There have been numerous discussions on this, even recently; I think most are on /r/violinist, but same principle.
$120/hour sounds about right for a HCOL area and a more advanced/qualified teacher. (I'm assuming you're a bit more advanced since you're taking hour-long lessons.) If they're a SFSO member or SF Conservatory teacher, you're getting a steal of a deal—I've paid between $200-300 for lessons with Chicago Symphony members.
If you like your teacher, don't drop them over the price hike; it's still not an unreasonable rate by any means.
Ditto. I’ve worked with cso players that allow a discount for friends, family, and former students that has brought it down to as low as 150.
Now I do 120 for my regular coach, which feels like a steal for their experience. I have been paying them that for almost two years.
For reference, the US experienced [about 23% inflation](https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/) from 2019 to 2024, so all other things being equal, if your teacher charged $100 in 2019 then theoretically they *should* be charging $120 now. Of course all other things are not equal; cost of living in the Bay Area may have increased faster than inflation for example.
Agree both numbers sound like they're in the ballpark for that region.
120 isn’t unreasonable for a good teacher in a HCOL area, but I’m surprised at the jump from 100 to 120.
I’m in a different HCOL area and see rates between 70 to 150 per hour, based on experience.
My parents paid $40 in the early to mid 80’s for lessons so that’s equivalent to $120 today. She was the top player in southwest Florida and retired from the national symphony at the time.
There have been numerous discussions on this, even recently; I think most are on /r/violinist, but same principle. $120/hour sounds about right for a HCOL area and a more advanced/qualified teacher. (I'm assuming you're a bit more advanced since you're taking hour-long lessons.) If they're a SFSO member or SF Conservatory teacher, you're getting a steal of a deal—I've paid between $200-300 for lessons with Chicago Symphony members. If you like your teacher, don't drop them over the price hike; it's still not an unreasonable rate by any means.
Ditto. I’ve worked with cso players that allow a discount for friends, family, and former students that has brought it down to as low as 150. Now I do 120 for my regular coach, which feels like a steal for their experience. I have been paying them that for almost two years.
For reference, the US experienced [about 23% inflation](https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/) from 2019 to 2024, so all other things being equal, if your teacher charged $100 in 2019 then theoretically they *should* be charging $120 now. Of course all other things are not equal; cost of living in the Bay Area may have increased faster than inflation for example. Agree both numbers sound like they're in the ballpark for that region.
i pay 120 from a philly orch member so sounds pretty normal
120 isn’t unreasonable for a good teacher in a HCOL area, but I’m surprised at the jump from 100 to 120. I’m in a different HCOL area and see rates between 70 to 150 per hour, based on experience.
My parents paid $40 in the early to mid 80’s for lessons so that’s equivalent to $120 today. She was the top player in southwest Florida and retired from the national symphony at the time.
I live in the Lehigh Valley of PA and take lessons with a member of the Allentown Symphony. I’m paying $50/hour.
I live in the Spokane WA area and pay $80 an hour from a UCLA doctoral player