Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 27-2023

Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials

The published band from $26,540 to $82,960 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Producers and Directors.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials: Producers and Directors ($90K) , Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners ($72K) , Film and Video Editors ($75K) , Fashion Designers ($81K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 27-2023 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Officiate at sporting events, games, or competitions, to maintain standards of play and to ensure that game rules are observed
  2. 2. Judge performances in sporting competitions to award points, impose scoring penalties, and determine results
  3. 3. Inspect game sites for compliance with regulations or safety requirements
  4. 4. Resolve claims of rule infractions or complaints by participants and assess any necessary penalties, according to regulations
  5. 5. Verify scoring calculations before competition winners are announced
  6. 6. Signal participants or other officials to make them aware of infractions or to otherwise regulate play or competition
  7. 7. Teach and explain the rules and regulations governing a specific sport
  8. 8. Start races and competitions
  9. 9. Inspect sporting equipment or examine participants to ensure compliance with event and safety regulations
  10. 10. Compile scores and other athletic records
  11. 11. Verify credentials of participants in sporting events, and make other qualifying determinations, such as starting order or handicap number
  12. 12. Report to regulating organizations regarding sporting activities, complaints made, and actions taken or needed, such as fines or other di…

Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 27-2023 - lead skill Speaking at 3.6 ; lead knowledge English Language. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 3.6
  2. 2. Critical Thinking 3.4
  3. 3. Active Listening 3.3
  4. 4. Judgment and Decision Making 3.3
  5. 5. Monitoring 3.1
  6. 6. Reading Comprehension 3.0
  7. 7. Active Learning 3.0
  8. 8. Learning Strategies 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. English Language 3.4
  2. 2. Education and Training 2.9
  3. 3. Administration and Management 2.9
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 2.7
  5. 5. Psychology 2.5
  6. 6. Communications and Media 2.4
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$26,540 to $82,960
median $40,710 · ~3.1× spread
$41K
National median
↑ +6%
Growth 2024-2034
4,600
Annual openings
15,780
Estimated US jobs
Producers and Directors
Highest-pay peer · $90K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials

1. Ohio $55,040
2. New Jersey $67,600
3. Arizona $46,440
4. Massachusetts $48,400
5. Wisconsin $57,000
6. South Carolina $61,290
7. Illinois $49,070
8. Louisiana $50,080
9. West Virginia $46,490
10. North Dakota $63,920

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

  1. 1. Film and Video Editors $75,420
  2. 2. Fashion Designers $80,960
  3. 3. Commercial and Industrial Designers $83,910
  4. 4. Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners $72,420
  5. 5. Producers and Directors $90,360
  6. 6. Set and Exhibit Designers $75,240

The OEWS band for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials runs from $26,540 (10th) to $82,960 (90th), about 3.1× wide, with median $40,710. 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 4,600 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent 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: Ohio at $55,040. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Producers and Directors at $90,360. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials pay-rank #34 in Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

On the Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations median table (36 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials lands at #34, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third 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 Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 27-2023

Ohio · top state for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials

$55K published median

New Jersey · #2 state pay

$68K · behind Ohio

Producers and Directors

Highest-pay peer vs Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials · $90K

Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners

Lower-pay peer beside Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials · $72K

Compare Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials 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

Where does Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials land on the Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations median table? ▼
Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials is pay-rank #34 of 36 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers ($39K), Floral Designers ($37K), Photographers ($45K), Craft Artists ($46K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do umpires, referees, and other sports officials do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials. Leading ones include: Officiate at sporting events, games, or competitions, to maintain standards of play and to ensure that game rules are observed; Judge performances in sporting competitions to award points, impose scoring penalties, and determine results; Inspect game sites for compliance with regulations or safety requirements; Resolve claims of rule infractions or complaints by participants and assess any necessary penalties, according to regulations. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for umpires, referees, and other sports officials? ▼
For SOC 27-2023, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (3.6), Critical Thinking (3.4), Active Listening (3.3), Judgment and Decision Making (3.3). Knowledge areas emphasize English Language, Education and Training, Administration and Management. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $26,540 and the 90th at $82,960 for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials (3.1× spread). The national median is $40,710. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials is +6%. Projected annual openings: about 4,600. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials? ▼
Ohio ($55,040), New Jersey ($67,600), Arizona ($46,440) 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 Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 27-2023. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials. 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