Producers and Directors · SOC 27-2012

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Producers and Directorss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for producers and directors. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (15 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 214 metro areas

Producers and Directors: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$131,600	21,910	3.5
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$130,640	5,030	2.1
3	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$110,190	190	0.8
4	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$108,460	27,020	2.8
5	Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$102,340	860	5.3
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$100,270	4,230	1.4
7	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$100,060	620	1.5
8	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$99,520	990	0.6
9	Salem, OR	$98,900	50	0.3
10	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$97,360	470	0.3
11	Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$92,510	110	0.3
12	Bellingham, WA	$92,220	40	0.4
13	Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	$89,390	370	1.2
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$88,450	1,160	1.0
15	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$87,980	3,020	1.1
16	Vallejo, CA	$87,910	30	0.2
17	Salinas, CA	$87,900	100	0.5
18	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$86,680	1,660	0.8
19	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$85,040	2,590	0.6
20	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$83,850	2,640	1.0
21	Rochester, NY	$83,030	360	0.7
22	St. Louis, MO-IL	$82,750	670	0.5
23	Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY	$82,440	160	0.6
24	Boulder, CO	$81,500	220	1.1
25	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$80,960	1,710	1.2

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Producers and Directors overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.