How Much Do Tour Guides Make?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes pay for tour guides only together with travel guides, in one group it calls tour and travel guides. It counts employees only and publishes no self-employed share for tour guides. Its annual figure assumes a full year of 2,080 hours, which many seasonal guides do not work.
Guides who run their own tours charge per person, so a full group earns far more per hour than a wage does, but only in the weeks people book. No US guide we found published their own income without also selling a course, so this page uses official figures, published tour prices and company job posts. Below are three figures side by side, a ZIP code tool and a calculator.
Which of these is closest to yours depends on whether you draw a wage, run your own tours, or work a short season.
Employed tour guides in the Seattle area earn a median of $63,630, against $38,120 nationally
Every US ZIP code is matched to a BLS area. 240 of the 528 BLS areas publish a median for tour and travel guides; the other 288 show their state's figure. Virginia publishes no state median for this code, so two Virginia areas, Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford and Harrisonburg, show no figure. In New York, Louisiana, Washington, DC and South Carolina, a city licensing rule shows under the result.
Sources: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 39-7010 (tour and travel guides) by area, employees only. 240 areas publish their own median; every other area shows its state's figure. BLS builds each annual figure from the hourly wage over a 2,080-hour work year. ZIP codes are matched to areas with the Census ZIP-to-county file and USDA rural-urban codes. No agency publishes self-employed pay by area, so when the calculator follows a ZIP code, it applies employed guides' local pay level to the price you set. Your ZIP code is looked up in your browser and is not sent anywhere.
Washington pays employed tour guides a median of $54,160; Iowa pays $22,490
The table shows the national figures, the five highest-paying and five lowest-paying states for employed guides, and the states that employ the most of them. The second column counts a different group: one-person travel arrangement businesses, travel agents and tour operators together. Read it as context for running your own business, not as what tour guides gross.
| State | Employed tour and travel guides, median a year (BLS May 2025) | One-person travel arrangement business, average gross (Census 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $38,120 | $39,680 |
| Highest five | ||
| Washington | $54,160 | $51,138 |
| District of Columbia | $49,210 | $34,689 |
| Wyoming | $47,020 | $94,704 |
| California | $46,000 | $49,926 |
| Hawaii | $45,940 | $53,000 |
| Lowest five | ||
| Iowa | $22,490 | $25,429 |
| Mississippi | $27,460 | $32,733 |
| West Virginia | $28,570 | $16,667 |
| Wisconsin | $30,160 | $38,829 |
| Indiana | $31,030 | $27,609 |
| Most people employed in this job | ||
| New York | $44,450 | $57,222 |
| Florida | $41,600 | $56,422 |
| Arizona | $37,560 | $41,768 |
| Texas | $33,080 | $33,908 |
| Colorado | $42,840 | $38,391 |
| Pennsylvania | $32,910 | $39,621 |
First column: BLS OEWS May 2025 state medians for tour and travel guides, employees only. BLS groups tour guides with travel guides and publishes no Virginia median for this code. Second column: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024, NAICS 5615, average gross receipts per business with no paid employees, before expenses, covering travel agents and tour operators together.
Employed tour guides earn a median of $18.33 an hour; a full group of 20 at $25 a head brings in $500 for one tour
Some guides draw a company's pay, by the hour or by the tour. Others set a price per person and fill their own groups. The same two hours on the sidewalk pay very differently depending on which side you are on.
Selling through a marketplace costs a share of each booking. Airbnb says it typically charges experience hosts 20%. GetYourGuide says it charges a commission only on successful bookings, that its rates vary by country, and that it shares the exact amount after you sign up. We found no Viator page that states the commission it takes from tour suppliers. Selling direct keeps the full price, less a card fee.
Work out what a season of your own tours brings in before tax
A season of your own tours comes down to five numbers: your price per person, how many guests you take a day, how many days a week you guide, how many weeks your season runs, and the tips. Every default below is an example. Set each one to match your own tours.
- Tour income in a season$50,400
- Your share$50,400
- Tips+ $5,040
- Card fees− $1,663
Checked November 2026. Insurance, permits, transport, marketing and tax are not deducted; subtract your own costs. Guests, days and weeks are examples. With a ZIP code entered above, the price follows that area's pay level.
The IRS lists tour guides as a tipped job, entry 704
Tipping is the most-asked tour guide pay question in our count of Google's suggestions. Below is what the IRS says, and what the Charleston job posts and price pages show.
IRS entry 704 reads "Tour guides. Guide individuals or groups on sightseeing tours. Museum guide, sightseeing guide 39-7011". Code 39-7011 sits inside the 39-7010 group the pay figures on this page use, and entry 705 lists travel guides (39-7012).
Employees and the self-employed can both claim the deduction. It phases out above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income, or $300,000 for joint filers. For the self-employed it cannot exceed the business's net income, and the tips must be voluntary.
The IRS sets the deadline as the 10th of the following month, so cash tips from June are reported to the employer by July 10.
