Concert Ticket Prices Across the United States: A Comparison

If you’ve spent any amount of time purchasing concert tickets, you probably have a fair idea of what a “normal” price is in your market. Top tier acts in arenas, summer amphitheater shows, intimate clubs featuring up-and-comers, they all have their variations. But what about how your city compares to another nearby? Or across the country?

The staff of Wanderu.com put its analytical hats on, and put together a pretty comprehensive breakdown of how things vary from market to market across the United States, and found some interesting things. Of course, the headlining markets are a lot of the ones you might expect. Los Angeles and Las Vegas were No. 1-2, which makes sense given the fact that much of the industry calls LA home (not to mention the high cost of living there), and Vegas is America’s playground, where just about everything comes at a premium price.

New York was actually No. 7 on the list, which came as a surprise to us, having ventured to the Big Apple many a time for shows that don’t make it to central Connecticut.

On the whole, the trend is one that makes sense – bigger cities with higher cost of living wind up having a higher per-ticket price average. But there’s a lot of ways to save on your concert buck by finding a nearby option if you live in one of the top price tier cities and want a bargain. (Which, given Wanderu’s status as a website that aggregates bus and train fares, is probably their whole point, from a marketing perspective).

Check out the national chart below – they began with a hypothetical $100 ticket, and used market averages to show what that ticket would cost depending on your market. For those looking to stretch that concert dollar even further, try searching for one of the lower-tier markets near you for shows on TicketClub.com – where members save big with no service fees.

The blog also has regional breakdowns with some further detail. Check it out by clicking the link above, or the infographic below.