Actors

Detailed Occupation

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2024 Workforce

34.8k

Average Age

40.3

Estimated Job Growth

0.175%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$61,063

Average Male Salary

$66,540

Average Female Salary

$54,892

About

Actors are most often employed by the Independent artists, writers, and performers industry. The average yearly wage for Actors was $61,063 in 2024.

The locations that employ the most Actors are Los Angeles County (North)--LA City (Northeast/North Hollywood & Valley Village) PUMA, CA, Los Angeles County (Central)--Burbank City PUMA, CA, and Los Angeles County (Central)--LA City (East Central & Hollywood) PUMA, CA. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Actors are Los Angeles County (Central)--Burbank City PUMA, CA, Los Angeles County (North)--LA City (Northeast/North Hollywood & Valley Village) PUMA, CA, and Los Angeles County (Northwest)--LA City (North Central/Van Nuys & North Sherman Oaks) PUMA, CA.

Photo by christopher walling

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Employment

Employment and salary information for the Actors workforce. Actors workforce in 2024 was 34,785 people, of which 47% were women and 53% were men. Actors are paid most in NYC-Brooklyn Community District 7--Sunset Park & Windsor Terrace PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Los Angeles County (Central)--Burbank City PUMA, CA.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

18,429

Male Workforce

± 3.33k

16,356

Female Workforce

± 3.14k

The Actors workforce in 2024 was 34,785 people (47% women and 53% men). This implies an average annual growth of 34% between 2014 (25,963) and 2024 (34,785).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Actors.

During 2024, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were Connecticut ($320,006), California ($82,715), and New York ($79,015).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$61,063

AVERAGE WAGE

#245 in the ranking (2014)

$69,878

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2024, Actors earned an average of $61,063, $8,815 less than the average national salary of $69,878

The graph shows the ranking of Actors in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2014.

In 2024, Actors had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.658, which is higher than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly for Actors (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Actors compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Actors and on wages for those in the field. Independent artists, writers, and performers is the industry that employs the most Actors, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Actors, by average wage, is Telecommunications, except wired telecommunications carriers ($118,196).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

34.8k

2024 Workforce

± 4,578

−0.00287%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 18.6%

This graphic shows the share of Actors employed by various industries. Independent artists, writers, and performers employs the largest share of Actors at 38.3%, followed by Motion pictures & video industries with 32.3% and Performing arts companies with 15%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Actors in the US. The workforce of Actors in 2024 was 34,785 people, with 47% woman, and 53% men. The average age of male Actors in the workforce is 41.5 and of female Actors is 38.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Actors is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Actors in 2024 was 34,785 people, with 47% woman, and 53% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 25 to 29 years (5,180 people), 30 to 34 years (4,797 people), and 35 to 39 years (4,542 people). Among them they concentrated 42% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2024, 15.9% of Actors workers were Hispanic and 84.1% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (44.8%), Puerto Rican (20)%, and Cuban (11.7)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2024, 67.3% of the Actors workforce were White, of which 46.3% were women and 53.7% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Black (11.8%) and Two or More Races (11.4%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Actors from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Actors is Visual & Performing Arts but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2024 were Visual & Performing Arts.

Among the necessary skills for Actors, Speaking stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Actors need more than the average amount of Social Perceptiveness.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Actors in 2024 (counting all academic degrees) were Visual & Performing Arts (8,237 people), Business (1,858 people), and Communications (1,758 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Actors workers were Bachelors Degree (14,984 people), Some college (6,471 people), and Graduate Degree (5,123 people).

The graphic shows the Actors workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Actors from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Actors need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness.

Projections

Projections on job growth for Actors from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.07%, but Actors are expected to see a growth of 0.175% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

0.175%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.07%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Actors. This profession is expected to grow less than than 3.07%, the average rate of national job growth.