Athlete salary

Average athlete salary

$51,729

$24.87 hourly rate

Entry-level athlete salary
$24,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does an athlete make?

The average athlete salary in the United States is $51,729. Athlete salaries typically range between $24,000 and $108,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for athletes is $24.87 per hour.

Athlete salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Athletes earn the highest average salary in Alaska.

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Where can an Athlete earn more?

Compare salary by location
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89k
69k
49k
29k
9k
California$68,794
Jackson, MS$39,038
Compare salary by company
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214k
194k
174k
154k
134k
114k
94k
74k
54k
34k
14k
Erlanger Health System$195,745
Regent University College Of Science And Technology$43,891

Athlete salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor and CareerExplorer, the average salary for an athlete typically falls between $38,071 and $77,300.
zippia
$51,729yearly
glassdoor[1]
$54,591yearly
Salary.com[2]
$38,071yearly
CareerExplorer[3]
$77,300yearly

Average athlete salary by state

Highest paying states for athletes

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1New Jersey$73,376$35.28
2Delaware$66,076$31.77
3Connecticut$67,580$32.49
4Alaska$89,689$43.12
5New Hampshire$63,437$30.50
6Arizona$56,616$27.22
7Michigan$59,065$28.40
8Rhode Island$66,875$32.15
9Massachusetts$65,516$31.50
10California$67,129$32.27
11Pennsylvania$66,109$31.78
12District of Columbia$63,357$30.46
13New York$63,493$30.53
14Iowa$50,968$24.50
15Louisiana$49,736$23.91
16Maryland$64,135$30.83
17Texas$53,692$25.81
18Utah$50,936$24.49
19North Dakota$56,193$27.02
20Nevada$56,390$27.11
21Kansas$47,648$22.91
22Vermont$59,767$28.73
23Virginia$60,160$28.92
24New Mexico$51,811$24.91
25North Carolina$51,729$24.87
26Hawaii$49,469$23.78
27South Carolina$47,408$22.79
28South Dakota$44,334$21.31
29Illinois$50,535$24.30
30Wyoming$40,593$19.52
31Oregon$44,540$21.41
32West Virginia$48,169$23.16
33Montana$41,464$19.93
34Ohio$48,357$23.25
35Oklahoma$44,648$21.47
36Kentucky$41,726$20.06
37Florida$47,150$22.67
38Minnesota$37,752$18.15
39Mississippi$39,237$18.86
40Arkansas$44,632$21.46
41Tennessee$42,501$20.43
42Wisconsin$43,863$21.09
43Georgia$42,347$20.36
44Colorado$35,761$17.19
45Missouri$38,063$18.30
46Nebraska$36,950$17.76
47Indiana$35,077$16.86
48Alabama$34,243$16.46
49Maine$39,461$18.97
50Idaho$28,081$13.50
51Washington$29,144$14.01

Highest paying cities for athletes

The highest-paying cities for athletes are Oakland, CA, New Haven, CT, and Boston, MA.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Oakland, CA$68,794$33.07
2New Haven, CT$67,631$32.51
3Boston, MA$65,152$31.32
4New York, NY$63,400$30.48
5Washington, DC$63,110$30.34
6Virginia Beach, VA$59,843$28.77
7Mount Pleasant, MI$58,584$28.17
8Fargo, ND$57,633$27.71
9Las Vegas, NV$57,002$27.40
10Surprise, AZ$56,525$27.18
11Austin, TX$55,440$26.65
12Greensboro, NC$52,245$25.12
13Salt Lake City, UT$50,082$24.08
14Ankeny, IA$49,731$23.91
15Urban Honolulu, HI$49,548$23.82
16Decatur, IL$46,540$22.38
17Norman, OK$44,852$21.56
18Murfreesboro, TN$42,565$20.46
19Alpharetta, GA$42,334$20.35
20Jackson, MS$39,038$18.77

Athlete salary details

An athlete's salary ranges from $24,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $108,000 at the 90th percentile.

What is an athlete's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$108,000$9,000$52
75th Percentile$76,000$6,333$37
Average$51,729$4,311$25
25th Percentile$34,000$2,833$16
10th Percentile$24,000$2,000$12

Highest paying athlete jobs

The highest paying types of athletes are professional athlete, strength and conditioning coach, and performance coach.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
Head Baseball Coach$44,502$3,708$21.3921,993
Performance Coach$48,571$4,048$23.3518,116
Baseball Coach$44,764$3,730$21.5214,485
Tennis Coach$43,321$3,610$20.8314,629
Soccer Coach$43,616$3,635$20.9714,483
Strength And Conditioning Coach$49,382$4,115$23.7414,934

Which companies pay athletes the most?

Athlete salaries at Erlanger Health System and Excelsior Orthopaedics are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average athlete salary at companies like SSM Health and Park Nicollet Medical Center Inc are highly competitive.

Rank
ascdesc
Company
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Erlanger Health System$195,745$94.11
2Excelsior Orthopaedics$141,601$68.08
3SSM Health$108,529$52.18
4Park Nicollet Medical Center Inc$100,567$48.35
5Boston College$95,692$46.01
6Hospital Sisters Health System$95,631$45.98
7Sanford Health$87,666$42.15
8Emory Healthcare$86,280$41.48
9PSEA$84,350$40.55
10Dean Health Plan$76,099$36.59
11Eastern Washington University$71,320$34.29
12University of Hawaii Foundation$66,891$32.16
13Dartmouth-Hitchcock$65,316$31.40
14Beacon Health Options$63,455$30.51
15Spectrum Health$55,931$26.89
16University of Oklahoma$53,392$25.67
17University of Wisconsin-River Falls$49,494$23.80
18City of Austin$46,111$22.17
19Americorps$45,335$21.80
20Regent University College Of Science And Technology$43,891$21.10

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$51,000$50,200$49,400$48,600$47,800$47,000
MaleFemale

Athlete salary trends

The average athlete salary has risen by $11,373 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average athlete earned $40,356 annually, but today, they earn $51,729 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for athletes over the last decade.

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

Average athlete salary over time

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

  • National Average

Athlete salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$51,700$24.87-1.0%
2024$52,300$25.12+1.4%
2023$51,500$24.77-1.4%
2022$52,300$25.12+7.1%
2021$48,500$23.33+6.4%

Recently added athlete salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
C&S Wholesale GrocersWarehouse AthleteAberdeen, MD12/15/2024$43,827
Brentwood School DistrictAthletic Extra DutyNoel, MO12/13/2024$31,305
Connecticut ReapActivities/AthleticsWindsor, CT12/12/2024$40,175
SmartroofSales AthleteReston, VA12/11/2024$75,000
Nike Inc.Maintenance Athlete IMemphis, TN12/10/2024$43,827
SantaannaisdAthletics CalendarSan Angelo, TX12/08/2024$104,350
Dollar TreeIndustrial Athlete-11 PM ShiftRidgefield, WA12/05/2024$39,653
The Northwest School of The ArtsAthletics Game StaffSeattle, WA12/05/2024$41,677
United Sports BrandsAthlete Product SeedingFountain Valley, CA12/05/2024$58,436
Dunlop Sports AmericasNike Golf Territory Sales AthleteHuntington Beach, CA12/05/2024$100,000

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