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The Global Insight

How much money do tourist guides make?

Author

Daniel Santos

Published Jan 18, 2026

Land Tour Guide Salary Details

StateAverage Hourly WageAverage Annual Salary
California$11.5/hr$23,920
Idaho$11.36/hr$23,620
Mississippi$11.2/hr$23,290
New Hampshire$11.16/hr$23,210

How much do guides make a year?

While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $77,000 and as low as $16,500, the majority of Hunting Guide salaries currently range between $26,000 (25th percentile) to $41,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $52,500 annually across the United States.

What qualifications do I need to be a tour guide?

Prospective tour guides should possess a minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent certificate. Required academic backgrounds vary by company, but often a bachelor’s degree in a field related to the subject of the tour is necessary.

How much money does a tour guide make?

The truth is, anyone can be a tour guide, the skills anyone can develop a good tourist guide. But how much do tour guides make? The amount a person makes normally depends on where and what type of tour he or she offers. In general, however, tour guides make from $50 to $150 on a daily basis.

How much does a DMC tour guide make?

DMC Tour Guides: The experienced highly skilled tour managers working for incentive houses and DMC’s can earn anywhere from $300 to over $400 per day. Tips are then added to these payments, so the larger the group, the more money you will make.

What are the benefits of being a tour guide?

Let’s look at these benefits in more detail: Travel opportunities exist for all tour guides. Whether you are leading domestic tours around your home city, or managing long distance or international tours, you still get the opportunity to travel and see new places.

Do you get paid at the end of the tour?

The other type of tour is the one where guides get paid per day instead of a monthly salary, but then the guests will tip you at the end of every day according to how good you were. Customers almost always tip, and this is a great incentive to keep them happy the entire day of the tour. The last tour I worked, I made over $350 in just 5 days!”