SOC 27-2031.00

    Dancers

    Perform dances.

    Median pay
    Not reported
    Growth
    +2.2%
    As fast as average
    Openings a year
    1,600
    Typical education
    No formal credential

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Not reported in the 2025 federal data

    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    8,130 people work in this occupation.

    What dancers do

    Job Zone 3: Medium preparation

    Perform dances. May perform on stage, for broadcasting, or for video recording.

    Usually vocational training, an associate degree or related experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    64 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    7 / 100
    Artistic (A) · strongest
    90 / 100
    Social (S)
    44 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    36 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    10 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code ARS. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Performing General Physical Activities
    88
    Getting Information
    78
    Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
    74
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    65
    Thinking Creatively
    59
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    56
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    52
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    51
    Developing and Building Teams
    45
    Handling and Moving Objects
    40
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Active Listening
    • Coordination
    • Critical Thinking
    • Monitoring
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Speaking
    • Time Management
    • Active Learning
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Service Orientation

    Knowledge

    • Fine Arts
    • English Language
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Mathematics
    • Transportation
    • Psychology
    • Sales and Marketing
    • Therapy and Counseling
    • Education and Training
    • Sociology and Anthropology

    Abilities

    • Gross Body Coordination
    • Extent Flexibility
    • Dynamic Strength
    • Stamina
    • Trunk Strength
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
    • Dynamic Flexibility
    • Multilimb Coordination
    • Static Strength
    • Oral Comprehension

    Work styles

    • Perseverance
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Adaptability
    • Optimism
    • Self-Confidence
    • Social Orientation
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Innovation

    Also called

    Acrobatic Dancer · Ballerina · Ballet Company Member · Ballet Dancer · Ballet Soloist · Belly Dancer · Burlesque Dancer · Company Dancer · Dance Artist · Dance Performer

    Career pathway

    From your interests to dancers

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • DancersPay not reported

    3. Majors

    4. Colleges

    College Scorecard program outcomes

    Colleges with strong outcomes

    Programs that lead to this career, ranked by what their graduates earn four years after finishing. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid.

    1. 1University of Notre Dame-South Bend IN logo
      University of Notre Dame-South Bend IN

      Notre Dame, IN · Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $62,573
      4 yrs after
      $64,880
      Median debt
      $19,000
    2. 2University of Iowa logo
      University of Iowa

      Iowa City, IA · Dance · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $60,188
      Median debt
      Not reported
    3. 3University of California-Davis logo
      University of California-Davis

      Davis, CA · Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $31,185
      4 yrs after
      $56,823
      Median debt
      Not reported
    4. 4Muhlenberg College logo
      Muhlenberg College

      Allentown, PA · Dance · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $34,496
      4 yrs after
      $56,503
      Median debt
      $26,000
    5. 5University of California-Berkeley CAL logo
      University of California-Berkeley CAL

      Berkeley, CA · Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $43,297
      4 yrs after
      $55,555
      Median debt
      $9,273
    6. 6
      University of South Carolina-Columbia Main Campus

      Columbia, SC · Dance · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $55,274
      Median debt
      Not reported
    7. 7Drake University logo
      Drake University

      Des Moines, IA · Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $27,600
      4 yrs after
      $54,950
      Median debt
      $24,250
    8. 8Miami University-Oxford logo
      Miami University-Oxford

      Oxford, OH · Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $54,215
      Median debt
      Not reported

    Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025. Programs with few graduates are not listed.

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What dancers may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work.

    • Ballet
    • Dance, General
    • Dance, Other
    • Musical Theatre
    • Theatre and Dance

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.