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 $24.80 per hour and tracks 8,130 workers nationally.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates . Data covers 16 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: $24.80/hr
Mean hourly wage: $30.83/hr
10th percentile: $14.88/hr
90th percentile: $52.30/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: 8,130
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

Nevada: $38.75/hr
Texas: $35.31/hr
Oregon: $30.80/hr
New York: $26.32/hr
Utah: $26.23/hr
Hawaii: $24.68/hr
Indiana: $24.46/hr
Kansas: $24.27/hr

By hourly wage

Top-paying metros

Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV: $38.75/hr
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: $35.31/hr
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: $34.82/hr
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA: $33.17/hr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: $31.35/hr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: $30.43/hr
Kahului-Wailuku, HI: $27.62/hr
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT: $27.19/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: 1,870

LQ 1.97
New York: 1,170

LQ 2.32
Hawaii: 480

LQ 14.76
Missouri: 440

LQ 2.87
Nevada: 430

LQ 5.34
Florida: 210

LQ 0.41
Wisconsin: 200

LQ 1.32
Texas: 190

LQ 0.26

By employment

Metros with the most jobs

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 980

LQ 1.98
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 660

LQ 2.02
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 400

LQ 3.26
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV: 370

LQ 6.30
Urban Honolulu, HI: 340

LQ 14.65
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 190

LQ 1.14
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA: 170

LQ 1.85
Kansas City, MO-KS: 150

LQ 2.66

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.