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Background actor salary

Average background actor salary

$52,647

$25.31 hourly rate

Entry-level background actor salary
$24,000 yearly salary
Updated December 15, 2025
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Average background actor salary by state

Highest paying states for background actors

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Rhode Island$72,051$34.64
2Alaska$92,714$44.57
3Connecticut$72,795$35.00
4Delaware$71,200$34.23
5Massachusetts$70,801$34.04
6California$73,586$35.38
7New Hampshire$68,854$33.10
8Maryland$69,245$33.29
9District of Columbia$68,501$32.93
10Michigan$63,823$30.68
11West Virginia$61,360$29.50
12Vermont$65,220$31.36
13Ohio$61,736$29.68
14Nevada$61,246$29.45
15Illinois$58,468$28.11
16North Dakota$57,509$27.65
17Mississippi$55,879$26.86
18New Jersey$61,229$29.44
19New York$61,229$29.44
20New Mexico$55,938$26.89
21Texas$55,650$26.75
22Kentucky$53,454$25.70
23Missouri$54,405$26.16
24Iowa$52,514$25.25
25Louisiana$53,782$25.86
26Nebraska$52,629$25.30
27Utah$52,132$25.06
28South Carolina$51,624$24.82
29Tennessee$49,658$23.87
30Florida$50,765$24.41
31Arkansas$48,149$23.15
32Hawaii$53,880$25.90
33Georgia$49,430$23.76
34Oklahoma$48,154$23.15
35South Dakota$47,952$23.05
36Virginia$50,048$24.06
37Kansas$48,895$23.51
38Maine$48,803$23.46
39Arizona$47,109$22.65
40Oregon$48,475$23.31
41Pennsylvania$45,077$21.67
42Wisconsin$44,695$21.49
43Indiana$43,193$20.77
44Montana$45,291$21.77
45Colorado$45,571$21.91
46North Carolina$43,163$20.75
47Minnesota$41,969$20.18
48Alabama$38,018$18.28
49Washington$36,254$17.43
50Wyoming$33,788$16.24
51Idaho$35,085$16.87

Background actor salary details

A background actor's salary ranges from $24,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $112,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average background actor salary graph
Average background actor salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a background actor's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$112,000$9,333$54
75th Percentile$78,000$6,500$38
Average$52,647$4,387$25
25th Percentile$35,000$2,917$17
10th Percentile$24,000$2,000$12

Highest paying background actor jobs

The highest paying types of background actors are voice actor, voice-over artist, and actor.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Cast Member$29,039$2,420$13.9679,789
Actor$53,376$4,448$25.66218

Top companies hiring background actors now:

  1. Marc's jobs (1)
  2. NBCUniversal jobs (3)
  3. Sony Pictures jobs (2)
  4. The Walt Disney Company jobs (4)
  5. Amazon jobs (2)

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$53,000$52,200$51,400$50,600$49,800$49,000
MaleFemale

Background actor salary trends

The average background actor salary has risen by $9,846 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average background actor earned $42,801 annually, but today, they earn $52,647 a year. That works out to a 15% change in pay for background actors over the last decade.

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

Average background actor salary over time

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

Background actor salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2026$52,600$25.31+3.9%
2025$50,600$24.33+5.1%
2024$48,000$23.09+2.2%
2023$47,000$22.59+2.7%
2022$45,700$21.97+2.1%

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