Music To Our Ears! Utica in Top 10 in Cities with Most Musicians

Utica's live music scene has always been a highlight of our city. On any given night, there's somewhere you can go to take in some local tunes. But have you ever wondered just how many musicians there are in the entire city? Enough to make the Top 10 in this new list from The Central Virginian.

The aim of their list was to look at the 22 metros with the highest concentration of musicians and singers. Here's how they got their data:

To uncover which metros employ the highest rate of professional musicians and singers, Vivid Seats analyzed the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2021 edition of the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, which was released on March 31, 2022. The analysis ranked metro areas by their number of musicians and singers per 1,000 jobs... Hourly wage data for musicians and singers in each metro was also included as an additional data point for comparison.

To be considered a "professional musician" doesn't necessarily mean they're selling out stadiums across the globe. Being a "professional" simply means you are paid for services rendered. To that end, Utica musicians can hold their head high knowing that they ranked #8 out of 22 on the list.

Perhaps even more remarkable is Utica was not the only city in New York on this list. The Empire State is very well represented here. Here's where the other cities ranked:

#19 out of 22: Greater Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls

#18 out of 22: Binghamton

#14 out out of 22: Syracuse

#8 out of 22: Utica-Rome

#4 out of 22: Rochester

It just goes to show you, The Empire State does two things exceptionally well: Tax people, and play music. Huzzah, New York!

Check out the full list here to see who rounded out the rest.