Pay by state · 51 states
Media Programming Director Salary by State (2026)
Media Programming Directors earn the most in California at $129,790 a year and the least in Arkansas at $38,820 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $90,360. All 51 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.
- Highest median
- $129,790California
- National median
- $90,360BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Lowest median
- $38,820Arkansas
- States reporting
- 51of 54 OEWS areas
All states
Media Programming Director salary in every state
Sort by any column. Employment is the number of media programming directors OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CACalifornia | $129,790 | $83,110 | $172,410 | 34,110 | $117,224 |
| 2 | NJNew Jersey | $119,840 | $78,120 | $161,550 | 2,970 | $110,142 |
| 3 | NYNew York | $107,550 | $79,700 | $169,260 | 27,990 | $99,656 |
| 4 | DCDistrict of Columbia | $104,270 | $82,580 | $133,180 | 2,640 | $94,876 |
| 5 | CTConnecticut | $88,260 | $63,030 | $138,850 | 2,200 | $85,185 |
| 6 | OROregon | $87,460 | $60,260 | $123,320 | 1,640 | $84,616 |
| 7 | RIRhode Island | $84,250 | $58,050 | $98,910 | 560 | $82,372 |
| 8 | WAWashington | $81,550 | $62,760 | $128,030 | 2,270 | $76,206 |
| 9 | ILIllinois | $81,080 | $58,790 | $106,320 | 3,170 | $81,114 |
| 10 | MAMassachusetts | $80,970 | $60,220 | $105,940 | 3,440 | $76,562 |
| 11 | GAGeorgia | $79,950 | $64,540 | $125,780 | 5,010 | $83,028 |
| 12 | FLFlorida | $79,920 | $62,360 | $109,670 | 7,160 | $77,282 |
| 13 | MDMaryland | $79,350 | $58,580 | $111,990 | 1,610 | $75,601 |
| 14 | NVNevada | $78,480 | $54,630 | $119,620 | 1,630 | $78,496 |
| 15 | COColorado | $78,060 | $58,500 | $99,310 | 1,960 | $75,748 |
| 16 | MNMinnesota | $76,360 | $53,510 | $100,300 | 1,390 | $77,428 |
| 17 | UTUtah | $76,350 | $50,000 | $118,520 | 1,670 | $77,227 |
| 18 | PAPennsylvania | $75,460 | $55,040 | $100,290 | 4,200 | $77,338 |
| 19 | TNTennessee | $73,020 | $49,650 | $99,220 | 2,920 | $79,482 |
| 20 | DEDelaware | $72,650 | $59,640 | $158,510 | 150 | $72,790 |
| 21 | TXTexas | $71,710 | $49,020 | $99,100 | 6,610 | $73,884 |
| 22 | MEMaine | $71,320 | $48,970 | $126,820 | 400 | $73,488 |
| 23 | OHOhio | $69,350 | $52,590 | $93,090 | 1,610 | $74,752 |
| 24 | AZArizona | $67,320 | $49,640 | $105,330 | 1,720 | $66,867 |
| 25 | MOMissouri | $66,460 | $48,710 | $103,440 | 1,630 | $73,180 |
| 26 | WIWisconsin | $66,390 | $49,080 | $92,420 | 1,600 | $70,556 |
| 27 | HIHawaii | $66,190 | $49,620 | $82,750 | 510 | $60,200 |
| 28 | VAVirginia | $65,900 | $47,550 | $93,180 | 2,820 | $65,180 |
| 29 | MIMichigan | $65,720 | $49,900 | $94,590 | 2,310 | $68,304 |
| 30 | NCNorth Carolina | $63,700 | $40,230 | $88,430 | 3,500 | $67,532 |
| 31 | ALAlabama | $63,340 | $45,780 | $81,000 | 1,040 | $71,310 |
| 32 | LALouisiana | $62,920 | $45,750 | $108,800 | 880 | $71,332 |
| 33 | OKOklahoma | $61,600 | $45,590 | $89,010 | 770 | $70,125 |
| 34 | NHNew Hampshire | $61,560 | $45,560 | $80,810 | 300 | $59,099 |
| 35 | IDIdaho | $61,150 | $47,520 | $77,580 | 380 | $64,035 |
| 36 | KSKansas | $60,600 | $40,210 | $78,740 | 420 | $67,282 |
| 37 | WYWyoming | $60,420 | $42,230 | $73,930 | 130 | $65,184 |
| 38 | SDSouth Dakota | $60,260 | $47,320 | $72,610 | 170 | $68,024 |
| 39 | INIndiana | $59,870 | $41,890 | $80,490 | 1,480 | $64,149 |
| 40 | IAIowa | $58,550 | $42,980 | $75,650 | 720 | $66,715 |
| 41 | NDNorth Dakota | $57,870 | $42,910 | $75,600 | 170 | $65,052 |
| 42 | SCSouth Carolina | $56,030 | $45,540 | $84,990 | 1,190 | $59,766 |
| 43 | VTVermont | $55,660 | $47,030 | $82,460 | 290 | $56,820 |
| 44 | KYKentucky | $54,550 | $45,680 | $74,830 | 950 | $60,504 |
| 45 | AKAlaska | $54,060 | $45,030 | $70,310 | 160 | $52,814 |
| 46 | MTMontana | $52,580 | $40,070 | $76,990 | 390 | $55,555 |
| 47 | NENebraska | $52,580 | $44,280 | $76,690 | 470 | $58,355 |
| 48 | PRPuerto Rico | $48,820 | $35,830 | $70,630 | 260 | N/A |
| 49 | MSMississippi | $48,100 | $41,370 | $63,090 | 390 | $55,317 |
| 50 | WVWest Virginia | $46,660 | $39,650 | $75,520 | 230 | $52,136 |
| 51 | ARArkansas | $38,820 | $27,000 | $54,180 | 700 | $44,653 |
Method
How the cost-of-living adjustment works
The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.
For Media Programming Directors, that changes the ranking: California leads on raw pay at $129,790, while California leads once prices are taken into account at $117,224.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.
Questions
Media Programming Director pay by state: FAQ
Which state pays Media Programming Directors the most?
California reports the highest median wage for Media Programming Directors at $129,790 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by New Jersey ($119,840) and New York ($107,550).
Which state pays Media Programming Directors the least?
Arkansas reports the lowest median for Media Programming Directors at $38,820 a year, $90,970 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Where do Media Programming Directors earn the most after cost of living?
Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts California first at $117,224 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $129,790. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.