Referee salary

Average referee salary

$56,571

$27.2 hourly rate

Entry-level referee salary
$25,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a referee make?

The average referee salary in the United States is $56,571. Referee salaries typically range between $25,000 and $127,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for referees is $27.2 per hour.

Referee salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Referees earn the highest average salary in Pennsylvania.

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Where can a Referee earn more?

Compare salary by location
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95k
75k
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35k
15k
Columbus, OH$78,501
Palm Harbor, FL$44,615
Compare salary by company
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Syracuse University$61,766
City of Plymouth, MN$33,891

Referee salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter and Comparably, the average salary for a referee typically falls between $43,305 and $57,005.
zippia
$56,571yearly
glassdoor[1]
$51,587yearly
indeed[2]
$43,305yearly
comparably[3]
$57,005yearly
ZipRecruiter[4]
$43,680yearly

Average referee salary by state

Highest paying states for referees

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1West Virginia$72,206$34.71
2Pennsylvania$77,920$37.46
3Arizona$72,096$34.66
4Virginia$76,753$36.90
5Michigan$72,090$34.66
6Connecticut$74,660$35.89
7Massachusetts$65,975$31.72
8Vermont$69,649$33.49
9Maine$65,483$31.48
10Rhode Island$65,713$31.59
11Kentucky$61,641$29.64
12North Carolina$65,572$31.52
13Washington$65,491$31.49
14Delaware$64,672$31.09
15Maryland$64,547$31.03
16California$66,380$31.91
17New Hampshire$63,885$30.71
18North Dakota$55,326$26.60
19Indiana$57,245$27.52
20New Mexico$59,179$28.45
21Oregon$61,600$29.62
22Nevada$58,794$28.27
23District of Columbia$62,824$30.20
24Wyoming$56,172$27.01
25Iowa$54,867$26.38
26Utah$49,566$23.83
27Ohio$54,458$26.18
28Wisconsin$49,686$23.89
29Montana$47,381$22.78
30Arkansas$50,710$24.38
31Alaska$52,273$25.13
32Idaho$50,493$24.28
33Kansas$46,285$22.25
34South Dakota$47,385$22.78
35Minnesota$48,010$23.08
36Illinois$47,170$22.68
37New Jersey$48,679$23.40
38New York$48,766$23.45
39Louisiana$46,972$22.58
40Tennessee$39,594$19.04
41Florida$42,887$20.62
42South Carolina$45,215$21.74
43Texas$36,211$17.41
44Georgia$37,724$18.14
45Alabama$38,034$18.29
46Colorado$32,691$15.72
47Hawaii$40,582$19.51
48Missouri$34,043$16.37
49Oklahoma$40,179$19.32
50Nebraska$33,798$16.25
51Mississippi$32,508$15.63

Highest paying cities for referees

The highest-paying cities for referees are Philadelphia, PA, Lynchburg, VA, and Scottsdale, AZ.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Philadelphia, PA$78,501$37.74
2Lynchburg, VA$73,128$35.16
3Scottsdale, AZ$72,059$34.64
4Greenville, NC$69,737$33.53
5Roseville, CA$68,384$32.88
6Shoreline, WA$66,264$31.86
7Boston, MA$65,727$31.60
8Medford, OR$64,927$31.21
9Fort Wayne, IN$61,443$29.54
10Albuquerque, NM$58,877$28.31
11Iowa City, IA$55,624$26.74
12Anchorage, AK$53,049$25.50
13Racine, WI$49,476$23.79
14Pleasant Grove, UT$49,023$23.57
15New York, NY$48,653$23.39
16Fridley, MN$48,060$23.11
17Missoula, MT$47,894$23.03
18Wheaton, IL$47,158$22.67
19Overland Park, KS$46,338$22.28
20Palm Harbor, FL$44,615$21.45

Referee salary details

A referee's salary ranges from $25,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $127,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Referee Salary Graph
Average Referee Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a referee's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$127,000$10,583$61
75th Percentile$86,000$7,167$41
Average$56,571$4,714$27
25th Percentile$36,000$3,000$17
10th Percentile$25,000$2,083$12

Which companies pay referees the most?

Referee salaries at Syracuse University and YMCA of Metro Knoxville are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average referee salary at companies like The University of New Mexico and City of Greenville, NC are highly competitive.

Rank
ascdesc
Company
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Syracuse University$61,766$29.70
2YMCA of Metro Knoxville$57,408$27.60
3The University of New Mexico$57,272$27.53
4City of Greenville, NC$57,141$27.47
5Think Together$55,714$26.79
6Ymca Of Metropolitan Atlanta$55,382$26.63
7University of Pennsylvania$51,764$24.89
8Volo Aviation$51,485$24.75
9The State of Oregon$50,559$24.31
10University of Alaska$50,483$24.27
11Rink Management Services$49,532$23.81
12ZogSports$46,680$22.44
13City of Roseville Michigan$46,435$22.32
14Fairmont Schools$46,288$22.25
15City of Moorhead$45,022$21.65
16City of Racine$40,738$19.59
17Wheaton Park District$38,954$18.73
18Des Moines, Washington$38,675$18.59
19City of Medford$35,844$17.23
20City of Plymouth, MN$33,891$16.29

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$55,000$54,200$53,400$52,600$51,800$51,000
MaleFemale

Referee salary trends

The average referee salary has risen by $11,240 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average referee earned $45,331 annually, but today, they earn $56,571 a year. That works out to a 13% change in pay for referees over the last decade.

Compare referee salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average referee salary over time

Compare referee salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average
  • Columbus, OH

Referee salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$56,600$27.20+1.3%
2024$55,800$26.83+5.4%
2023$52,800$25.39+0.8%
2022$52,400$25.19+4.3%
2021$50,200$24.12+3.1%

Recently added referee salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
I9 Sports CorporationSports Official/Referee-Norman/Moore Area Location: Ok-Norman/Moore-73019 Post DateNorman, OK12/15/2024$20,870
I9 Sports CorporationSoccer OfficialFrisco, TX12/14/2024$31,305
Channel Islands YMCAYouth Soccer RefereeOxnard, CA12/14/2024$34,436
ZogcultureZogsports Soccer RefereeJersey City, NJ12/11/2024$73,045
I9 Sports CorporationYouth Volleyball RefereeEastvale, CA12/10/2024$33,392
Denver Public SchoolsReferee, StudentDenver, CO12/10/2024$41,740
I9 Sports CorporationYouth Soccer RefereeLynnwood, WA12/09/2024$41,740
The PlexSoccer RefereeSan Jose, CA12/09/2024$45,914
VolocityReferee-Volleyball (Sunday League)Rowe, MA12/09/2024$46,958
State of OregonHearings Referee (Title IV-D Child Support Hearings Referee)Portland, OR12/08/2024$54,432

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