Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 27-4015

Lighting Technicians

The published band from $42,310 to $130,760 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Technical Writers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Lighting Technicians: Technical Writers ($90K) , Sound Engineering Technicians ($73K) , Writers and Authors ($77K) , Commercial and Industrial Designers ($84K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Lighting Technicians publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 27-4015 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Assess safety of wiring or equipment set-up to determine the risk of fire or electrical shock
  2. 2. Consult with lighting director or production staff to determine lighting requirements
  3. 3. Disassemble and store equipment after performances
  4. 4. Install color effects or image patterns, such as color filters, onto lighting fixtures
  5. 5. Install electrical cables or wire fixtures
  6. 6. Load, unload, or position lighting equipment
  7. 7. Match light fixture settings, such as brightness and color, to lighting design plans
  8. 8. Notify supervisors when major lighting equipment repairs are needed
  9. 9. Operate manual or automated systems to control lighting throughout productions
  10. 10. Patch or wire lights to dimmers or other electronic consoles
  11. 11. Perform minor repairs or routine maintenance on lighting equipment, such as replacing lamps or damaged color filters
  12. 12. Program lighting consoles or load automated lighting control systems onto consoles
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$42,310 to $130,760
median $68,060 · ~3.1× spread
$68K
National median
↓ -5%
Growth 2024-2034
800
Annual openings
8,900
Estimated US jobs
Technical Writers
Highest-pay peer · $90K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Postsecondary nondegree award

Top Paying States for Lighting Technicians

1. Nevada $61,250
2. Oklahoma $67,110
3. New York $78,000
4. Georgia $70,150
5. Connecticut $72,450
6. California $94,070
7. New Jersey $87,550
8. Washington $126,100
9. Florida $62,190
10. Louisiana $66,840

Other Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles

  1. 1. Sound Engineering Technicians $73,130
  2. 2. Writers and Authors $76,910
  3. 3. Commercial and Industrial Designers $83,910
  4. 4. Public Relations Specialists $74,750
  5. 5. Technical Writers $90,390
  6. 6. Film and Video Editors $75,420

The OEWS band for Lighting Technicians runs from $42,310 (10th) to $130,760 (90th), about 3.1× wide, with median $68,060. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect -5% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 800 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Nevada at $61,250. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Technical Writers at $90,390. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Lighting Technicians pay-rank #19 in Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

Lighting Technicians sits at pay-rank #19 of 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Lighting Technicians is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Lighting Technicians salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 27-4015

Nevada · top state for Lighting Technicians

$61K published median

Oklahoma · #2 state pay

$67K · behind Nevada

Technical Writers

Highest-pay peer vs Lighting Technicians · $90K

Sound Engineering Technicians

Lower-pay peer beside Lighting Technicians · $73K

Compare Lighting Technicians

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Lighting Technicians with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Lighting Technicians mid-table among Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #19 of 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Interior Designers ($67K), Athletes and Sports Competitors ($67K), Media and Communication Equipment Workers, All Other ($71K), Designers, All Other ($65K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do lighting technicians do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Lighting Technicians. Leading ones include: Assess safety of wiring or equipment set-up to determine the risk of fire or electrical shock; Consult with lighting director or production staff to determine lighting requirements; Disassemble and store equipment after performances; Install color effects or image patterns, such as color filters, onto lighting fixtures. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
How wide is the published pay band for Lighting Technicians? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $42,310 and the 90th at $130,760 for Lighting Technicians (3.1× spread). The national median is $68,060. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Lighting Technicians? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Lighting Technicians is -5%. Projected annual openings: about 800. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Lighting Technicians? ▼
BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Lighting Technicians. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Lighting Technicians? ▼
Nevada ($61,250), Oklahoma ($67,110), New York ($78,000) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Lighting Technicians card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 27-4015. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Lighting Technicians. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics