# Athletes and Sports Competitors

SOC 27-2021. Page: https://educationguide.com/careers/athletes-and-sports-competitors

Compete in athletic events.

## Pay and outlook
- U.S. median wage $66,710 (middle half $36,790–$109,880; BLS May 2025)
- Ages 25-34: median $58,290; 63% hold a bachelor's or higher (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Jobs 2025-35: 5.5%; ~2.2k openings a year; typical entry: No formal educational credential

## Fields of degree of young workers (ages 25-34, bachelor's+)
- Physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure: 11% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/kinesiology-exercise-science, https://educationguide.com/degrees/parks-recreation-and-leisure-studies)
- General Business: 9% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/business)
- Business Management And Administration: 7% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/business-administration)
- Communications: 6% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/communications, https://educationguide.com/degrees/communication-journalism-and-related-programs-other)
- Criminal Justice And Fire Protection: 6% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/criminal-justice, https://educationguide.com/degrees/security-homeland-security)
- Marketing And Marketing Research: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/marketing, https://educationguide.com/degrees/specialized-sales-merchandising-and-marketing-operations)
- Psychology: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/psychology)
- Economics: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/economics)
- Finance: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/finance, https://educationguide.com/degrees/insurance)
- Hospitality Management: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/hospitality-management)

## Median wage by state
- AZ: $50,090
- CA: $79,040
- FL: $78,610
- GA: $77,530
- KS: $63,630
- KY: $63,020
- LA: $55,890
- MD: $48,200
- MO: $172,700
- NJ: $253,870
- NV: $119,780
- OH: $39,040
- OK: $44,110
- PA: $57,100
- SC: $45,720
- TX: $80,510
- UT: $122,800
- VA: $61,500

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#careers

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0). O*NET data: CC BY 4.0, O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA).