Salaries For Actors

Actors play roles in television, films and other forms of entertainment and education.

Actors play roles in theater, film, television and in other performing media outlets. These workers use their artistic skills to create entertainment, information and educational works of art. They can be found working in local theaters, film studios and other venues that put on works of performance art. Actor salaries differ widely based on numerous factors.

National Average

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there were approximately 39,880 actors working in the U.S. in 2009. These artists earned a median hourly wage of $28.79. Yearly wages for actors are difficult to calculate due to many actors working part-time or on a contract basis. The lowest 10 percent of actors earned an average hourly wage of $7.98, in 2009, while the top 10 percent of actors earned an hourly wage of $74.44.

Differences by Industry

Actors worked in an array of industry sectors in 2009. The top paying sector for actors, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was advertising, public relations and related services. Actors in this sector earned an average hourly wage of $48.22. The second highest paying industry sector was the motion picture and video industry, paying actors and average wage of $47.70 an hour. Actors in performing arts companies, the fifth most highest paying sector, earned an average hourly wage of $21.12.

Highest Paying States

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the top five highest paying states for actors in 2009 were: Hawaii, New York, Nevada, North Carolina and Illinois. The average salary for actors in Hawaii in 2009 was $40.99 per hour, while actors in New York earned an average of $27.94 per hour. The lowest paying of the top five states, Illinois, paid actors and average of $22.23 per hour.

Highest Paying Metro Areas

Actor wages also differ depending on the city in which the actor worked. In 2009, the city with the highest average wages for actors was Oakland, California, paying an average hourly wage of $64.95. San Francisco, California, was the second most highest paying city for actors, paying an average hourly wage of $47.02. Actors in the fifth highest paying city, Albuquerque, New Mexico, earned an average wage of $38.71 per hour.

References

• Bureau of Labor Statistics: 27-2011 Actors
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Actors, Producers, and Directors