The earnings of stage managers vary greatly depending on an individual's experience, responsibilities, reputation, the type of theater and production, the company, location, and industry staging the production, and sometimes even the number of seats in a theater. Individuals working in union situations have their earnings negotiated by the Actors' Equity Association. Each type of Equity theater has a different contract. Minimum earnings are higher for those involved in Broadway musicals, for example, than those working in summer stock.
Salary.com reports that the median annual compensation for stage managers was $52,789 in May 2025, with the lowest 10 percent earning $38,851 or less and the highest 10 percent earning $66,761 or more. Stage managers do not always work every week of the year. Employment is tied to the length of an engagement and typically ends when a show closes, leaving the stage manager to seek new opportunities.
Benefits for full-time workers include vacation and sick time, health, and sometimes dental, insurance, and pension or 401(k) plans. Self-employed stage managers must provide their own benefits.
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