Arts, Design & Media
Athletes & Sports Competitors
SOC 27-2021
Compete professionally in sport, where careers are short and intense.
The job
Median pay
$67k
$37k to $110k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing fast
+5.5% projected
Openings a year
2k
BLS projection
Typical education
No formal credential
Our model
AI displacement risk
Low
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
6/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
6th pct
More exposed than 6% of occupations · modeled estimate · 74th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
53/100
Key skills
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Learning
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 1,840 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $81k |
| Florida | 1,360 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $79k |
| Arizona | 940 | 0.3 | 3.0× | $50k |
| Georgia | 840 | 0.2 | 1.8× | $78k |
| California | 830 | 0.0 | 0.5× | $79k |
| North Carolina | 760 | 0.2 | 1.6× | $59k~ |
| Missouri | 670 | 0.2 | 2.4× | $173k |
| Tennessee | 640 | 0.2 | 2.0× | $54k~ |
| Ohio | 590 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $39k |
| Louisiana | 440 | 0.2 | 2.4× | $56k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 390 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $54k~ |
| New Jersey | 390 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $254k |
| Virginia | 390 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $62k~ |
| Michigan | 384 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $59k~ |
| Massachusetts | 362 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $81k~ |
| New York | 350 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $87k~ |
| Washington | 342 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $69k~ |
| Colorado | 340 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $70k~ |
| Utah | 340 | 0.2 | 2.0× | $123k |
| Alabama | 330 | 0.2 | 1.6× | $52k~ |
| Illinois | 310 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $68k~ |
| South Carolina | 280 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $46k |
| Minnesota | 276 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $66k~ |
| Washington DC | 250 | 0.4 | 3.7× | $108k~ |
| Pennsylvania | 250 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $57k |
| Wisconsin | 249 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $61k~ |
| Maryland | 238 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $48k~ |
| Oregon | 228 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $68k~ |
| Kansas | 170 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $64k |
| Nevada | 160 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $120k |
| Iowa | 137 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $54k~ |
| Kentucky | 132 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $63k~ |
| Oklahoma | 117 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $44k~ |
| Maine | 110 | 0.2 | 1.8× | $57k~ |
| Arkansas | 85 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $47k~ |
| Nebraska | 79 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $54k~ |
| North Dakota | 70 | 0.2 | 1.7× | $52k~ |
| Hawaii | 69 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $61k~ |
| Idaho | 69 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $52k~ |
| Mississippi | 66 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $46k~ |
| Montana | 59 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $54k~ |
| New Mexico | 56 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $56k~ |
| New Hampshire | 51 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $63k~ |
| Connecticut | 50 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $73k~ |
| Rhode Island | 50 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $69k~ |
| West Virginia | 37 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $49k~ |
| South Dakota | 36 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $49k~ |
| Vermont | 35 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $66k~ |
| Delaware | 30 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $64k~ |
| Alaska | 24 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $57k~ |
| Wyoming | 18 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $53k~ |
Top metro areas
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ870 jobs · $50k median
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX740 jobs
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ560 jobs · $100k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX510 jobs · $76k median
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL350 jobs · $77k median
- Kansas City, MO-KS330 jobs · $79k median
- St. Louis, MO-IL320 jobs · $203k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN290 jobs
Explore the rankings
Explore Athletes & Sports Competitors interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.