Source: https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/united-states/ Title: Content Lead hourly rate in the United States | Deftridge Summary: Content Lead pay in the United States: median wage $71 an hour, typical part-time contractor rate $150. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025. United States · **Updated November 3, 2026** # Content Lead hourly rate in United States The market median wage for a Content Lead in the United States is **$70.75 an hour**. A senior part-time contractor typically receives **$150 an hour** on Deftridge. **$150/hr** typical contractor rate, senior **$70.75/hr** median wage **$52-92** middle half of wages **$3,250** a month at 5 hours a week ## Content Lead wage percentiles in United States Employee wages for the role. The yellow row is the median. | Percentile | Per hour | 5 h a week, per month | Full time, per year | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 10th | $38.28 | $830 | $79,600 | | 25th | $52.19 | $1,130 | $108,600 | | Median | $70.75 | $1,530 | $147,200 | | 75th | $91.80 | $1,990 | $190,900 | | 90th | $124.55 | $2,700 | $259,100 | Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025; aged to October 2026; about 384,980 people employed in the role. [How rates are built](https://deftridge.com/rates/methodology/). ## United States in numbers What sets the United States apart for a Content Lead, from the same sources as the table above. - **$91.07** highest median wage, California - **$41.25** lowest median wage, Mississippi - **384,980** people employed in the role - **$116.84** median wage in the San Jose metro area, the highest in the country - **$35** country floor: no United States rate is published below it - Self-employment tax is 15.3%: 12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare; the employer-equivalent half is deductible in working out adjusted gross income. [Source](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes) - For 2026 the first $184,500 of combined wages, tips and net self-employment earnings is subject to the Social Security part. [Source](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes) ## What contractors receive The Deftridge rate for a Content Lead in the United States by level and by format. The company adds 15% on top; you keep all of the rate shown. | Level | Per hour | Per month at 5 h/week | | --- | --- | --- | | Manager | $125 | $2,710 | | Director | $150 | $3,250 | - Regular role **$150** - One-off task **$170** - Task bundle **$155** ## Content Lead pay by region in United States Typical contractor rate for a senior Content Lead, highest first; 9 of 51 places shown. | Place | Median wage | Contractor rate | | --- | --- | --- | | California | $91.07 | $190 | | Massachusetts | $82.85 | $175 | | New York | $78.75 | $165 | | Rhode Island | $77.59 | $165 | | Colorado | $77.51 | $165 | | Virginia | $77.10 | $160 | | District of Columbia | $76.16 | $160 | | Washington | $73.27 | $155 | | Delaware | $72.96 | $155 | ## Highest-paying metro areas Median employee wage for the role in the metro area (BLS OEWS). - [San Jose $116.84/hr median wage · range $91-152](https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/california/) - [San Francisco $108.62/hr median wage · range $85-141](https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/california/) - [Hanford $91.07/hr median wage · range $67-118](https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/california/) - [San Diego $87.70/hr median wage · range $66-120](https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/california/) - [Boston $86.09/hr median wage · range $68-96](https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/massachusetts/) - [Santa Maria $85.20/hr median wage · range $63-111](https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/california/) - [Oxnard $84.74/hr median wage · range $61-116](https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/california/) - [Los Angeles $83.37/hr median wage · range $61-109](https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/california/) - [Napa $82.93/hr median wage · range $64-111](https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/california/) - [Trenton $82.44/hr median wage · range $68-91](https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/new-jersey/) ## Questions about pay, fees and privacy The same rules apply to every task, so they live on two pages: [Pricing](https://deftridge.com/pricing/) explains the 15% fee, prepayment and when you are paid; [How it works](https://deftridge.com/how-it-works/) covers matching, what a company sees and side work next to a job. [Content Lead rates in every country](https://deftridge.com/rates/content-lead/) · [Content Lead jobs in United States](https://deftridge.com/jobs/content-lead/united-states/) · [Methodology](https://deftridge.com/rates/methodology/)