Name: Craig Delano Melvin
Age: 47
Birthday: May 20, 1979
Born: Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Net Worth: Approximately $14 million
Fun Fact: In 1996, while still in high school, Craig Melvin became the first African-American president of Key Club International
Craig Melvin has become one of the most recognizable faces in American morning television, and his net worth reflects a steady, three-decade climb through broadcast journalism. The Today show co-anchor is worth an estimated $14 million, a fortune he has built alongside his wife, sports broadcaster Lindsay Czarniak. From a teenage reporter in Columbia, South Carolina, to the anchor chair beside Savannah Guthrie, Melvin turned an early passion for storytelling into one of the most lucrative careers in daytime news.
From Columbia, South Carolina, to the National Stage
Craig Delano Melvin was born on May 20, 1979, in Columbia, South Carolina, to Lawrence and Betty Melvin. He grew up with a younger brother, Ryan, and an older half-brother, Lawrence Meadows, a reverend who died of colon cancer in December 2020 at the age of 43. Melvin has spoken openly about losing his brother and about the importance of early cancer screenings.
His ambition showed early. In 1996, while still in high school, Melvin was elected the first African-American president of Key Club International. That same year, he won an Associated Press award for a story on innovative teaching, making him one of the youngest journalists ever to receive the honor.
After high school, Melvin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 2001. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and served as a senior counselor for South Carolina's Palmetto Boys State program.
Building a Broadcasting Career From High School Onward
Melvin's path into journalism began remarkably early. As a high school student, he worked as an "Our Generation Reporter" for WIS-TV, the NBC affiliate in Columbia, from 1995 to 1997. After college, he returned to the station in 2001 as a news photographer and producer, eventually becoming a reporter and producing live segments called "Craig Cam." He was later promoted to news anchor for the weekend and weekday newscasts.
In July 2008, Melvin left WIS-TV for WRC-TV, NBC's owned-and-operated station in Washington, D.C., where he anchored the weekend evening newscasts. Three years later, in 2011, he moved to MSNBC as a daytime anchor while also contributing to NBC News as a reporter.
At MSNBC, Melvin anchored coverage of some of the defining news events of the 2010s, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, the Moore, Oklahoma tornado and the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash in 2013, the police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, and the Charleston church shooting in 2015. He also reported from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Landing the Today Show Co-Anchor Chair
Melvin's star continued to rise at NBC. From 2015 to 2018, he served as a co-anchor of Weekend Today. In September 2018, he was promoted to weekday news anchor on Today, and the following month he became a co-host of Today Third Hour alongside Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer, and Sheinelle Jones. In March 2022, he stepped away from his MSNBC hour to focus fully on Today and NBC News.
The biggest milestone came on January 13, 2025, when Melvin stepped into the co-anchor chair alongside Savannah Guthrie, replacing Hoda Kotb, who had left the program the week before. Kotb had said Melvin was "literally made for this job," and the promotion cemented his status as one of the highest-profile anchors in morning television.
How Much Craig Melvin Earns Each Year
Melvin's salary has climbed in lockstep with his responsibilities. According to Celebrity Net Worth, his annual salary for his duties at NBC — primarily The Today Show — is $6 million per year. His combined net worth with Lindsay Czarniak, a former ESPN anchor and current FOX Sports reporter, is estimated at $14 million.
Czarniak has built her own successful broadcasting career, having worked at ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor and now covering the NFL and NASCAR for FOX. Together, the couple has two strong income streams from major networks, which has helped their household wealth grow steadily over the years. Along the way, Melvin collected a shelf of industry honors: he shared WIS-TV's Emmy Awards for Best Newscast in 2003 and 2005, won an Emmy for his own anchor work in 2006, and was named Best Anchor by the South Carolina Broadcaster's Association in 2007.
A $6 Million Home in Connecticut and Real Estate Moves
Like many high-earning television personalities, Melvin has invested in real estate. In 2015, he and Czarniak paid $2.4 million for a home in Westport, Connecticut. They sold that property in 2021 for $2.9 million, booking a tidy profit. That same year, the couple paid $5 million for a roughly 9,000-square-foot home in the same area — a property now estimated to be worth around $6 million.
Craig Melvin's Net Worth: The Bottom Line
Craig Melvin's net worth of approximately $14 million is the product of nearly three decades of steady work in broadcast journalism. Starting as a teenage reporter in South Carolina, he climbed through local news, MSNBC, and NBC News before landing one of the most coveted jobs in television: co-anchor of Today. With a $6 million annual salary, a successful broadcast-journalist spouse, and a portfolio that includes a multimillion-dollar Connecticut home, Melvin has turned his on-air career into lasting wealth — and at 47, his most lucrative years may still be ahead.
