Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 27-2021

Athletes and Sports Competitors

The published band from $26,500 to $742,310 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Technical Writers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Athletes and Sports Competitors: Technical Writers ($90K) , Public Relations Specialists ($75K) , Commercial and Industrial Designers ($84K) , Fashion Designers ($81K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Athletes and Sports Competitors publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 27-2021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Assess performance following athletic competition, identifying strengths and weaknesses and making adjustments to improve future performance
  2. 2. Maintain equipment used in a particular sport
  3. 3. Attend scheduled practice or training sessions
  4. 4. Maintain optimum physical fitness levels by training regularly, following nutrition plans, or consulting with health professionals
  5. 5. Participate in athletic events or competitive sports, according to established rules and regulations
  6. 6. Exercise or practice under the direction of athletic trainers or professional coaches to develop skills, improve physical condition, or p…
  7. 7. Receive instructions from coaches or other sports staff prior to events and discuss performance afterwards
  8. 8. Represent teams or professional sports clubs, performing such activities as meeting with members of the media, making speeches, or partic…
  9. 9. Lead teams by serving as captain

Athletes and Sports Competitors: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 27-2021 - lead skill Speaking at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Administration and Management. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 3.9
  2. 2. Active Listening 3.8
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 3.8
  4. 4. Coordination 3.6
  5. 5. Monitoring 3.3
  6. 6. Judgment and Decision Making 3.3
  7. 7. Reading Comprehension 3.1
  8. 8. Social Perceptiveness 3.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Administration and Management 3.7
  2. 2. English Language 3.7
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 3.6
  4. 4. Personnel and Human Resources 3.4
  5. 5. Communications and Media 3.3
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.2
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$26,500 to $742,310
median $66,710 · ~28.0× spread
$67K
National median
↑ +6%
Growth 2024-2034
2,100
Annual openings
15,070
Estimated US jobs
Technical Writers
Highest-pay peer · $90K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Athletes and Sports Competitors

1. Kansas $63,630
2. Georgia $77,530
3. Kentucky $63,020
4. Nevada $119,780
5. Utah $122,800
6. New Jersey $253,870
7. Missouri $172,700
8. Texas $80,510
9. Florida $78,610
10. California $79,040

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

  1. 1. Technical Writers $90,390
  2. 2. Commercial and Industrial Designers $83,910
  3. 3. Fashion Designers $80,960
  4. 4. Producers and Directors $90,360
  5. 5. Set and Exhibit Designers $75,240
  6. 6. Public Relations Specialists $74,750

The OEWS band for Athletes and Sports Competitors runs from $26,500 (10th) to $742,310 (90th), about 28.0× wide, with median $66,710. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +6% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 2,100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns No formal educational credential 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.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Kansas at $63,630. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Technical Writers at $90,390. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Athletes and Sports Competitors pay-rank #21 in Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

Athletes and Sports Competitors sits at pay-rank #21 of 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

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.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Athletes and Sports Competitors is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Athletes and Sports Competitors salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 27-2021

Kansas · top state for Athletes and Sports Competitors

$64K published median

Georgia · #2 state pay

$78K · behind Kansas

Technical Writers

Highest-pay peer vs Athletes and Sports Competitors · $90K

Public Relations Specialists

Lower-pay peer beside Athletes and Sports Competitors · $75K

Compare Athletes and Sports Competitors

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Athletes and Sports Competitors with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Athletes and Sports Competitors mid-table among Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #21 of 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Interior Designers ($67K), Lighting Technicians ($68K), Designers, All Other ($65K), Graphic Designers ($63K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do athletes and sports competitors do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Athletes and Sports Competitors. Leading ones include: Assess performance following athletic competition, identifying strengths and weaknesses and making adjustments to improve future performance; Maintain equipment used in a particular sport; Attend scheduled practice or training sessions; Maintain optimum physical fitness levels by training regularly, following nutrition plans, or consulting with health professionals. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for athletes and sports competitors? ▼
For SOC 27-2021, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (3.9), Active Listening (3.8), Critical Thinking (3.8), Coordination (3.6). Knowledge areas emphasize Administration and Management, English Language, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Athletes and Sports Competitors? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $26,500 and the 90th at $742,310 for Athletes and Sports Competitors (28.0× spread). The national median is $66,710. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Athletes and Sports Competitors? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Athletes and Sports Competitors is +6%. Projected annual openings: about 2,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Athletes and Sports Competitors? ▼
BLS assigns No formal educational credential as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Athletes and Sports Competitors. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Athletes and Sports Competitors? ▼
Kansas ($63,630), Georgia ($77,530), Kentucky ($63,020) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

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 Athletes and Sports Competitors card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 27-2021. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Athletes and Sports Competitors. 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