Actors

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

32.8k

Average Age

38.4

Estimated Job Growth

10-year projection

Average Salary

$49,402

Average Male Salary

$58,541

Average Female Salary

$38,617

About

Actors are most often employed by the Motion pictures & video industries industry. The average yearly wage for Actors was $49,402 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Actors by wage are Postal service mail sorters, processors, & processing machine operators, Healthcare social workers, and Firstline supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, & groundskeeping workers.

Actors are part of the Arts, design, entertainment, sports, & media occupations, along with Artists & related workers, Commercial and industrial designers, Fashion designers, Floral designers, Graphic designers, and 25 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Actors are LA City (Central/Pacific Palisades) PUMA, CA, LA City (East Central/Hollywood) PUMA, CA, and LA City (Northeast/North Hollywood & Valley Village) PUMA, CA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Actors are LA City (Central/Pacific Palisades) PUMA, CA, LA City (East Central/Hollywood) PUMA, CA, and West Hollywood & Beverly Hills Cities PUMA, CA.

Photo by christopher walling

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Education, legal, community service, arts, & media occupations Arts, design, entertainment, sports, & media occupations

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Actors and on wages and locations for those in the field. Motion pictures & video industries 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 Broadcasting (except internet). Actors are paid most in Dutchess County (North & East) PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in LA City (Central/Pacific Palisades) PUMA, CA.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$49,402

AVERAGE SALARY

± $12,550

In 2020, Actors earned an average of $49,402, $6,552 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Healthcare social workers make somewhat more than Actors while Postal service mail sorters, processors, & processing machine operators make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Actors as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.646

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Actors had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.646, which is higher than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly for Actors (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Actors.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Actors

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Actors.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Actors, by number of employees, are Motion pictures & video industries, Independent artists, writers, and performers, Performing arts companies, Promoters of performing arts, sports, and similar events, agents and managers for artists, athletes, entertainers, and other public figures, Amusement & Recreation, Spectator sports, Employment services, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Broadcasting (except internet), Other schools & instruction and educational support services, and Restaurants & Food Services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Actors, by average wage, are Broadcasting (except internet), Architectural, engineering & related services, and Religious organizations.

Industries by Share

32.8k

2020 Workforce

± 4,443

−4.33%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 19.8%

The number of people employed as Actors has been declining at a rate of −4.33%, from 34,236 people in 2019 to 32,753 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Actors employed by various industries. Motion pictures & video industries employs the largest share of Actors at 21.9%, followed by Independent artists, writers, and performers with 21.7% and Performing arts companies with 13.5%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Actors in the US. The average age of male Actors in the workforce is 39 and of female Actors is 37.6, and the most common race/ethnicity for Actors is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

17.7k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 3,269

15k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 3,009

54.1% of Actors are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Actors.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Actors

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

67.5% of Actors are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 11.7% of Actors, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Actors.

Age by Sex

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 2.71

37.6

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.92

The median age of Actors is 38.4, and Male employees are generally 1.4 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

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 a relatively high number of Actors hold a major in Visual & Performing Arts.

Majors

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

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

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, and Social Perceptiveness. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Actors need more than the average amount of Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, and Reading Comprehension.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Actors from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Actors are expected to see a growth of 3% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

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 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.