Athletes and Sports Competitors · SOC 27-2021

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Athletes and Sports Competitorss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for athletes and sports competitors. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (14 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 22 of 22 metro areas

Athletes and Sports Competitors: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	St. Louis, MO-IL	$203,390	320	0.2
2	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$124,130	140	0.1
3	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$123,140	240	0.3
4	Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL	$107,590	Not published	Not published
5	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$106,060	Not published	Not published
6	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$100,130	560	0.1
7	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$94,530	Not published	Not published
8	Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	$84,810	30	0.1
9	Kansas City, MO-KS	$78,790	330	0.3
10	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$76,860	350	0.2
11	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$75,550	510	0.2
12	Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL	$74,440	Not published	Not published
13	Baton Rouge, LA	$63,920	130	0.3
14	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	$63,650	Not published	Not published
15	Pittsburgh, PA	$61,160	40	0.0
16	Colorado Springs, CO	$56,890	40	0.1
17	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$50,070	870	0.4
18	Wichita, KS	$46,080	40	0.1
19	Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC	$45,710	60	0.4
20	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$45,230	50	0.0
21	Omaha, NE-IA	$34,490	100	0.2
22	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$24,890	40	0.0

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Athletes and Sports Competitors overview.

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.