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Event manager salary

Average event manager salary

$51,117

$24.58 hourly rate

Entry-level event manager salary
$33,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding Event Manager Salaries

The average salary for Event Managers stands at $51,117 per year, translating to about $25 per hour. This salary can differ based on several factors, including geographic location, years of experience, and the specific industry. For instance, Event Managers in metropolitan areas often earn more due to higher demand and living costs.

Salary by Experience Level

Entry-level Event Managers typically start at lower salaries, around $40,000, while those with extensive experience can command over $70,000 annually. This salary growth reflects increased responsibilities and the ability to manage larger events effectively.

Regional Salary Variations

States such as New York and California tend to offer higher salaries for Event Managers, driven by a thriving events industry. In contrast, regions with fewer events may see lower average salaries.

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Where can an Event Manager earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
86k
66k
46k
26k
6k
Columbus, OH$67,215
Indianapolis, IN$36,072
Compare salary by company
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172k
152k
132k
112k
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VMware$144,457
Agilysys$81,935

Event manager salaries by experience level

Experience levelAvg. salaryHourly rate
Entry-level event manager$43,300$20.80
Mid-level event manager$52,700$25.35
Senior-level event manager$62,200$29.90

Event manager salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for an event manager typically falls between $51,117 and $69,028.
zippia
$51,117yearly
glassdoor[1]
$69,028yearly
indeed[2]
$61,467yearly
comparably[3]
$61,812yearly
ZipRecruiter[4]
$63,500yearly
payscale[5]
$60,363yearly

Average event manager salary by state

The average event manager salary in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average event manager salary states are Utah, Nebraska, and Alaska.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for event managers

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1New Jersey$68,100$32.74
2Connecticut$64,032$30.78
3Pennsylvania$59,004$28.37
4New York$66,773$32.10
5District of Columbia$61,391$29.51
6Virginia$54,053$25.99
7Vermont$52,501$25.24
8Washington$56,231$27.03
9Massachusetts$60,483$29.08
10Maine$61,191$29.42
11California$57,126$27.46
12Maryland$49,850$23.97
13Tennessee$51,075$24.56
14New Mexico$54,491$26.20
15New Hampshire$53,607$25.77
16Texas$52,285$25.14
17Rhode Island$47,285$22.73
18Delaware$45,559$21.90
19West Virginia$49,970$24.02
20Ohio$45,335$21.80
21Michigan$44,810$21.54
22Arizona$48,633$23.38
23Mississippi$42,645$20.50
24Wisconsin$42,842$20.60
25Nevada$46,769$22.49
26Oregon$46,085$22.16
27Hawaii$53,940$25.93
28Georgia$47,923$23.04
29Illinois$44,111$21.21
30Alabama$46,067$22.15
31Florida$43,265$20.80
32North Dakota$40,331$19.39
33North Carolina$42,921$20.64
34Colorado$40,511$19.48
35Minnesota$41,845$20.12
36Oklahoma$42,377$20.37
37Kentucky$37,570$18.06
38Utah$33,480$16.10
39Montana$35,176$16.91
40Idaho$34,739$16.70
41Kansas$39,975$19.22
42South Dakota$35,746$17.19
43South Carolina$40,009$19.24
44Wyoming$32,957$15.84
45Louisiana$40,645$19.54
46Indiana$36,389$17.49
47Alaska$33,295$16.01
48Iowa$34,705$16.69
49Arkansas$31,439$15.11
50Nebraska$33,365$16.04
51Missouri$29,935$14.39

Highest paying cities for event managers

The highest-paying cities for event managers are New York, NY, Washington, DC, and San Francisco, CA.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1New York, NY$67,215$32.31
2Washington, DC$61,368$29.50
3San Francisco, CA$60,659$29.16
4Boston, MA$60,264$28.97
5Philadelphia, PA$59,997$28.84
6Seattle, WA$56,384$27.11
7Arlington, VA$55,936$26.89
8San Antonio, TX$53,009$25.49
9Baltimore, MD$50,180$24.13
10Columbus, GA$48,135$23.14
11Cleveland, OH$47,701$22.93
12Las Vegas, NV$46,749$22.48
13Detroit, MI$45,275$21.77
14Chicago, IL$44,461$21.38
15Raleigh, NC$44,179$21.24
16Tampa, FL$43,681$21.00
17Minneapolis, MN$41,920$20.15
18New Orleans, LA$40,774$19.60
19Colorado Springs, CO$40,736$19.58
20Indianapolis, IN$36,072$17.34

Event Managers are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. New York, NY
  2. Washington, DC
  3. San Francisco, CA
  4. Boston, MA
  5. Philadelphia, PA

Event manager salary details

An event manager's salary ranges from $33,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $77,000 at the 90th percentile.

