SOC 27-2011 · Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
Actors
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025United States, all industries
Nationally, actors earned a median of $29.05 per hour as of the May 2025 OEWS estimates, across 55,000 jobs. Pay varies substantially by area — look up a specific state or metro below.
National pay distribution
Pay by state
Every state and territory with a published May 2025 estimate. “Not published” means BLS suppressed the value — it never means zero. Higher medians often track higher living costs; this is not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
| State | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Not published | $24.71 | 150 | 0.1 |
| Arizona | Not published | $21.16 | 380 | 0.1 |
| Arkansas | Not published | $19.49 | 70 | 0.1 |
| California | Not published | Not published | 26,170 | 1.4 |
| Colorado | Not published | Not published | 200 | 0.1 |
| Connecticut | Not published | $27.91 | 180 | 0.1 |
| Florida | Not published | $19.11 | 6,400 | 0.6 |
| Georgia | Not published | $19.75 | 1,520 | 0.3 |
| Illinois | Not published | $15.00 | 1,060 | 0.2 |
| Indiana | Not published | Not published | 510 | 0.2 |
| Kentucky | Not published | $18.85 | 90 | 0.0 |
| Maryland | Not published | $36.98 | 520 | 0.2 |
| Massachusetts | Not published | Not published | 660 | 0.2 |
| Michigan | Not published | Not published | 150 | 0.0 |
| Minnesota | Not published | $18.95 | 520 | 0.2 |
| Mississippi | Not published | $23.71 | 80 | 0.1 |
| Missouri | Not published | $19.20 | 450 | 0.2 |
| Montana | Not published | Not published | 70 | 0.1 |
| Nevada | Not published | $12.76 | 790 | 0.5 |
| New Jersey | Not published | $24.29 | 470 | 0.1 |
| New York | Not published | $28.44 | 6,630 | 0.7 |
| North Carolina | Not published | $18.83 | 730 | 0.1 |
| Ohio | Not published | $13.51 | 170 | 0.0 |
| Oregon | Not published | $29.81 | 470 | 0.2 |
| Pennsylvania | Not published | $22.15 | 890 | 0.1 |
| South Carolina | Not published | Not published | 140 | 0.1 |
| Tennessee | Not published | $21.82 | 370 | 0.1 |
| Texas | Not published | $25.86 | 2,160 | 0.2 |
| Utah | Not published | Not published | 630 | 0.4 |
| Wisconsin | Not published | Not published | 260 | 0.1 |
Pay by metro area
All 50 metro areas where BLS publishes this occupation. Sort by median wage, employment, or local concentration — or see the highest-paying metros ranked.
Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.
| Metro area | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | Not published | Not published | 140 | 0.3 |
| Asheville, NC | Not published | Not published | 40 | 0.2 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | Not published | $65.27 | 570 | 0.2 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | Not published | Not published | 160 | 0.1 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | Not published | $37.10 | 340 | 0.3 |
| Birmingham, AL | Not published | $25.56 | Not published | Not published |
| Bloomington, IN | Not published | Not published | 60 | 0.8 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | Not published | Not published | 510 | 0.2 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | Not published | Not published | 50 | 0.2 |
| Charleston-North Charleston, SC | Not published | $31.90 | 30 | 0.1 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | Not published | $20.64 | 310 | 0.2 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | Not published | $20.00 | 610 | 0.1 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | Not published | $13.31 | 70 | 0.1 |
| Cleveland, OH | Not published | $25.37 | 50 | 0.0 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | Not published | $25.28 | 500 | 0.1 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | Not published | Not published | 150 | 0.1 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | Not published | Not published | 90 | 0.0 |
| Fort Wayne, IN | Not published | Not published | 30 | 0.1 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | Not published | $28.53 | 150 | 0.3 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | Not published | Not published | 340 | 0.1 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | Not published | $19.13 | 250 | 0.2 |
| Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | Not published | $25.86 | Not published | Not published |
| Lancaster, PA | Not published | $23.65 | 140 | 0.6 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | Not published | Not published | 680 | 0.6 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | Not published | $55.29 | 24,800 | 4.0 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | Not published | $16.18 | 90 | 0.1 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | Not published | $8.51 | 110 | 0.1 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | Not published | $18.95 | 470 | 0.2 |
| Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | Not published | Not published | 60 | 0.4 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | Not published | $25.52 | 150 | 0.1 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | Not published | $28.81 | 5,430 | 0.6 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | Not published | $19.11 | 4,240 | 3.0 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | Not published | $22.15 | 450 | 0.2 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | Not published | $23.77 | 270 | 0.1 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | Not published | $21.66 | 60 | 0.1 |
| Portland-South Portland, ME | Not published | $21.04 | Not published | Not published |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | Not published | $28.97 | 210 | 0.2 |
| Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT | Not published | Not published | 80 | 0.3 |
| Richmond, VA | Not published | $16.83 | 60 | 0.1 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | Not published | Not published | 60 | 0.0 |
| Rochester, NY | Not published | Not published | 210 | 0.4 |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | Not published | $31.19 | 280 | 0.3 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | Not published | $21.30 | 210 | 0.2 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | Not published | Not published | 150 | 0.1 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | Not published | Not published | 680 | 0.3 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | Not published | Not published | 40 | 0.0 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | Not published | $20.53 | 130 | 0.1 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | Not published | $23.22 | Not published | Not published |
| Tucson, AZ | Not published | $18.12 | 70 | 0.2 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | Not published | $23.10 | 450 | 0.1 |
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.