Top Metros for Meeting and Event Planners: New York Leads, High Pay in San Jose, San Francisco, and Hawaii

Across the country, meeting, convention, and event planners earn a national median salary of $61,160, with 142,860 people working in the occupation. National projected employment growth of 4.8% provides broad context for the field as a whole, but the metro data show that local markets can look quite different from that national picture. Among the 10 top‑ranked metros in this LaborCove analysis, multiple areas show median salaries above the national median, and the largest single metro employment count reaches 9,050 planners. At the same time, LaborCove Geography Scores and rankings do not line up perfectly with either salary or employment, underscoring that the strongest overall metros in our model reflect a combination of factors rather than just one metric.

Nationally, meeting, convention, and event planners have a median annual salary of $61,160 and employment of 142,860. Within the top 10 metros, several locations show median pay above that national median. New York–Newark–Jersey City, NY‑NJ, which ranks #1 in the LaborCove metro list, has a median salary of $78,610 for planners, above the national median. Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, CA, ranked #2, also sits above the national figure with a median salary of $68,850. On the employment side, no single metro in this list comes close to matching total national employment, which is expected because the national figure aggregates all regions. The largest metro‑level employment count in the top 10 is 9,050 in New York–Newark–Jersey City, compared with the national total of 142,860.

New York–Newark–Jersey City, NY‑NJ holds the #1 ranking with a LaborCove Geography Score of 81.98, a median salary of $78,610, and employment of 9,050 planners. This is the highest employment count among the top 10 metros. Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, CA ranks #2 with a Geography Score of 67.84, a median salary of $68,850, and employment of 7,300. While the Los Angeles employment count is smaller than New York’s 9,050, it still represents one of the largest planner concentrations in this set. Both metros have median salaries above the national median of $61,160, but New York’s Geography Score of 81.98 is higher than Los Angeles’s 67.84. This shows that the top two metros differ not just in pay and employment, but also in overall standing within LaborCove’s scoring framework.

Several metros in the top 10 pair relatively high median salaries with mid‑to‑upper rankings. San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont, CA, ranked #3, reports a median salary of $82,120, a LaborCove Geography Score of 63.75, and employment of 3,490 planners. San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, CA, ranked #4, shows an even higher median salary of $90,560, alongside a Geography Score of 62.60 and employment of 1,190. Kahului–Wailuku, HI stands out with a median salary of $84,640 for planners and a Geography Score of 49.22, but with an employment count of 130. Within this top‑10 group, Kahului’s median salary exceeds those reported for New York–Newark–Jersey City and Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, though its Geography Score is lower and its employment count is much smaller. These examples highlight that a metro can record a high median salary while ranking below areas with lower pay. LaborCove’s rankings therefore help distinguish metros that offer different combinations of compensation, employment scale, and Geography Scores.

Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC‑VA‑MD‑WV ranks #5 with a Geography Score of 62.38, a median salary of $75,450, and employment of 5,140. Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA‑NH follows at #6, with a Geography Score of 60.20, a median salary of $78,010, and employment of 3,650. Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL‑IN is ranked #7, with a Geography Score of 52.32, a median salary of $62,640, and 4,230 planners employed. Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, WA, ranked #8, has a Geography Score of 51.66, a median salary of $69,890, and employment of 2,450. Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington, TX completes this segment at #9, with a Geography Score of 49.91, a median salary of $62,720, and employment of 3,380. Within this cluster, Washington and Boston have median salaries well above the national median of $61,160, while Chicago and Dallas sit closer to that national benchmark. Employment counts range from 2,450 in Seattle to 5,140 in Washington among these five metros.

The ordering of the top 10 metros illustrates that the highest median salary does not automatically produce the highest ranking. For example, San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara reports a higher median salary ($90,560) than New York–Newark–Jersey City ($78,610) but ranks #4 compared with New York’s #1 ranking. Similarly, Kahului–Wailuku, HI shows a median salary of $84,640 yet ranks #10. Employment ordering also differs from ranking. New York–Newark–Jersey City has the largest employment count among the top 10, at 9,050 planners, and holds the #1 rank. However, Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, with 7,300 planners, ranks #2, while Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, with 5,140 planners, is ranked #5. Because rankings, salaries, employment counts, and LaborCove Geography Scores do not move in lockstep, planners using this data can focus on the specific combinations that matter most to them—such as prioritizing a higher Geography Score, higher median pay relative to the national median, or a larger local employment count.

LaborCove’s metro rankings for meeting, convention, and event planners (occupation 13‑1121) combine authoritative labor‑market data with our LaborCove Geography Score. For this article, national employment, national median annual salary, and national projected employment growth refer to the occupation across the United States. Geographic data for metros include median annual salary, employment counts, and LaborCove Geography Scores. The underlying occupational employment and wage observations are referenced to May 2025; the 2026 report year reflects when LaborCove packages and publishes the analysis, not when the pay and employment were observed. National projected employment growth of 4.8% is a national‑level projection only; no state‑ or metro‑level growth projections are used in these rankings. LaborCove’s Geography Score is a composite indicator derived from our internal scoring methodology. The score summarizes multiple inputs into a single value but does not by itself describe job‑opening counts, hiring probability, or individual career outcomes. Because planners’ preferences differ, these rankings should be considered alongside your own priorities, including location preferences and non‑labor‑market factors that are outside the scope of this dataset.