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Music Directors and Composers pay in New Jersey and Utah
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Music Directors and Composers is $122,750 per year in New Jersey. It is $82,570 per year in Utah. New Jersey is 48.7% above Utah on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 27-2041 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 210 wage and salary jobs in New Jersey and 150 in Utah. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings