SOC 27-0000

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

41 occupations sorted by median salary

The Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations major group (SOC 27-0000) contains 41 distinct occupations in the BLS Standard Occupational Classification system, each measured individually by the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey in May 2025. Combined U.S. OEWS employment across this group is approximately 2,046,270 estimated jobs in covered establishments for occupations where employment is separately reported. The equal-weighted mean of the published occupation medians inside this group is $67,671. It is a derived comparison benchmark, not the group’s worker-level mean or median and not a career-stage estimate.

The published medians span from $114,850 for Art Directors to $37,360 for Musicians and Singers, a 3.1× endpoint ratio. The ranking establishes those occupation-level values but does not identify the effects of credentials, seniority, responsibility, or industry.

Use this page as a launch pad: each row links to the occupation's national profile, with percentile boundaries, local-area rows, projections, and education assignments where the relevant source publishes them. OEWS wages include straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. Employer benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, and nonproduction bonuses sit outside the estimate; their value varies too much to apply one site-wide uplift. For career planning, pair these medians with the 10th-to-90th percentile spread on each occupation's page so you understand the observed wage distribution before committing to an educational or certification pathway. Those percentile boundaries are not an individual's guaranteed floor or ceiling.

# Occupation Median Salary
1 Art Directors 27-1011 $114,850
2 Special Effects Artists and Animators 27-1014 $102,030
3 Technical Writers 27-3042 $90,390
4 Producers and Directors 27-2012 $90,360
5 Commercial and Industrial Designers 27-1021 $83,910
6 Fashion Designers 27-1022 $80,960
7 Editors 27-3041 $77,920
8 Writers and Authors 27-3043 $76,910
9 Film and Video Editors 27-4032 $75,420
10 Set and Exhibit Designers 27-1027 $75,240
11 Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film 27-4031 $74,990
12 Public Relations Specialists 27-3031 $74,750
13 Music Directors and Composers 27-2041 $73,710
14 Media and Communication Workers, All Other 27-3099 $73,620
15 Sound Engineering Technicians 27-4014 $73,130
16 Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners 27-3092 $72,420
17 Artists and Related Workers, All Other 27-1019 $71,240
18 Media and Communication Equipment Workers, All Other 27-4099 $70,720
19 Lighting Technicians 27-4015 $68,060
20 Interior Designers 27-1025 $67,190
21 Athletes and Sports Competitors 27-2021 $66,710
22 Designers, All Other 27-1029 $64,950
23 Graphic Designers 27-1024 $62,960
24 News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists 27-3023 $62,200
25 Interpreters and Translators 27-3091 $60,170
26 Broadcast Technicians 27-4012 $59,570
27 Audio and Video Technicians 27-4011 $58,100
28 Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators 27-1013 $55,490
29 Choreographers 27-2032 $55,310
30 Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys 27-3011 $47,340
31 Coaches and Scouts 27-2022 $47,320
32 Craft Artists 27-1012 $46,080
33 Photographers 27-4021 $44,660
34 Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials 27-2023 $40,710
35 Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers 27-1026 $39,390
36 Floral Designers 27-1023 $37,360
37 Actors 27-2011 N/A
38 Dancers 27-2031 N/A
39 Disc Jockeys, Except Radio 27-2091 N/A
40 Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers, All Other 27-2099 N/A
41 Musicians and Singers 27-2042 N/A

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Last updated: May 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

SOC classification from BLS Standard Occupational Classification system, 2018 edition.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. These figures are computed directly from BLS OEWS occupational wage data for this SOC major group. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2025.

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