Event Marketing Compensation Report

Inside the salary standards and key trends for 2023

It's 2023, which means it's time for our second annual Event Marketing Compensation Report!

Our original goal in creating this report was to shed more light on industry standards around pay and compensation. Digital marketing is still a relatively newish career in the grand scheme of things, and information around pay in any industry can be somewhat opaque.

We want to change that!

At Goldcast, we fully believe knowledge is power. The more marketers know about what's standard in the industry, the more they can assess whether they're being compensated fairly and advocate for themselves.

how to use this report

If you saw our report last year, you might notice quite a few things are comparatively stable in this year's report. We think that's a good thing; volatility is definitely not what we want to see when it comes to salary and career growth!

As you read, please keep in mind that compensation (and how appropriate it is) depends on a lot of extraneous factors. For example, if you live in a small town and work remotely, your salary is going to go a lot further than the same amount of money in New York City.

If you're using this data to create a target for your own salary or to assess whether you should be satisfied with what you're making, be sure to account for any key critical factors like the one we just described.

Following that example, if you live somewhere with a low cost of living, perhaps your salary will be a little lower than some of your peers. Or, maybe you have the same manager-level title as another person, but your job is broader in scope, and so you make more.

Salary will never be a one-size-fits-all deal. The number that is right for your role will depend on the industry you're in, how experienced you are, where you live, where your company is at growth-wise, and so much more.

The goal of reports like this is simply to create some transparency around what people are paid and begin to spark dialogue among professional marketers. A major discrepancy between the numbers you see here and what you make, for example, would probably raise an eyebrow—even with all other things considered.

Report overview

Looking for a deeper dive? Watch our on-demand report overview, where we break down the details of this year’s report. Enjoy the full session or use the chapters to skip around!

✨ Want Career Clarity? Watch our Career Workshop with Guided Coaching!

About The Report️

To compile the report, we surveyed 208 marketers across 31 states. The overwhelming majority of respondents self-identified as women (90%), with the remaining 10% being men.

Almost all survey participants were based in the United States, with most responses coming in from a handful of U.S. states.

We had respondents across all levels of seniority, including associate, manager, director, and vice president.

Here’s a quick breakdown of location and company information for survey participants

Respondents by state

Of the 31 states from which we received responses, there was an emphasis on major event markets: 43% from California, 14% from Massachusetts, and 9% from New York.

Respondents by Company Size

People worked at companies of all sizes. The majority (34% and 33%, respectively) are employed by companies with 100-500 workers and 500-2000 workers—a good indicator that there are many positions for marketers open at small and mid-size companies.

Completing the pool were companies with less than 100 employees (17% of respondents), organizations with 2,000-10K employers (11%), and large companies with more than 10K workers (5%).

Respondents By Industry

Our respondent pool skewed heavily toward the tech side, with 78.4% of folks working in the Computer Software & IT industries. We also saw a fair amount of people who worked in Professional Services or Financial Services (around 4% each).

Beyond that, a smaller number of people identified their industry as:
•Life Sciences
•Hospital & Healthcare
•Manufacturing
•Media
•Transportation
•Retail

Average event marketing salary

This is down very slightly (just half of a percent, or 0.5%) from last year's average of $125,885.

Interestingly, though, salaries in each respective market appear to have increased—sometimes pretty significantly!

$125,224

This is down very slightly (just half of a percent, or 0.5%) from last year's average of $125,885.

Interestingly, though, salaries in each respective market appear to have increased—sometimes pretty significantly!

California: $147,715 (a 1.15% increase over last year)

Massachusetts: $136,283 (a 13.28% increase!)

New York: $134,875 (an 8.08% increase)

It's one thing to look at numbers on paper, but remember that salary is just one data point. To understand what these stats mean in the grander scheme of things, we'll need more contextual insights. (Those are coming next, btw!)

Additional Resources

We've uncovered so much valuable data today! We hope you now have a better understanding of what kind of compensation to expect as an event marketer, as well as where your experience can lead you down the line.

Be sure to use this info to spark new conversations with your peers and colleagues in the industry! The more people talk about money, the better.

And if you're looking for additional resources on Event Marketing compensation and careers, keep scrolling! Here are a few of our favorites.👇


Salary and compensation research

This report is a great starting point, but be sure to check other salary sources as well. There are several great databases with vast research on various titles, markets, etc.

☑️ Comparably and Glassdoor are excellent resources for not only salary information, but also additional benefits and company culture.

☑️ Salary.com and Payscale provide large data sets with detailed information on specific titles, years of experience, location, and more.

☑️ LinkedIn, every professional’s favorite social network, offers a handy salary tool paired with a job search feature that lists relevant roles.  

☑️ BuiltIn is a wonderful resource for folks in the tech space, particularly in large markets like Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, and many more. 

event marketing communities

Are you looking to connect with other event marketers in a friendly, welcoming environment? If so, you’re sure to find your people at these community groups. Check them out!

Event Marketers ClubField and event marketing card FTW card.Event Profs Unite.
Goldcast resources
Event Marketers Path to Leadership.Event Marketers Live. 
CMO Diaries.

Looking to showcase the ROI of your event programs? Learn how to connect the data dots with Goldcast.