The average concert ticket price has risen sharply over the past few decades, and with the break from concerts that was forced on people over much of 2020 and 2021, you may be questioning whether prices will continue to rise as artists start to tour again in 2022 and beyond.
The unfortunate truth is that concert promotors will likely keep pushing ticket prices as high as the demand will allow, so prices for concerts have already jumped back to what was seen in 2019, and it will be up to you to decide whether those prices are worth it to see your favorite artist.
What Is The Average Concert Ticket Price?
The average price for a top-tier music concert is around $91.86, with the highest average price being $127.57 in Los Angeles, with Las Vegas close behind at $123.94. The lowest average concert ticket price is in Grand Rapids, MI, at $73.09 and then Buffalo. NY at $74.74.
| Average Concert Tickets Price | $91.86 |
| Low Concert Tickets Price | $73.09 |
| High Concert Tickets Price | $127.57 |
So there is quite a big difference between the average concert ticket price that is purely based on the location of the act, which likely isn’t only down to the cost of the venue.
The average concert ticket price in 1996 was $25.81, which is a huge jump and is outpacing inflation costs. Concert promotors are simply raising the prices, and consumers appear willing to pay those prices, which keeps them high.
This isn’t only concert ticket prices; the average ticket price for pro sports, broadway shows, and almost any type of live entertainment has gone up. You also see increases in movie tickets over the same period of time; it’s just getting more expensive to be entertained, even though there is more competition and choice than ever before.
Average Concert Ticket Price By Age and Genre
Most concerts are open to a broad range of ages, with young and old attending them, so there is some difference between the average cost of a concert based on your age or at least the type of music or acts associated with age groups.
There are certainly concerts marketed towards different ages or bands that appeal to different age groups or styles of music being performed.
Average Ticket Prices For Younger Audiences
For similar tickets to see Justin Beiber in concert, who is arguably for younger audiences, you’re seeing high prices with some fluctuation based on location with similar seating assignments.
The prices are higher due to demand and production costs. For many younger audiences there is more demand for tickets where the show has more production value, with costumes, big-screen TVs, bigger venues, and just more put into the show.
| Location | Average Concert Ticket |
| Los Angeles | $214 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $203.50 |
| Tampa, FL | $180 |
| Des Moines, IA | $164 |
Average Ticket Prices For Mature Audiences
For typical blues music, which could be considered for older generations or with less spectacle in the shows, you can see the prices significantly drop. But that comes with less of a performance and more focus on the music in smaller venues. So these type of tickets are generally for more mature audiences or are a niche concert that is more about the music.
Buddy Guy, who is a prominent blues musician, is charging well below bigger acts that perform more extravagant shows.
| Location | Average Concert Ticket |
| Beverly Hills, CA | $68 |
| Tucson, AZ | $70 |
| Houston, TX | $126 |
| Nashville, TN | $120 |
Average Ticket Prices For Genre Specific Concerts
What is interesting is that many top hip hop acts and other niche artists are still offering concerts for much lower prices, and acts like RIFF RAFF are offering general admission across all cities in the US for $20, though many outside hip hop may not know him.
However, if you look at an act like Wiz Khalifa, which many may have heard of, you’re still seeing similar low prices in most cities. You can also see Grand Rapids, MI which has the lowest average concert ticket prices in the US, has Wiz Khalifa at an extremely low price, so it holds as a city that acts tour to, but the prices are much lower than other cities.
| Location | Average Concert Ticket |
| San Bernadino, CA | $35 |
| Morrison, CO | $93 |
| Knoxville, TN | $53 |
| Grand Rapids, MI | $20 |
With a brief review of the age and genre of acts and the ticket prices, you can see the bigger acts that perform more complex shows with bigger spectacles are demanding higher prices for those shows.
Typical acts that are just performing music on a large stage with no tiered seating have much lower prices.
Sit down concerts in smaller venues for more niche music such as blues, can see average prices higher than that of general standing admission concerts as seen with hip hop artists.
Average Cost Of Concert Tickets by States
There is a huge range of factors that play into the average cost of concert tickets; the location of the concert certainly impacts it, as can be seen below across a variety of US cities.
