SALARY DATA — SOC 27-2021
Athletes and Sports Competitors
27-0000 Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
The 90/10 ratio for Athletes and Sports Competitors is 28.01× — the top decile earns $742,310 against the bottom decile at $26,500. That spread is 28.01× wide. The band is wider than employers typically represent; knowing where you sit in it is the whole game.
BLS OEWS reference period: May 2025. Employment: 15,070.
Wage distribution — the receipts
National OEWS annual wage percentiles. "vs. median" column shows each percentile relative to the occupation's own national median — this is where your position in the band lives. Source and series IDs: methodology page.
| Percentile | Annual wage | vs. median | Hourly (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th pct — bottom decile | $26,500 | -60% | ~$13 |
| 25th pct — lower quartile | $36,790 | -45% | ~$18 |
| Median — 50th pct | $66,710 | — | ~$32/hr |
| Mean — average | $206,180 | +209% | ~$99/hr |
| 75th pct — upper quartile | $109,880 | +65% | ~$53 |
| 90th pct — top decile | $742,310 | +1013% | ~$357 |
Source: BLS OEWS national estimates. Annual wage ÷ 2,080 hrs = hourly estimate. Hourly-median is direct from OEWS when available; others are estimates only.
Pay by metro area
BLS publishes May 2025 wage estimates for Athletes and Sports Competitors in 17 metro areas; the 10 with the most jobs are below, ranked by employment.
| Metro | Jobs | Median | 10th pct | 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 870 | $50,070 | $31,290 | $286,690 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 560 | $100,130 | $46,300 | $299,850 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 510 | $75,550 | $27,650 | $859,600 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 350 | $76,860 | $76,840 | $107,420 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 330 | $78,790 | $32,180 | — |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 320 | $203,390 | $49,070 | — |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | 240 | $123,140 | $30,450 | $739,630 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | 140 | $124,130 | $40,940 | $145,290 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | 130 | $63,920 | $36,490 | $128,330 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 100 | $34,490 | $28,080 | $300,650 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 — metropolitan area estimates (oesm25ma/MSA_M2025_dl.xlsx). Jobs are rounded to the nearest ten and exclude the self-employed; a dash means BLS suppressed that percentile.
Pay by industry
Across 3 detailed industries with a publishable estimate, the 3 that employ the most Athletes and Sports Competitors are below, with the median wage each one pays.
| Industry | NAICS | Jobs | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectator Sports | 711200 | 13,390 | $72,040 |
| Other Amusement and Recreation Industries | 713900 | 980 | $51,020 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | 611300 | 180 | $64,010 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 — national 4-digit NAICS industry estimates (oesm25in4/nat4d_M2025_dl.xlsx), all ownerships combined. Industries where BLS suppresses the wage are omitted rather than shown as zero.
What it pays vs. what it buys
The wage is only half the number. Below, the metro median for Athletes and Sports Competitors is divided by that metro's BEA Regional Price Parity — the federal measure of what a dollar actually buys there. Nominal is what the job pays. Real is what it buys at local prices.
| Metro | Nominal | Prices | Real | Rank shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | $203,390 | 98.6 | $206,357 | — |
| Las Vegas | $124,130 | 98.7 | $125,708 | — |
| Salt Lake City | $123,140 | 100.3 | $122,740 | — |
| Orlando | $106,060 | 98.9 | $107,200 | — |
| Atlanta | $94,530 | 96.7 | $97,744 | +1 |
| New York | $100,130 | 112.6 | $88,955 | -1 |
| Kansas City | $78,790 | 93.4 | $84,352 | — |
| Houston | $75,550 | 95.6 | $79,050 | +1 |
| Tampa | $76,860 | 97.6 | $78,765 | -1 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County | $63,650 | 95.0 | $67,031 | — |
Top 10 of 14 metros by real wage. Rank shift = places gained or lost against the nominal ranking. Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025 metropolitan estimates; BEA Regional Price Parities (national = 100). Metros where BLS suppresses the estimate are omitted rather than shown as zero. Full data at /salaries-metro.json.
Is this job growing or dying?
BLS projects employment in Athletes and Sports Competitors to move from 22,900 to 24,100 over 2025–2035 — +5.5% , with about 2,200 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted . Typical entry requirement: no formal educational credential.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 (2025–2035). Openings count growth and replacement need together, which is why a shrinking occupation can still hire. Full data at /employment-projections.json.
Salary FAQ
- What is the median salary for Athletes and Sports Competitors?
- The median annual salary for Athletes and Sports Competitors is $66,710, and the mean is $206,180 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025).
- What is the salary range for Athletes and Sports Competitors?
- Most Athletes and Sports Competitors earn between $26,500 and $742,310 a year. The wage gap inside the occupation is a 28.01× ratio — workers at the 90th percentile earn 28.01 times those at the 10th (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
- Where does pay for Athletes and Sports Competitors fall the most after adjusting for cost of living?
- Local prices reorder the ranking. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ranks #5 by nominal pay but #6 of 14 metros once local prices are applied (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Is employment for Athletes and Sports Competitors growing or shrinking?
- BLS projects Athletes and Sports Competitors employment to grow 5.5% over the 2025–2035 window, with about 2,200 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035).
- How many Athletes and Sports Competitors jobs are there in the US?
- BLS counts about 15,070 workers in Athletes and Sports Competitors nationally (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Figures from this page's OEWS / Employment Projections / BEA data, above. Methodology at /methodology#oews-salaries.
Related occupations
Other Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations whose national median wage is closest to that of Athletes and Sports Competitors: same SOC major group, nearest median first.
- Interior Designers $67,190
- Lighting Technicians $68,060
- Designers, All Other $64,950
- Graphic Designers $62,960
- Media and Communication Equipment Workers, All Other $70,720
- News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists $62,200
- Artists and Related Workers, All Other $71,240
- Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners $72,420
The national wage distribution and the metro and industry tables above are BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for Athletes and Sports Competitors (SOC 27-2021): percentiles from the OEWS API series, metro and industry rows from the published bulk tables — how they are fetched, what OEWS leaves out (equity, bonuses, benefits) and how the 90/10 ratio is read are documented at /methodology#oews-salaries and #oews-breakdown. The other sections keep their own sources and periods: the cost-adjusted metro table divides OEWS metro medians by BEA Regional Price Parities (/methodology#burnout-index); the outlook and its FAQ entry are BLS Employment Projections for 2025–2035.
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Raw JSON: /salaries/athletes-and-sports-competitors-27-2021.json · License: CC BY 4.0 · Source: BLS OEWS · Cite as: Office Blues OEWS Salary Data, Athletes and Sports Competitors, officeblues.net/salaries/athletes-and-sports-competitors-27-2021
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