Student Athlete Salary

Q: How much does a Student Athlete make?

Student athletes make $45,705 per year on average, or $21.97 per hour, in the United States. Student athletes on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $26,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $77,000. Location impacts how much a student athlete can expect to make. Student athletes make the most in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, West Virginia, and Rhode Island.

Updated February 6, 2023

Average Student Athlete Salary

$45,705yearly

$21.97 hourly

Entry level Salary

$26,000 yearly

$26,00010%

$45,705Median

$77,00090%

How much does a Student Athlete make?

Student athletes make $45,705 per year on average, or $21.97 per hour, in the United States. Student athletes on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $26,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $77,000.

Location impacts how much a student athlete can expect to make. Student athletes make the most in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, West Virginia, and Rhode Island.

Highest Paying States For Student Athletes

If both location and money are important to you, then you might want to check out moving to New York, Massachusetts and Vermont, as these three states offer the highest salaries throughout the U.S. for student athletes. Quite opposite of that list is the lowest paying states, which are Kentucky, Georgia, and Montana.

State View
County View

Average Salary:

Student Athlete average salary by State

Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Count
1	New York	$69,180	$33.26	330
2	Vermont	$64,714	$31.11	19
3	Rhode Island	$61,183	$29.41	28
4	Delaware	$56,059	$26.95	44
5	Massachusetts	$66,088	$31.77	126
6	Connecticut	$60,903	$29.28	55
7	Maine	$57,566	$27.68	21
8	Oregon	$55,641	$26.75	80
9	District of Columbia	$61,229	$29.44	30
10	Nebraska	$50,416	$24.24	49
11	New Jersey	$59,950	$28.82	123
12	West Virginia	$62,288	$29.95	15
13	Pennsylvania	$54,533	$26.22	195
14	North Dakota	$48,040	$23.10	19
15	Minnesota	$55,616	$26.74	77
16	California	$59,429	$28.57	337
17	Mississippi	$46,674	$22.44	41
18	New Mexico	$48,981	$23.55	33
19	Hawaii	$53,352	$25.65	21
20	Arizona	$46,497	$22.35	122
21	Virginia	$52,041	$25.02	145
22	New Hampshire	$50,889	$24.47	22
23	Nevada	$51,050	$24.54	22
24	Washington	$48,368	$23.25	124
25	Alaska	$52,149	$25.07	2
26	Illinois	$46,029	$22.13	220
27	Michigan	$46,846	$22.52	93
28	Indiana	$44,247	$21.27	112
29	Louisiana	$46,738	$22.47	33
30	Texas	$46,546	$22.38	238
31	South Carolina	$45,834	$22.04	53
32	Tennessee	$39,437	$18.96	122
33	Alabama	$38,714	$18.61	93
34	Iowa	$38,008	$18.27	133
35	Missouri	$40,110	$19.28	111
36	Arkansas	$36,667	$17.63	72
37	Wisconsin	$41,592	$20.00	69
38	Ohio	$41,235	$19.82	123
39	Colorado	$43,534	$20.93	86
40	Idaho	$40,375	$19.41	24
41	North Carolina	$42,062	$20.22	94
42	Wyoming	$27,158	$13.06	22
43	Maryland	$43,609	$20.97	71
44	Kentucky	$35,095	$16.87	71
45	Oklahoma	$38,037	$18.29	44
46	Montana	$33,667	$16.19	23
47	Utah	$36,241	$17.42	48
48	Kansas	$28,123	$13.52	60
49	Florida	$38,458	$18.49	169
50	South Dakota	$33,367	$16.04	15
51	Georgia	$34,268	$16.48	95

Highest Paying Cities For Student Athletes

Rank	City	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Count
1	New York, NY	$69,120	$33.23
2	Amherst, MA	$65,794	$31.63
3	San Jose, CA	$61,318	$29.48
4	Washington, DC	$61,208	$29.43
5	Eugene, OR	$55,896	$26.87
6	Philadelphia, PA	$54,789	$26.34	1
7	Richmond, VA	$51,758	$24.88	1
8	Mount Pleasant, MI	$47,120	$22.65
9	Fort Collins, CO	$43,501	$20.91	1
10	Greenville, NC	$43,488	$20.91
11	Madison, WI	$41,036	$19.73	4
12	Saint Charles, MO	$40,505	$19.47
13	Boca Raton, FL	$37,809	$18.18

Student Athletes Salary Details

Average Student Athlete Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a Student Athlete's Salary?

Percentile	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate
90th Percentile	$77,000	$6,417	$37
75th Percentile	$60,000	$5,000	$29
Average	$45,705	$3,809	$22
25th Percentile	$34,000	$2,833	$16
10th Percentile	$26,000	$2,167	$13

Highest Paying Types of Student Athletes

Job Title	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
Coach	$42,716	$3,560	$20.54	16,688
Basketball Coach	$44,858	$3,738	$21.57	14,517
Volleyball Coach	$43,626	$3,636	$20.97	14,484
Cheerleading Coach	$43,111	$3,593	$20.73	14,770
Gymnasium Coach	$35,572	$2,964	$17.10	14,582
Scout	$58,288	$4,857	$28.02	490

Here are the five companies hiring the most now:

Which Companies Pay Student Athletes The Most?

The highest paying companies for student athletes are UMass Lowell and University of California according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, companies like Frostburg State University and The City University of New York report highly competitive wages for student athletes.

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	UMass Lowell	$78,881	$37.92
2	University of California	$60,404	$29.04	33
3	Frostburg State University	$56,963	$27.39
4	The City University of New York	$55,191	$26.53	11
5	University of California-Berkeley	$54,837	$26.36
6	Central College	$53,528	$25.73
7	Virginia Commonwealth University	$47,875	$23.02	10
8	University of Massachusetts Amherst	$46,931	$22.56	1
9	Lindenwood University	$42,493	$20.43
10	University of Pennsylvania	$41,520	$19.96	8
11	San Jose State University	$41,196	$19.81	4
12	Campbell University	$40,303	$19.38
13	Coastal Carolina University	$40,138	$19.30	9
14	Cornell College	$37,373	$17.97	1
15	Compass Group USA	$36,393	$17.50	6

Student Athlete Pay Trends

Average Student Athlete Salary Over Time

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

Student Athlete Salary By Year

Year	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	% Change
2023	$45,700	$21.97	+4.1%
2022	$43,800	$21.07	+3.0%
2021	$42,500	$20.43	+4.5%
2020	$40,600	$19.52	+2.5%
2019	$39,600	$19.03	+1.5%

Recently Added Student Athlete Salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date Added	Salary
Providence College	Student Athlete Psychological Services Psychologist	Providence, RI	11/19/2022	$70,472
Virginia Commonwealth University	Student-Athlete Academic Coordinator	Richmond, VA	11/17/2022	$47,000
Colorado State University	Senior Coordinator for Student Athlete Mental Health	Fort Collins, CO	11/15/2022	$73,476
Colorado State University	Senior Coordinator for Student Athlete Mental Health	Fort Collins, CO	11/15/2022	$73,476
Somerville Public Schools	Student Athlete Mentor	Somerville, MA	10/28/2022	$36,000
Somerville Public Schools	Student Athlete Mentor	Somerville, MA	10/28/2022	$36,000
Compass Group USA Inc.	Student Athlete Dining Cook-University of Wisconsin	Madison, WI	09/06/2022	$39,653
Colorado State University	Senior Coordinator for Student Athlete Mental Health	Fort Collins, CO	09/03/2022	$73,476
Washington State University	Director of Student-Athlete Innovation	Pullman, WA	09/02/2022	$48,743
Compass Group, North America	Student Athlete Dining Attendant-Camp Randall	Madison, WI	07/23/2022	$35,479

Student Athlete Salaries FAQs

What State Pays Student Athletes The Most?

New York pays Student Athletes the most in the United States, with an average salary of $69,180 per year, or $33.26 per hour.

How Do I Know If I'm Being Paid Fairly As A Student Athlete?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a Student Athlete if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Massachusetts you should be paid close to $66,088 per year.

Have more questions? See all answers to common arts, entertainment, sports, and media questions.

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Updated February 6, 2023