The prices below indicate a top-tier music concert from the same or similar artist in different cities. So you could see the exact same show in New York City for $100 or Buffalo, NY for $74.74.
| State | Average Concert Ticket Price |
| Grand Rapids, MI | $73.09 |
| Buffalo, NY | $74.74 |
| New Orleans, LA | $77.16 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $77.62 |
| Little Rock, AR | $78.28 |
| Columbus, OH | $80.23 |
| Lincoln, NE | $80.36 |
| Kansas City, MO | $80.96 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $81.84 |
| Tulsa, OK | $82.00 |
| Omaha, NE | $82.20 |
| Portland, OR | $82.42 |
| Tampa, FL | $82.99 |
| Nashville, TN | $83.13 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $83.54 |
| Fresno, CA | $83.81 |
| San Antonio, TX | $84.12 |
| Seattle, WA | $84.21 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $84.47 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $84.54 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $85.14 |
| St. Louis, MO | $85.79 |
| Detroit, MI | $86.31 |
| Des Moines, IA | $86.90 |
| Sacramento, CA | $87.69 |
| Austin, TX | $87.82 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $88.65 |
| Orlando, FL | $88.69 |
| Denver, CO | $89.80 |
| Miami, FL | $92.29 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $92.67 |
| Atlanta, GA | $92.90 |
| Cleveland, OH | $93.75 |
| Louisville, KY | $94.05 |
| Chicago, IL | $95.93 |
| San Francisco, CA | $96.37 |
| Newark, NJ | $96.47 |
| Dallas, TX | $97.23 |
| Boston, MA | $98.71 |
| Charlotte, NC | $99.85 |
| New York, NY | $100.00 |
| Uncasville, CT | $104.35 |
| Washington, DC | $107.79 |
| San Diego, CA | $108.12 |
| Houston, TX | $109.65 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $123.94 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $127.57 |
Why Are Average Concert Ticket Prices Going Up?
There are a few primary reasons that the average concert ticket price has been rising over the past few decades. Consumer demand has increased with more ages looking for concerts, concert promoters have been testing how high they can push ticket prices, and concerts are becoming more extravagant.
Another big factor that can increase the price of concerts is hotel prices, this isn’t reflected in ticket prices but adds to the overall cost of concerts, with people now traveling to see their favorite artists perform.
However, not all concerts have risen in price; it’s often the biggest acts with the broadest range of fan bases that perform extravagant concerts that are demanding the higher prices.
If you compare smaller acts that are just performing music, then average prices can often stay low and may not have risen over the past few decades.
| Average Top Tier Concert Ticket Price | $91.86 |
| Average Mature Audience Concert Ticket Price | $69 |
| Average Niche Genre Concert Ticket Price | $50 |
Consumer Demand
Almost all age brackets of consumers are looking to attend top-tier concerts, kids have been introduced to live concerts from a younger age with groups like the Wiggles, and then access to the Internet introduces them to bigger names like Taylor Swift, One Direction, and many others.
Older generations are starting to see their favorite bands start to tour again in an effort to raise money, Metallica, The Rolling Stones, and many others have started up tours in recent years and their ticket prices are sky-high.
There are more consumers than ever before wanting to see live concerts, which allows the prices to go higher as demand is much higher and people are willing to spend the money.
Concert Promotors Are Pushing Prices Higher
Concert promoters and ticket vendors have experimented with ticket prices over the past few decades to see where consumers are willing to spend. They believe that tickets have been undervalued, and with higher consumer demand, they are pushing the limits on the cost of tickets.
The same band that you could see for $25-$35 in the 1990s is now charging $100-$200 in the past few years. This is a massive raise for the bands, but if consumers are willing to pay, then promotors and ticket sellers are willing to charge that amount.
Promotors also realized that many of the people sitting in the most expensive seats often hadn’t brought their tickets directly from the ticket sellers and had used scalpers to purchase the tickets at higher prices. So instead of allowing scalpers to get the profits, the prices were increased for directly sold higher-priced tickets.
Concerts Are Becoming More Extravagant
Historically, concerts have been large venues packed with people, and the band will play their favorite songs with minimal flare or other entertainment aside from the actual music. You did have some bands like Kiss that have previously tried to put on big shows, but that is now the norm and expected by consumers.
It’s now expected that a concert will have a huge spectacle included, with costume changes, pyrotechnics, huge screens, revolving stages, and almost anything else you can think of. So there is more cost and entertainment going into live concerts than ever before.
