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The national median salary for Actors is $48,526 per year ($23.33/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024. The middle 50% of earners make between $35,235 and $85,467 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $202,155 per year. There are approximately 38,800 actors employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Play parts in stage, television, radio, video, or film productions, or other settings for entertainment, information, or instruction. Interpret serious or comic role by speech, gesture, and body movement to entertain or inform audience. May dance and sing.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+0.3%
Little or no change
Annual openings
6K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
57K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Some college, no degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Long-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Motion Picture and Video Industries
NAICS 512100
9K
N/A
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services
NAICS 541200
7K
N/A
Performing Arts Companies
NAICS 711100
6K
N/A
Amusement Parks and Arcades
NAICS 713100
6K
N/A
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
NAICS 611300
2K
N/A
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$14.00
$29,120
P25
$16.94
$35,235
P50MEDIAN
$23.33
$48,526
P75
$41.09
$85,467
P90
$97.19
$202,155
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · professional sector
Cooling
Openings Rate
4.2%
Quits Rate
2.0%
Professional & Business Services openings tumbled 318K in March -- the largest single-sector drop in this release. Openings rate fell from 5.5% to 4.2%. Layoffs jumped to 527K (+99K). White-collar demand has cooled abruptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average actors salary?
The national median salary for Actors is $48,526 per year ($23.33/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2024 data. The middle 50% earn between $35,235 and $85,467 annually.
How much do top-earning actors make?
The 90th percentile salary for Actors is $202,155 per year ($97.19/hr). The 75th percentile is $85,467 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for actors?
Entry-level Actors (10th percentile) earn approximately $29,120 per year ($14.00/hr). The 25th percentile is $35,235 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.