Average Disc Jockeys, Except Radio Salary in the United States

Disc Jockeys, Except Radio are typically paid by the hour rather than on an annual salary. BLS reports a national median hourly wage of $21.61 per hour and tracks 7,920 workers nationally.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates . Data covers 25 states and 28 metro areas.

No annual salary published. BLS does not publish an annual wage estimate for Disc Jockeys, Except Radio. This happens with occupations where most work is project-based, hourly, or on irregular schedules (think actors, athletes, musicians, dancers, and some fine art roles). Hourly wages are shown below where available.

National hourly wage

Hourly pay for disc jockeys, except radio across all workers captured in the latest BLS survey.

Median hourly wage: $21.61/hr
Mean hourly wage: $32.57/hr
10th percentile: $13.50/hr
90th percentile: $60.17/hr

Hourly rates for disc jockeys, except radio vary widely by project type, union status, and experience. These figures include both short-engagement and extended work.

National employment

Workers tracked nationally: 7,920
Jobs per 1,000 workers: N/A

Where disc jockeys, except radio earn the most per hour

BLS publishes hourly wage data for some locations but not others. Here are the locations with the highest reported median hourly wage.

By hourly wage

Top-paying states

Hawaii: $54.55/hr
Wisconsin: $27.69/hr
South Dakota: $27.27/hr
North Carolina: $26.30/hr
New York: $25.51/hr
Illinois: $22.87/hr
Washington: $22.79/hr
Idaho: $22.33/hr

By hourly wage

Top-paying metros

Urban Honolulu, HI: $45.29/hr
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: $38.06/hr
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: $29.07/hr
Sioux Falls, SD-MN: $27.27/hr
Green Bay, WI: $26.78/hr
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: $25.86/hr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: $23.52/hr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: $22.87/hr

Where disc jockeys, except radio work

Locations with the largest workforce for this occupation. The "concentration" number next to each area shows how common this job is locally compared to the rest of the country — anything above 1.00 means the area has a higher-than-average share of disc jockeys, except radio.

By employment

States with the most jobs

California: 2,190

LQ 2.36
Texas: 820

LQ 1.14
New York: 450

LQ 0.91
Michigan: 360

LQ 1.62
Missouri: 360

LQ 2.39
Wisconsin: 360

LQ 2.42
New Jersey: 220

LQ 1.02
Ohio: 190

LQ 0.67

By employment

Metros with the most jobs

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 1,450

LQ 4.55
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 410

LQ 0.85
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 170

LQ 0.85
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI: 170

LQ 4.06
St. Louis, MO-IL: 170

LQ 2.44
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 140

LQ 0.98
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI: 130

LQ 1.33
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 110

LQ 0.73

Job outlook

BLS projects employment for disc jockeys, except radio from 2024 to 2034. Growth is roughly in line with the US average of about 4% across all occupations.

Projected growth: +3.8%; 600 net jobs over the projection period
Annual openings: 1,500; Includes growth plus replacements
Typical entry education: High school diploma or equivalent

A high-school diploma is typically sufficient for entry, with much of the training happening on the job.

Related occupations

Other jobs in the same field. Some of these are also hourly or project-based occupations without a published annual salary.