Costume Attendants salary

SOC 39-3092 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$50,400

per year, nationally

Middle half

$38,610–$77,680

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

6,510

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+5.9%

1,800 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$32,150$109,520

10th: $32,150
25th: $38,610
Median: $50,400
75th: $77,680
90th: $109,520

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where costume attendants earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	New York	$95,230	107.9	950	2.33×
2	Georgia	$94,890	96.3	100	0.50×
3	California	$72,030	110.7	1,620	2.12×
4	Washington	$64,650	107.0	120	0.80×
5	Colorado	$57,960	103.1	40	0.33×
6	Hawaii	$57,660	110.0	30	1.22×
7	Nevada	$55,640	100.0	390	6.00×
8	Massachusetts	$55,190	105.8	90	0.61×
9	District of Columbia	$53,290	109.9	60	1.95×
10	Minnesota	$52,000	98.6	80	0.64×
11	Oregon	$51,680	103.4	60	0.72×
12	Pennsylvania	$50,270	97.6	260	1.04×
13	Illinois	$49,170	100.0	140	0.56×
14	Utah	$47,850	98.9	140	1.93×
15	Virginia	$46,790	101.1	40	0.25×
16	Ohio	$46,330	92.8	160	0.69×
17	Tennessee	$45,220	91.9	50	0.35×
18	New Jersey	$45,010	108.8	100	0.55×
19	Connecticut	$44,550	103.6	60	0.79×
20	Missouri	$40,800	90.8	110	0.88×
21	Florida	$40,680	103.4	670	1.61×
22	Wisconsin	$38,470	94.1	160	1.31×
23	Arizona	$37,430	100.7	60	0.46×
24	Kentucky	$37,240	90.2	40	0.43×
25	Alabama	$35,910	88.8	50	0.59×
26	Indiana	$34,160	93.3	40	0.32×
27	North Carolina	$33,920	94.3	50	0.22×
28	South Carolina	$33,510	93.7	50	0.56×
29	Michigan	$31,920	96.2	80	0.43×
30	Texas	$28,440	97.1	550	0.93×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where costume attendants wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for costume attendants

The 34 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$106,810	113.6	1,210	4.62×
2	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$95,230	112.6	890	2.25×
3	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$94,900	100.1	70	0.62×
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$69,930	110.4	40	0.76×
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$65,460	111.1	110	1.27×
6	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$59,420	102.6	120	0.99×
7	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$59,260	115.6	80	0.84×
8	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$56,690	100.2	350	7.44×
9	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$56,000	108.3	70	0.58×
10	Columbus, OH	$55,310	95.5	30	0.65×
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$52,000	104.8	70	0.87×
12	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$51,280	108.9	80	0.59×
13	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$50,020	100.9	—	—
14	Pittsburgh, PA	$49,660	94.7	70	1.57×
15	Lancaster, PA	$49,600	98.3	40	3.59×
16	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$49,180	103.6	120	0.66×
17	Cleveland, OH	$48,780	93.9	40	0.84×
18	St. Louis, MO-IL	$47,160	95.1	50	0.85×
19	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$45,750	98.6	210	1.51×
20	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$45,010	105.4	30	0.62×
21	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$44,280	102.7	50	1.84×
22	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$43,780	101.4	540	9.14×
23	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$43,620	111.9	90	1.43×
24	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$41,440	103.3	50	0.48×
25	North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL	$40,800	102.4	30	2.43×
26	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$40,440	96.9	70	2.00×
27	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$39,800	106.4	50	0.66×
28	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$39,730	95.4	50	1.14×
29	Madison, WI	$39,190	97.3	40	2.56×
30	Kansas City, MO-KS	$35,100	92.5	40	0.91×
31	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$33,510	97.3	30	0.60×
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$27,090	103.1	—	—
33	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$26,380	98.1	80	1.41×
34	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$24,410	94.7	60	1.35×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where costume attendants wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Amusement and Recreation Attendants$32,150
Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers$32,910
Gambling Dealers$34,320
Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants$36,300
Gambling Service Workers, All Other$36,310
Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners$34,980
Entertainment Attendants and Related Workers, All Other$32,640
Motion Picture Projectionists$38,270