Athletes and Sports Competitors Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $173K, rent takes 10.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,097/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new athletes and sports competitors typically earn — is $44K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,660/month. At HUD’s $1,097/month FMR, rent would take 41% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 159% above the national median — $173K here vs. $67K nationally.

Missouri pays $173K median vs. the U.S. average of $67K — that’s +159%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 88.97), the purchasing-power equivalent is $194K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $172,700 a year. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $44,340, and experienced athletes and sports competitors can clear N/A. The mean (average) is $472,090, reflecting that some workers earn substantially more. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $10,110/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,097/month, which eats 10.9% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Missouri has a Regional Price Parity of 88.97 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median athletes and sports competitors salary is worth about $194,110 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.