Choreographers Salary: $74,789 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 3,430 choreographers nationally earn a mean of $74,789. Employment in the series shown fell about 35% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 6.2% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Choreographers: what the data shows
Common questions about choreographers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a choreographers?
Choreographers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 27-2032.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 3,430 workers.
What does a choreographers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Thinking Creatively, Performing General Physical Activities, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Coaching and Developing Others, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a choreographers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $55,600 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $74,789 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $40,296 |
| 25th percentile | $51,092 |
| Median (50th) | $62,987 |
| 75th percentile | $83,797 |
| 90th percentile | $109,826 |
What education do you need?
For Choreographers, 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 Instructing, Speaking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Coordination, Critical Thinking, and knowledge areas including Fine Arts, Administration and Management, Education and Training, Communications and Media. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is choreographers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 6.2% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -27.2%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -47.1%.
Current U.S. headcount: 3,430.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do choreographerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Educational Services | 3,700 | 17.9% |
| Other Schools and Instruction | 3,480 | 16.9% |
| Cross-industry | 3,430 | 16.6% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 3,240 | 15.7% |
| Educational Services | 1,860 | 9.0% |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 1,440 | 7.0% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Choreographers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Choreographers workforce.
Employment Over Time
3,430 Workforce in 2023
The Choreographers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Choreographers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$74,789 Average Wage
In 2023, Choreographers earned an average of $74,789.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Choreographers.
Salary distribution for Choreographers.
Employment Growth Projections
-6.2% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
2,066 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -27.2%
1,503 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -47.1%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Choreographers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Choreographers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Choreographers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Choreographers.
Wage Trends by Industry
3.6% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: 0.8% growth (Current: $97,227)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Choreographers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Choreographers.
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: 800 employees, $72,810 avg wage
- TX: 490 employees, $47,010 avg wage
- NY: 270 employees, $108,470 avg wage
- LA: 220 employees, $52,730 avg wage
- SD: 210 employees, $45,890 avg wage
- FL: 170 employees, $44,980 avg wage
- MD: 160 employees, $63,330 avg wage
- UT: 160 employees, $48,150 avg wage
- OH: 140 employees, $58,340 avg wage
- NC: 50 employees, $73,630 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Choreographers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 270 employees, $109,750 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 240 employees, $78,210 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 190 employees, $87,340 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 160 employees, $49,350 avg wage
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD: 90 employees, $62,300 avg wage
- Sioux Falls, SD-MN: 90 employees, $48,650 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA: 70 employees, $63,610 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: 70 employees, $70,770 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA: 60 employees, $64,840 avg wage
- Salt Lake City-Murray, UT: 60 employees, $55,760 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Choreographers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Choreographers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Choreographers in 2023 was 3,430 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Choreographers.
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 Choreographers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Choreographers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Choreographers in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Choreographers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Choreographers workers.
Education level distribution for Choreographers.
Skills
Choreographers need many skills, but most especially Instructing, Speaking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Coordination.
Required skills for Choreographers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Choreographers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Choreographers include Fine Arts, Administration and Management, Education and Training, Communications and Media, English Language.
Knowledge areas required for Choreographers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Choreographers include Gross Body Coordination, Oral Comprehension, Fluency of Ideas, Originality, Oral Expression.
Required abilities for Choreographers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Choreographers.
Daily Activities
Choreographers spend their time on activities such as Thinking Creatively, Performing General Physical Activities, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates, Making Decisions and Solving Problems.
Most important work activities for Choreographers.
About
Choreographers
The average yearly wage for Choreographers was $74,789 in 2023.
SOC Code
27-2032 - Choreographers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Choreographers reports an average salary of $74,789.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 3,430 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -6.2%, 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.