards$59,108

Event planner salaries by experience level

Experience levelAvg. salaryHourly rate
Entry-level event planner$43,600$20.97
Mid-level event planner$53,200$25.56
Senior-level event planner$62,700$30.15

Event planner salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, Comparably, Payscale and CareerExplorer, the average salary for an event planner typically falls between $49,441 and $79,193.
zippia
$51,542yearly
glassdoor[1]
$59,733yearly
indeed[2]
$49,441yearly
comparably[3]
$79,193yearly
Salary.com[4]
$62,777yearly
ZipRecruiter[5]
$64,697yearly
payscale[6]
$55,612yearly
CareerExplorer[7]
$49,470yearly

Average event planner salary by state

The highest-paying states for event planners are Connecticut, Maryland, and New York. The lowest average event planner salary states are Nebraska, Wyoming, and Utah.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for event planners

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Connecticut$68,700$33.03
2New York$67,844$32.62
3New Jersey$67,723$32.56
4Maryland$68,003$32.69
5Virginia$63,443$30.50
6District of Columbia$65,129$31.31
7Pennsylvania$54,350$26.13
8Massachusetts$57,595$27.69
9Washington$56,299$27.07
10Ohio$56,633$27.23
11California$51,559$24.79
12Minnesota$52,639$25.31
13Arizona$46,987$22.59
14Michigan$50,397$24.23
15New Hampshire$44,946$21.61
16Oregon$47,771$22.97
17West Virginia$52,966$25.46
18Delaware$47,657$22.91
19Maine$52,530$25.25
20Vermont$45,685$21.96
21Alabama$46,019$22.12
22North Carolina$44,869$21.57
23Nevada$43,714$21.02
24Illinois$45,448$21.85
25Kansas$48,008$23.08
26Indiana$45,687$21.96
27Mississippi$42,262$20.32
28Wisconsin$42,045$20.21
29Hawaii$41,551$19.98
30Colorado$41,355$19.88
31Georgia$42,085$20.23
32South Carolina$40,515$19.48
33North Dakota$41,519$19.96
34Texas$41,915$20.15
35Idaho$42,836$20.59
36Florida$41,170$19.79
37Kentucky$39,556$19.02
38Tennessee$40,361$19.40
39Alaska$40,877$19.65
40Iowa$38,245$18.39
41Rhode Island$40,518$19.48
42Utah$34,883$16.77
43South Dakota$38,401$18.46
44Montana$37,855$18.20
45Nebraska$35,662$17.15
46Louisiana$39,198$18.85
47Oklahoma$36,617$17.60
48Wyoming$35,460$17.05
49Arkansas$32,291$15.52
50New Mexico$33,726$16.21
51Missouri$31,730$15.25

Highest paying cities for event planners

The highest-paying cities for event planners are Stamford, CT, New York, NY, and Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Stamford, CT$71,569$34.41
2New York, NY$68,832$33.09
3Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ$66,965$32.19
4Arlington, VA$66,047$31.75
5Washington, DC$65,194$31.34
6Cleveland, OH$59,395$28.56
7Boston, MA$57,201$27.50
8Seattle, WA$56,840$27.33
9San Francisco, CA$55,743$26.80
10Philadelphia, PA$55,227$26.55
11Minneapolis, MN$52,679$25.33
12Detroit, MI$50,925$24.48
13Phoenix, AZ$47,055$22.62
14Durham, NC$46,222$22.22
15Chicago, IL$45,765$22.00
16Indianapolis, IN$45,270$21.76
17Las Vegas, NV$43,412$20.87
18El Paso, TX$42,899$20.62
19Milwaukee, WI$42,306$20.34
20Atlanta, GA$42,158$20.27

Event planner salary details

An event planner's salary ranges from $35,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $74,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average event planner salary graph
Average event planner salary graph, trends, and summary

What is an event planner's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$74,000$6,167$36
75th Percentile$62,000$5,167$30
Average$51,542$4,295$25
25th Percentile$42,000$3,500$20
10th Percentile$35,000$2,917$17

Highest paying event planner jobs

The highest paying types of event planners are planning committee member, director of events, and planner.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Conference Coordinator$41,978$3,498$20.1819,660
Site Coordinator$38,256$3,188$18.3929,397
Director Of Events$65,971$5,498$31.728,520
Planning Committee Member$81,213$6,768$39.0415,066
Special Events Coordinator$40,063$3,339$19.2634,538
Marketing And Event Planning Internship$28,412$2,368$13.66131,730

Which companies pay event planners the most?

Event planner salaries at Intelliswift and Salk Institute for Biological Studies are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average event planner salary at companies like UBS and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Intelliswift$89,458$43.01
2Salk Institute for Biological Studies$82,497$39.66
3UBS$81,140$39.01
4JPMorgan Chase & Co.$78,046$37.52
5Stanford Health Care$71,010$34.14
6Sabre$70,699$33.99
7Morgan Stanley$69,526$33.43
8Marcus & Millichap$68,840$33.10
9Deloitte$67,313$32.36
10Prudential Bank$66,869$32.15
11Stanford University$66,860$32.14
12IEEE Foundation$64,647$31.08
13Baptist Health Home Care$63,510$30.53
14BCforward$63,285$30.43
15Discover Vision$63,252$30.41
16Experis US Inc$62,123$29.87
17Regional Medical Center- Orangeburg$61,741$29.68
18Cenergy International Services$60,214$28.95
19Thomas Jefferson Foundation$59,306$28.51
20Burton Snowboards$59,108$28.42

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$52,000$51,600$51,200$50,800$50,400$50,000
MaleFemale

Event Planner salary by industry

The average event planner salary varies across industries:

  • The average event planner salary in the technology industry is $53,126, the highest of any industry.
  • The average event planner salary in the finance industry is $51,316.
  • Event planners in the hospitality industry earn an average salary of $43,504, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for event planners

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Technology$53,126$25.54
2Health Care$51,316$24.67
3Professional$51,121$24.58
4Manufacturing$49,527$23.81
5Media$48,930$23.52
6Education$47,958$23.06
7Non Profits$47,663$22.91
8Retail$45,614$21.93
9Hospitality$43,504$20.92

High paying event planner jobs

Event planner salary trends

The average event planner salary has risen by $5,538 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average event planner earned $46,004 annually, but today, they earn $51,542 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for event planners over the last decade.

Compare event planner salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average event planner salary over time

Compare event planner salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Event planner salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$51,500$24.78+1.9%
2024$50,600$24.32+2.4%
2023$49,400$23.73+2.2%
2022$48,300$23.21+1.9%
2021$47,300$22.76+1.1%

Recently added event planner salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
Marsh McLennan Agency-MichiganOliver Wyman-Events PlannerNew York, NY06/30/2025$74,000
TheconnectEvent PlannerNew York, NY06/29/2025$46,000
Wintrust Financial CorpEvent PlannerRosemont, IL06/28/2025$59,000
IslandwoodEvent PlannerBainbridge Island, WA06/28/2025$48,523
Core MarkEvent PlannerEnglewood, CO06/27/2025$65,000
Performance Food GroupEvent PlannerEnglewood, CO06/27/2025$65,000
National Governors AssociationEvent PlannerWashington, DC06/27/2025$80,000
Robert HalfEvent Planner IntermediateTempe, AZ06/26/2025$56,349
SwmgEvent PlannerFort Worth, TX06/26/2025$41,740
Surface Experts FranchisingEvents PlannerSpokane, WA06/26/2025$58,436

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