Choreographer: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of choreographers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $34,090
- Hourly
- $16.39
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of choreographers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $41,600
- Hourly
- $20.00
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of choreographers earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $55,310
- Hourly
- $26.59
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of choreographers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $75,710
- Hourly
- $36.40
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of choreographers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $138,630
- Hourly
- $66.65
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Choreographers create new dance routines. The median pay is $55,310 a year ($26.59 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (33% of workers surveyed by O*NET).
- Median pay
- $55,310
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 2,860
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- medium preparation
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 33% of workers
Choreographers at a glance
Choreographers in the United States earned a median annual wage of $55,310 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for choreographers in the United States.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS projects employment of choreographers in the United States to grow 3.1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 600 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS estimated that 2,860 people were employed as choreographers in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Every page for Choreographers
What choreographers do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Direct rehearsals to instruct dancers in dance steps and in techniques to achieve desired effects.
- Advise dancers on standing and moving properly, teaching correct dance techniques to help prevent injuries.
- Teach students, dancers, and other performers about rhythm and interpretive movement.
- Record dance movements and their technical aspects, using a technical understanding of the patterns and formations of choreography.
- Direct and stage dance presentations for various forms of entertainment.
- Choose the music, sound effects, or spoken narrative to accompany a dance.
- Experiment with different types of dancers, steps, dances, and placements, testing ideas informally to get feedback from dancers.
- Seek influences from other art forms, such as theatre, the visual arts, and architecture.
Industries that employ it
Data Share of all choreographer jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).
- Educational services; state, local, and private29.2% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $54,280
- Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries27.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.5% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $91,170
- Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals1.4% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $42,220
Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Fine Arts, Education and Training, Administration and Management, Production and Processing, Design, Communications and Media.
Software choreographers use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
- Chorel Technology Dance DesignerGraphics or photo imaging software
- Credo Interactive DanceFormsGraphics or photo imaging software
- Salesforce VisualforceGraphical user interface development software
- Social media sitesWeb page creation and editing software
- YouTubeVideo creation and editing software
- Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
- Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
- Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareHot technology
- Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
- Salesforce softwareCustomer relationship management CRM softwareHot technology
- Email softwareElectronic mail software
Also called: Ballet Director, Dance Director, Dance Maker, Musical Choreographer, Opera Choreographer.
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.