Dancer vs cheerleader

The differences between dancers and cheerleaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a dancer has an average salary of $53,667, which is higher than the $51,600 average annual salary of a cheerleader.

The top three skills for a dancer include dance performances, excellent guest and public appearances. The most important skills for a cheerleader are public appearances, charitable events, and football games.

Dancer vs cheerleader overview

	Dancer	Cheerleader
Yearly salary	$53,667	$51,600
Hourly rate	$25.80	$24.81
Growth rate	27%	-
Number of jobs	167	278
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	27	36
Years of experience	-	-

Dancer vs cheerleader salary

Dancers and cheerleaders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dancer	Cheerleader
Average salary	$53,667	$51,600
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $114,000	Between $24,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between dancer and cheerleader education

There are a few differences between a dancer and a cheerleader in terms of educational background:

	Dancer	Cheerleader
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	Dance	Business
Most common college	-	-

Dancer vs cheerleader demographics

Here are the differences between dancers' and cheerleaders' demographics:

	Dancer	Cheerleader
Average age	27	36
Gender ratio	Male, 26.6% Female, 73.4%	Male, 15.7% Female, 84.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 10.7% Hispanic or Latino, 29.5% Asian, 8.4% White, 43.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 5.8% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	24%	14%

Differences between dancer and cheerleader duties and responsibilities

Dancer example responsibilities.

Perform at all NBA home games and various other events.
Perform hula and tahitian dances, lei greet, private conventions.
Experience in ballet, jazz, and contemporary/lyrical for all ages.
Train new dancers and help correlate new approaches towards improving luau show.
Perform in events throughout NYC; participate in rehearsals twice per week during school breaks.
Perform as a professional hula dancer and belly dancer on various corporate and special events.

Cheerleader example responsibilities.

Learned leadership responsibilities to accomplish goals.
Utilize communication skills and original jokes at establish comedy club to entertain audience.
Analyze karaoke trends and compile market research data to inform planning and strategy.

Dancer vs cheerleader skills

Common dancer skills

Dance Performances, 13%
Excellent Guest, 9%
Public Appearances, 8%
Costumes, 8%
Parade, 6%
Hip Hop, 6%

Common cheerleader skills

Public Appearances, 15%
Charitable Events, 10%
Football Games, 9%
NFL, 8%
Role Model, 7%
Alumni, 5%

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Dancer vs Cheerleader

Updated January 8, 2025

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