Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 27-2011

Actors

O*NET task statements lead this Actors card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Art Directors, Public Relations Specialists, Fashion Designers, Special Effects Artists and Animators.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Actors: Art Directors ($115K) , Public Relations Specialists ($75K) , Fashion Designers ($81K) , Special Effects Artists and Animators ($102K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Actors publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 27-2011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Collaborate with other actors as part of an ensemble
  2. 2. Portray and interpret roles, using speech, gestures, and body movements, to entertain, inform, or instruct radio, film, television, or li…
  3. 3. Work closely with directors, other actors, and playwrights to find the interpretation most suited to the role
  4. 4. Perform humorous and serious interpretations of emotions, actions, and situations, using body movements, facial expressions, and gestures
  5. 5. Study and rehearse roles from scripts to interpret, learn and memorize lines, stunts, and cues as directed
  6. 6. Learn about characters in scripts and their relationships to each other to develop role interpretations
  7. 7. Attend auditions and casting calls to audition for roles
  8. 8. Sing or dance during dramatic or comedic performances
  9. 9. Work with other crew members responsible for lighting, costumes, make-up, and props
  10. 10. Tell jokes, perform comic dances, songs and skits, impersonate mannerisms and voices of others, contort face, and use other devices to am…
  11. 11. Read from scripts or books to narrate action or to inform or entertain audiences, utilizing few or no stage props
  12. 12. Promote productions using means such as interviews about plays or movies

Actors: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 27-2011 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Fine Arts. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 3.9
  2. 2. Speaking 3.9
  3. 3. Active Listening 3.8
  4. 4. Social Perceptiveness 3.8
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.0
  6. 6. Monitoring 3.0
  7. 7. Time Management 3.0
  8. 8. Writing 2.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Fine Arts 4.7
  2. 2. English Language 4.3
  3. 3. Communications and Media 4.1
  4. 4. Sociology and Anthropology 3.4
  5. 5. Psychology 3.3
  6. 6. Customer and Personal Service 3.1
National median after O*NET task lead
N/A
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Collaborate with other actors as part of an ensemble
N/A
National median
↑ +0%
Growth 2024-2034
6,300
Annual openings
55,000
Estimated US jobs
Art Directors
Highest-pay peer · $115K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Some college, no degree

Other Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles

  1. 1. Art Directors $114,850
  2. 2. Public Relations Specialists $74,750
  3. 3. Fashion Designers $80,960
  4. 4. Special Effects Artists and Animators $102,030
  5. 5. Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film $74,990
  6. 6. Writers and Authors $76,910

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Actors (SOC 27-2011). The national OEWS median is N/A inside Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Art Directors, Public Relations Specialists, Fashion Designers, Special Effects Artists and Animators. Lead published task: Collaborate with other actors as part of an ensemble.

Employment Projections expect +0% change between 2024 and 2034 (slower than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 6,300 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Some college, no degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

State-level wage rows vary; see the full salary details page for the complete state breakdown. Highest-pay peer shown here: Art Directors at $114,850. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 27-2011 · national median N/A. The day-to-day tasks above set this role apart from peers with a similar title.

Actors salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 27-2011

Art Directors

Highest-pay peer vs Actors · $115K

Public Relations Specialists

Lower-pay peer beside Actors · $75K

Compare Actors

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Actors with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Actors full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

What do actors do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Actors. Leading ones include: Collaborate with other actors as part of an ensemble; Portray and interpret roles, using speech, gestures, and body movements, to entertain, inform, or instruct radio, film, television, or li…; Work closely with directors, other actors, and playwrights to find the interpretation most suited to the role; Perform humorous and serious interpretations of emotions, actions, and situations, using body movements, facial expressions, and gestures. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for actors? ▼
For SOC 27-2011, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (3.9), Speaking (3.9), Active Listening (3.8), Social Perceptiveness (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Fine Arts, English Language, Communications and Media. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Actors? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports N/A as the national median for Actors. Beside Art Directors ($114,850), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Actors? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Actors is +0%. Projected annual openings: about 6,300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: slower than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Actors? ▼
BLS assigns Some college, no degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Actors. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Is state-level OEWS pay published for Actors? ▼
This card does not list a state ranking for Actors. The full salary details page is the state and metro breakdown.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Actors card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 27-2011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Actors. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics