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Music Directors and Composers pay in New Jersey and Washington
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Music Directors and Composers is $122,750 per year in New Jersey. It is $75,060 per year in Washington. New Jersey is 63.5% above Washington 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 260 in Washington. 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