Skip to content
TryHired.
Salary · Event Planner · United States

Event Planner salary: $61,160 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$61,160median ($29.41/hr)

Hourly pay, BLS May 2025: 10th percentile $17.71 · 25th $22.58 · median $29.41 · 75th $37.88 · 90th $48.90.

Quick answer

The median annual wage for meeting, convention, and event planners in the United States was $61,160 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $36,830 and the top 10% earned more than $101,700. That median is 1.2 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was District of Columbia ($76,970).

Data Government data groups this job as Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners (O*NET-SOC 13-1121.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

10th percentile
$36,830
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$46,970
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$78,790
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$101,700
top 10% earn more
Key facts

More on event planner pay

  • The median hourly wage for workers in the BLS occupation “Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners” in the United States was $29.41 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The middle half of workers in the BLS occupation “Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners” in the United States earned between $46,970 and $78,790 a year in May 2025 (25th to 75th percentile, BLS).

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The lowest-paid 10% of workers in the BLS occupation “Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners” in the United States earned less than $36,830 a year in May 2025, and the top 10% more than $101,700 (BLS).

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The mean annual wage for workers in the BLS occupation “Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners” in the United States was $66,520 in May 2025, according to BLS; the mean is a different measure from the median.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • BLS estimated that 142,860 people were employed in the BLS occupation “Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners” in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Pay by state

Event Planner salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 50 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. District of Columbia$76,970
  2. Massachusetts$75,740
  3. New York$74,730
  4. Hawaii$74,460
  5. Vermont$74,310
Most people employed
  1. California20,650
  2. Texas10,730
  3. Florida10,480
  4. New York10,330
  5. Illinois5,220
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
District of Columbia$76,970$53,320–$121,4102,360
Massachusetts$75,740$48,960–$133,9804,640
New York$74,730$45,600–$129,98010,330
Hawaii$74,460$39,760–$98,560550
Vermont$74,310$50,270–$89,690430
New Jersey$72,780$46,790–$121,0902,160
California$71,120$44,850–$121,31020,650
Connecticut$70,010$44,710–$124,3701,450
Washington$65,530$45,070–$100,1903,600
Maryland$63,280$38,990–$107,7702,570
New Hampshire$63,250$47,650–$97,780510
Colorado$62,050$40,140–$102,7104,650
Arizona$61,330$38,820–$92,7303,440
Louisiana$61,150$35,460–$99,910610
Oregon$61,120$42,770–$84,6802,020
Virginia$60,930$40,140–$102,2804,230
Florida$60,270$32,930–$100,47010,480
Rhode Island$59,910$36,400–$96,140890
Illinois$59,840$35,810–$104,7205,220
Pennsylvania$58,170$37,730–$90,3803,940
Maine$57,900$45,760–$80,410490
Minnesota$57,710$37,680–$93,7303,160
Nevada$57,610$31,200–$87,4302,060
Texas$57,470$34,990–$95,45010,730
Missouri$56,900$31,190–$83,5002,500
Wyoming$55,550$42,410–$84,860120
Alaska$54,990$43,580–$82,720150
North Carolina$54,990$32,670–$99,4204,340
Kansas$54,840$25,870–$86,090920
Utah$54,150$32,030–$90,2201,970
Wisconsin$53,940$35,660–$88,5302,690
Arkansas$53,040$31,190–$102,170550
Michigan$52,780$36,580–$80,6403,560
Nebraska$52,630$43,520–$76,660610
Alabama$52,180$36,150–$82,940980
Tennessee$52,000$36,300–$78,1003,260
South Carolina$51,830$30,770–$80,7901,240
Iowa$51,750$36,100–$78,7101,120
North Dakota$51,700$36,300–$76,760300
New Mexico$50,820$35,550–$74,970350
Indiana$50,090$34,860–$82,9202,140
Ohio$49,900$29,910–$81,6404,750
Kentucky$49,280$31,310–$80,1101,110
Georgia$49,250$30,100–$84,5305,050
Delaware$49,020$34,330–$79,870400
Montana$49,000$35,210–$75,150350
Oklahoma$48,990$29,620–$76,2401,440
South Dakota$47,050$36,310–$66,060340
Mississippi$44,680$27,370–$73,150360
West Virginia$35,760$28,110–$63,710300
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$90,560
  2. Kahului-Wailuku, HI$84,640
  3. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$82,120
  4. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$78,610
  5. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$78,010
  6. Trenton-Princeton, NJ$77,010
  7. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$75,450
  8. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT$73,890
  9. Burlington-South Burlington, VT$71,720
  10. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$71,100
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Public Relations Manager$146,910
  2. Project Manager$102,320
  3. Logistician$82,320
  4. Public Relations Specialist$74,750
  5. Fundraiser$72,550
  6. Office Manager$69,500
  7. Event Planner$61,160
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Pay by industry

What OEWS reports by employing industry

Data Median and mean annual wage for event planner jobs in the industries employing the most of them (May 2025). Among the 5 industries here that meet TryHired's reliability rule (5,000+ jobs, 5%+ of establishments reporting, low sampling error, a non-degenerate wage distribution), OEWS reports the highest median for those employed in business, professional, labor, political, and similar organizations ($67,490).

Pay by industry
IndustryJobsMedian annual wageMean annual wage
Other Support Services9,900$63,850$70,200
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools9,190$61,810$64,930
Traveler Accommodation9,030$63,280$68,730
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations7,880$67,490$72,880
Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events7,660$54,080$59,760
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services6,050$70,040$75,660
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)5,810$58,460$60,540
Restaurants and Other Eating Places5,720$57,640$59,980

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 national industry-specific estimates (A_MEDIAN and A_MEAN fields), detailed industries with at least 1,000 such jobs. Since May 2025 OEWS publishes specific values for many wages that used to appear only as “$239,200 or more”; values BLS still marks that way are shown that way. Industry estimates differ; they are not a forecast of anyone's pay after a move.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.

Keep exploring

More for Event Planners

More careers

Similar careers to explore