Old South Carriage Company and Ghost City Tours both list pay per tour plus tips, and Walks of Charleston's price page says gratuity is not included. No survey we could read gives tips as a share of guide pay, so the calculator's tip rate is an example.
The lowest-paid tenth of employed tour guides earn under $28,520
BLS reports $28,520 a year at the 10th percentile and $32,910 at the 25th for employed tour and travel guides. Both are full-year figures, so a guide who works only a season earns that rate for fewer weeks.
Where you start depends on where you guide. Iowa and Mississippi have the two lowest state medians for employed tour and travel guides; Washington's, the highest, is $54,160.
Old South Carriage Company's post for its 2026 season starts carriage tour guides at $35 to $40 per tour plus tips, with a per-tour wage that rises with experience.
Licensing is set by cities, not states. Of the four cities we read, New York City and New Orleans require a guide license or permit, Washington, DC licenses individual guides, and Charleston's certification is voluntary. Check your own city.
Measured by us in November 2026. Phrasings about tour guide courses were measured but are left off the chart.
Tour guide pay questions
If you run your own tours, let guests book a departure and pay online before they arrive.
Set up your tours and prices once, then share one booking link.
- A booking page that works as the link in your bio.
- Each tour with its own length and price, like a walking tour or a private tour.
- A deposit at booking, or a card on file for later.
- Tap to Pay on iPhone, to take a card in person.
Sources
Where every number on this page comes from: the agency, the city office or the company's own page, with the date we read it.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Tour and Travel Guides (39-7010), national, state and area, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-05-15 39-7010 tour and travel guides; employees only, the self-employed are not surveyed. 240 of 528 areas publish an area median.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: technical notes, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-11-10 Annual wages are the hourly wage multiplied by a typical work year of 2,080 hours.
- Nonemployer Statistics 2024: Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services, NAICS 5615, U.S. Census Bureau, 2026-09-29 Gross receipts of businesses with no paid employees, before costs and tax. Travel agents and tour operators are counted together; tour operators are not published on their own.
- Occupations that customarily and regularly received tips on or before Dec. 31, 2024, Internal Revenue Service, 2026-06-28 Entries 704, tour guides, and 705, travel guides.
- One Big Beautiful Bill Act: tax deductions for working Americans and seniors (no tax on tips), Internal Revenue Service, 2026-11-09 Up to $25,000 of qualified tips, tax years 2025 through 2028, phasing out above $150,000 modified AGI ($300,000 joint); employees and the self-employed.
- Topic no. 761, Tips: withholding and reporting, Internal Revenue Service, 2026-11-09 Employees report cash tips of $20 or more in a month to the employer by the 10th of the next month.
- Stripe pricing, standard US card rate, Stripe, 2026-10-25 the card processor kiwilaunch uses; quoted for the 3% card fee in the calculator
- Airbnb Help Center: service fees for experience hosts, Airbnb, 2026-10-27 Read from the Internet Archive capture of October 27, 2026. Airbnb says it typically charges experience hosts 20%.
- GetYourGuide supplier site, GetYourGuide, 2026-11-10 Commission is charged only on successful bookings; rates vary by country and are shared after sign-up. No percentage is published.
- Carriage tour guide, 2026 season (job posting), Old South Carriage Company, Charleston, via Workable, 2026-11-10 "Starting pay: $35-$40 per tour, plus tips"; the per-tour wage rises with experience.
- Daytime historical food tour guide, Charleston (job posting), Ghost City Tours (Revelry Tours), 2026-11-10 "Pay: $50 per tour plus 100% tips", part-time, tours of about two to three hours. Marked applications closed when we read it.
- Sightseeing guide license checklist, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, 2026-11-10 150-question exam, 97 correct to pass, $50 exam fee; two-year license of up to $50.
- Tour guide permit, City of New Orleans, 2026-11-10 Written test on the city's history and culture, 70% to pass; federal background check; $50 new, $20 to renew.
- Tour guides program, DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, 2026-11-10 Individual tour guide license: $150 new, $85 to renew.
- Tour guide licensing, DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, 2026-11-10 Tour companies must make sure their guides hold the license.
- Tour guide certification, City of Charleston, 2026-11-10 Voluntary: a 200-question exam, 70% to pass, $50 to register. Not required to guide.
- Book a tour, Two Sisters Tours, Charleston, 2026-11-10 "Group Tours are $25 per person", groups of up to 20, two to two and a half hours; "Private tours start at $500."
- Charleston History Tour, Walks of Charleston, 2026-11-10 Adults (13 and over) $28, children 7 to 12 $20; 2 hours; up to 20 guests; gratuity not included.
- Private tours, Bonnie Blue Tours, Savannah, 2026-11-10 Priced per tour for up to 6 people: 1 hour $50, 2 hours $150, 3 hours $250, 4 hours $350.
Not tax, legal or financial advice. Prices, pay and what you keep vary by state and city, licensing rules differ by city and state, and the tax rules on tips have conditions. A tax professional who knows your situation can answer for you.