Average Dancers Salary in the United States

Dancers are typically paid by the hour rather than on an annual salary. BLS reports a national median hourly wage of $23.97 per hour and tracks 9,060 workers nationally.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2024 estimates . Data covers 20 states and 26 metro areas.

No annual salary published. BLS does not publish an annual wage estimate for Dancers. This happens with occupations where most work is project-based, hourly, or on irregular schedules (think actors, athletes, musicians, dancers, and some fine art roles). Hourly wages are shown below where available.

National hourly wage

Hourly pay for dancers across all workers captured in the latest BLS survey.

Median hourly wage: $23.97/hr
Mean hourly wage: $30.30/hr
10th percentile: $13.96/hr
90th percentile: $53.66/hr

Hourly rates for dancers vary widely by project type, union status, and experience. These figures include both short-engagement and extended work.

National employment

Workers tracked nationally: 9,060
Jobs per 1,000 workers: N/A

Where dancers earn the most per hour

BLS publishes hourly wage data for some locations but not others. Here are the locations with the highest reported median hourly wage.

By hourly wage

Top-paying states

New York: $28.86/hr
Pennsylvania: $25.65/hr
California: $25.26/hr
Missouri: $25.00/hr
Texas: $24.97/hr
Indiana: $24.36/hr
Wisconsin: $24.11/hr
Hawaii: $23.52/hr

By hourly wage

Top-paying metros

Kahului-Wailuku, HI: $38.98/hr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: $37.00/hr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: $36.28/hr
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: $31.12/hr
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY: $30.44/hr
Pittsburgh, PA: $25.65/hr
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY: $25.32/hr
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: $25.26/hr

Where dancers work

Locations with the largest workforce for this occupation. The "concentration" number next to each area shows how common this job is locally compared to the rest of the country — anything above 1.00 means the area has a higher-than-average share of dancers.

By employment

States with the most jobs

California: 2,880

LQ 2.71
New York: 1,400

LQ 2.50
Hawaii: 590

LQ 16.11
Florida: 510

LQ 0.89
Missouri: 450

LQ 2.63
Utah: 210

LQ 2.11
Nevada: 200

LQ 2.21
Wisconsin: 190

LQ 1.13

By employment

Metros with the most jobs

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 1,190

LQ 2.17
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 1,140

LQ 3.12
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 640

LQ 4.56
Urban Honolulu, HI: 420

LQ 16.03
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA: 240

LQ 2.36
Kansas City, MO-KS: 200

LQ 3.12
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV: 170

LQ 2.51
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 150

LQ 0.92

Job outlook

BLS projects employment for dancers from 2024 to 2034. Growth is roughly in line with the US average of about 4% across all occupations.

Projected growth: +4.5%; 600 net jobs over the projection period
Annual openings: 1,800; Includes growth plus replacements
Typical entry education: No formal educational credential

There are no formal educational requirements for entry. Much of the training happens through experience on the job.

Related occupations

Other jobs in the same field. Some of these are also hourly or project-based occupations without a published annual salary.