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

What is an event manager's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$77,000$6,417$37
75th Percentile$63,000$5,250$30
Average$51,117$4,260$25
25th Percentile$41,000$3,417$20
10th Percentile$33,000$2,750$16

Highest paying event manager jobs

The highest paying types of event managers are planning committee member, events marketing manager, and director of events.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Director Of Special Events$63,671$5,306$30.6123,252
Planning Committee Member$81,213$6,768$39.0415,066
Director Of Events$65,971$5,498$31.728,520
Conference Coordinator$41,978$3,498$20.1819,660
Site Coordinator$38,256$3,188$18.3929,397
Manager Of Special Events$56,716$4,726$27.2715,818

Which companies pay event managers the most?

Event manager salaries at VMware and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average event manager salary at companies like Microsoft and NTT Data International L.L.C. Are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1VMware$144,457$69.45
2Google$136,838$65.79
3Microsoft$132,294$63.60
4NTT Data International L.L.C.$119,008$57.22
5Adobe$114,093$54.85
6CrowdStrike$111,970$53.83
7Intel$111,644$53.67
8Capgemini$111,423$53.57
9Workday$107,203$51.54
10Boston Consulting Group$103,044$49.54
11Keysight Technologies$98,842$47.52
12Salesforce$96,993$46.63
13Intuitive Surgical$96,979$46.62
14Medallia$89,774$43.16
15Ngam Advisors, L.P.$89,430$43.00
16HP$88,763$42.67
17Vista Equity Partners$87,343$41.99
18Stripe$87,139$41.89
19Kern Community College District$84,621$40.68
20Agilysys$81,935$39.39

Wage gap by gender, race and education

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

Event Manager salary by industry

The average event manager salary varies across industries:

  • The average event manager salary in the technology industry is $60,803, the highest of any industry.
  • The average event manager salary in the finance industry is $48,522.
  • Event managers in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $42,248, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for event managers

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Technology$60,803$29.23
2Education$48,522$23.33
3Professional$47,783$22.97
4Non Profits$47,248$22.72
5Hospitality$47,130$22.66
6Retail$45,256$21.76
7Media$43,262$20.80
8Manufacturing$42,248$20.31

High paying event manager jobs

Event manager salary trends

The average event manager salary has risen by $5,493 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average event manager earned $45,624 annually, but today, they earn $51,117 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for event managers over the last decade.

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

Average event manager salary over time

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

Event manager salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$51,100$24.58+1.9%
2024$50,200$24.12+2.4%
2023$48,900$23.53+2.2%
2022$47,900$23.02+1.9%
2021$46,900$22.57+1.1%

Recently added event manager salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
Maritz HoldingsEvent Manager IISan Francisco, CA06/30/2025$80,000
FlexportEvents ManagerSan Francisco, CA06/29/2025$94,080
Mjh Life Sciences, LLCEvent ManagerCranbury, NJ06/29/2025$60,000
Lodge at Schroon LakeActivities and Events ManagerSchroon Lake, NY06/29/2025$60,000
Huff N Puff Inc.Event ManagerSchenectady, NY06/29/2025$50,000
City University of New YorkAdministrative Events Manager-Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CunyNew York, NY06/28/2025$90,838
The University of ChicagoEvents ManagerChicago, IL06/28/2025$57,375
Colorado Mesa UniversityUC External Event ManagerGrand Junction, CO06/28/2025$59,000
Colorado State UniversityEvent ManagerFort Collins, CO06/28/2025$60,000
Colorado Bioscience AssociationMember Success and Events ManagerDenver, CO06/27/2025$60,000

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