Choreographers are one of the happiest careers in the United States.

At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, choreographers rate their career happiness 4.2 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 5% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy choreographers are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:

Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers

Career Satisfaction Avg Salary
Singer
4.3
$63k
Music artist
4.3
$63k
Actor
4.2
$49k
Performer
4.2
$37k
Choreographer
4.2
$43k
Dancer
4.0
$39k
Makeup artist
3.7
$135k

So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:

  • Salary: Are choreographers happy with their salary?
  • Meaning: Do choreographers find their jobs meaningful?
  • Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as choreographers?
  • Work environment: How enjoyable are choreographer’s work environments?
  • Skills utilization: Are choreographers making the best use of their abilities?

Are choreographers happy with their salary?

Choreographers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.1/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most choreographers having generally positive views of their salary.

We asked choreographers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

3.1 out of 5 stars

516 choreographers

5 Star
20%

20% of choreographers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
20%

20% of choreographers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of choreographers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
21%

21% of choreographers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
17%

17% of choreographers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do choreographers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, choreographers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 4.1/5. Unlike many careers, choreographers have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become choreographers.

We asked choreographers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

4.1 out of 5 stars

523 choreographers

5 Star
49%

49% of choreographers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of choreographers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
15%

15% of choreographers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
7%

7% of choreographers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of choreographers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as choreographers?

Choreographers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.4/5. The majority of choreographers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked choreographers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

4.4 out of 5 stars

556 choreographers

5 Star
56%

56% of choreographers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
32%

32% of choreographers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
8%

8% of choreographers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
2%

2% of choreographers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
2%

2% of choreographers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a choreographer’s work environment?

As a whole, choreographers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 4.3/5. A solid majority of choreographers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a choreographer.

We asked choreographers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

4.3 out of 5 stars

554 choreographers

5 Star
52%

52% of choreographers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
29%

29% of choreographers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
13%

13% of choreographers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
4%

4% of choreographers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
1%

1% of choreographers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are choreographers making the best use of their abilities?

Former choreographers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 4.1/5. Most choreographers surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a choreographer, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.

We asked choreographers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

4.1 out of 5 stars

555 choreographers

5 Star
46%

46% of choreographers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
27%

27% of choreographers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
17%

17% of choreographers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
7%

7% of choreographers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
3%

3% of choreographers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars