Actors Salary: $nan Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 38,800 actors nationally earn a mean of $nan. Employment in the series shown fell about 70% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 6.1% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Actors: what the data shows
Common questions about actors careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a actors?
Actors is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 27-2011.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 38,800 workers.
What does a actors do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Thinking Creatively, Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Performing General Physical Activities, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
What education do you need?
For Actors, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, and knowledge areas including Fine Arts, English Language, Communications and Media, Sociology and Anthropology. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is actors in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 6.1% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -27.1%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -46.8%.
Current U.S. headcount: 38,800.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Actors in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Actors workforce.
Employment Over Time
38,800 Workforce in 2023
The Actors workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Actors.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$nan Average Wage
In 2023, Actors earned an average of $nan.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Actors.
Salary distribution for Actors.
Employment Growth Projections
-6.1% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
16,100 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -27.1%
11,740 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -46.8%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Actors.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Actors and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Actors employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Actors.
Wage Trends by Industry
Wage trend data by industry is not available for this occupation.
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Actors.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Actors.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 6,640 employees, N/A avg wage
- NY: 6,460 employees, N/A avg wage
- FL: 6,420 employees, N/A avg wage
- IL: 3,200 employees, N/A avg wage
- GA: 1,910 employees, N/A avg wage
- TX: 1,230 employees, N/A avg wage
- VA: 1,130 employees, N/A avg wage
- PA: 1,050 employees, N/A avg wage
- MO: 940 employees, N/A avg wage
- NC: 850 employees, N/A avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Actors.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 5,330 employees, N/A avg wage
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL: 5,110 employees, N/A avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 3,880 employees, N/A avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 1,970 employees, N/A avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 910 employees, N/A avg wage
- New Orleans-Metairie, LA: 670 employees, N/A avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 660 employees, N/A avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 550 employees, N/A avg wage
- Salt Lake City-Murray, UT: 520 employees, N/A avg wage
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC: 470 employees, N/A avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Actors.
Diversity
Demographic information on Actors in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Actors in 2023 was 38,800 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Actors.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Actors.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Actors.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Actors in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Actors.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Actors workers.
Education level distribution for Actors.
Skills
Actors need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Monitoring.
Required skills for Actors.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Actors.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Actors include Fine Arts, English Language, Communications and Media, Sociology and Anthropology, Psychology.
Knowledge areas required for Actors.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Actors include Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Memorization, Speech Clarity.
Required abilities for Actors.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Actors.
Daily Activities
Actors spend their time on activities such as Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Thinking Creatively, Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Performing General Physical Activities, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.
Most important work activities for Actors.
About
Actors
The average yearly wage for Actors was $nan in 2023.
SOC Code
27-2011 - Actors
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Actors reports an average salary of $nan.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 38,800 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -6.1%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.