Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023
27-2023 Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials
Officiate at competitive athletic or sporting events. Detect infractions of rules and decide penalties according to established regulations. Includes all sporting officials, referees, and competition judges.
National estimates for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials
Industry profile for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials
Geographic profile for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials
National estimates for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Mean wage
RSE (3) |
| 14,840 |
4.1 % |
(4) |
$ 44,860 |
4.1 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 22,950 |
$ 29,140 |
$ 35,820 |
$ 47,690 |
$ 63,410 |
(4)
Industry profile for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
4,530 |
0.08 |
(4) |
$ 37,670 |
| Other Amusement and Recreation Industries |
3,280 |
0.24 |
(4) |
$ 41,090 |
| Spectator Sports |
2,190 |
1.46 |
(4) |
$ 45,700 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
1,080 |
0.33 |
(4) |
$ 31,870 |
| Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events |
890 |
0.54 |
(4) |
$ 52,570 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Spectator Sports |
2,190 |
1.46 |
(4) |
$ 45,700 |
| Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events |
890 |
0.54 |
(4) |
$ 52,570 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
1,080 |
0.33 |
(4) |
$ 31,870 |
| Other Amusement and Recreation Industries |
3,280 |
0.24 |
(4) |
$ 41,090 |
| Gambling Industries |
380 |
0.18 |
(4) |
$ 40,650 |
Top paying industries for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events |
890 |
0.54 |
(4) |
$ 52,570 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools |
660 |
0.02 |
(4) |
$ 49,830 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
470 |
0.01 |
(4) |
$ 48,640 |
| Spectator Sports |
2,190 |
1.46 |
(4) |
$ 45,700 |
| Other Schools and Instruction |
180 |
0.04 |
(4) |
$ 44,540 |
Geographic profile for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
Top paying states for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
860 |
0.09 |
0.93 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
830 |
0.13 |
1.37 |
(4) |
$ 39,390 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL |
550 |
0.42 |
4.25 |
(4) |
$ 49,000 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
480 |
0.20 |
2.01 |
(4) |
$ 48,260 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
470 |
0.10 |
1.06 |
(4) |
$ 36,970 |
| Salt Lake City, UT |
400 |
0.49 |
5.05 |
(4) |
$ 30,590 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
340 |
0.21 |
2.17 |
(4) |
$ 40,430 |
| Provo-Orem, UT |
270 |
0.93 |
9.48 |
(4) |
$ 24,270 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS |
240 |
0.23 |
2.32 |
(4) |
$ 45,530 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
230 |
0.12 |
1.24 |
(4) |
$ 54,800 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Lawrence, KS |
190 |
3.76 |
38.46 |
(4) |
$ 34,090 |
| Bismarck, ND |
110 |
1.49 |
15.29 |
(4) |
$ 56,140 |
| Provo-Orem, UT |
270 |
0.93 |
9.48 |
(4) |
$ 24,270 |
| Racine, WI |
60 |
0.86 |
8.76 |
(4) |
$ 43,430 |
| Ann Arbor, MI |
180 |
0.84 |
8.60 |
(4) |
$ 32,090 |
| Bend-Redmond, OR |
70 |
0.74 |
7.61 |
(4) |
$ 39,380 |
| Billings, MT |
50 |
0.55 |
5.65 |
(4) |
$ 35,580 |
| Coeur d'Alene, ID |
40 |
0.55 |
5.62 |
(4) |
$ 23,320 |
| Greeley, CO |
60 |
0.50 |
5.11 |
(4) |
$ 44,210 |
| Salt Lake City, UT |
400 |
0.49 |
5.05 |
(4) |
$ 30,590 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
(4) |
$ 61,420 |
| Bismarck, ND |
110 |
1.49 |
15.29 |
(4) |
$ 56,140 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY |
50 |
0.11 |
1.10 |
(4) |
$ 55,540 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
230 |
0.12 |
1.24 |
(4) |
$ 54,800 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
160 |
0.06 |
0.60 |
(4) |
$ 54,440 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA |
50 |
0.11 |
1.09 |
(4) |
$ 54,280 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
(4) |
$ 53,650 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL |
50 |
0.18 |
1.86 |
(4) |
$ 52,940 |
| Madison, WI |
80 |
0.20 |
2.08 |
(4) |
$ 52,720 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI |
50 |
0.06 |
0.60 |
(4) |
$ 51,620 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials:
About May 2023 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(4) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries
depending on how they are typically paid.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: April 3, 2024
United States Department of Labor
