Actor earnings by seniority

90th percentile

Top-level actor earnings begin at:

$75.44 per hour

$156,915 per year

75th percentile

Senior-level actor earnings begin at:

$47.36 per hour

$98,509 per year

50th percentile

Mid-level actor earnings begin at:

$23.30 per hour

$48,464 per year

25th percentile

Junior-level actor earnings begin at:

$15.90 per hour

$33,072 per year

10th percentile

Starting level actor earnings begin at:

$14.08 per hour

$29,286 per year

Approximate values based on highest and lowest earning segments.

Actor salary by state

State Name Average Salary
New Jersey $74,298
California $62,046
New York $58,531
Maryland $50,274
Colorado $48,818
Pennsylvania $48,797
Oklahoma $48,568
Washington $48,464
Nevada $47,050
Hawaii $44,942
Arizona $43,139
Massachusetts $38,730
Wisconsin $38,584
South Dakota $38,272
Florida $37,918
Illinois $37,482
Texas $36,899
New Hampshire $36,442
District of Columbia $34,736
Minnesota $34,154
South Carolina $33,426
Louisiana $30,555
Indiana $30,139
Missouri $30,118
Michigan $29,515
Tennessee $29,141
Kansas $26,000
Oregon $25,168
Iowa $23,795
Georgia $23,650
Ohio $19,635
Utah $18,221

How do actor salaries compare to similar careers?

Actors earn about the same as related careers in Washington. On average, they make less than music artists but more than announcers.

Career Median Salary
Music artist salary $81K
Singer salary $81K
Casting director salary $73K
Conductor salary $62K
Actor salary $48K
Performer salary $61K
Choreographer salary $63K
Announcer salary $38K

Source: CareerExplorer (Aggregated)