Self-employment method
Performing arts companies
92,984 people filed as a nonemployer business under this industry code in 2022 — no payroll, no employees, just them. These are gross receipts reported to the IRS, before any expense is taken out.
Median GROSS RECEIPTS for the year — money in, before rent, materials, fuel, insurance or tax. This is not take-home pay.
Share who grossed under $10,000 for the whole year — before expenses.
The middle half, in gross receipts. A quarter of filers took less than the lower figure.
Source: US Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2022 · view
How often it does not work out
Of the 92,984 people who filed under this code in 2022, 60.30% grossed under $10,000 for the entire year — before a single expense was deducted.
That is a floor, not an estimate. Census publishes GROSS RECEIPTS, not net income. Everyone inside that share earned less than the figure suggests once rent, materials, mileage, insurance and self-employment tax came out — and filers who grossed well above the threshold may still have netted nothing. The true share of people who earn nothing meaningful from this is higher than the number above, never lower.
Denominator: establishments_total = 92,984 · US Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2022 · view
Every filer, by what they grossed
The full distribution Census publishes. The median above is interpolated inside the band that holds the 50th percentile.
| Gross receipts for the year | Filers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $5,000 | 37,997 | 40.9% |
| $5,000 to $9,999 | 18,071 | 19.4% |
| $10,000 to $24,999 | 18,335 | 19.7% |
| $25,000 to $49,999 | 8,672 | 9.3% |
| $50,000 to $99,999 | 5,035 | 5.4% |
| $100,000 to $249,999 | 3,290 | 3.5% |
| $250,000 to $499,999 | 1,033 | 1.1% |
| $500,000 to $999,999 | 407 | 0.4% |
| $1,000,000 to $2,499,999 | 144 | 0.2% |
Who this suits
The median filer grossed $7,350 for the year — about $612 a month in revenue before expenses. That is pocket money at the midpoint, and the midpoint is by definition where half the field is or below.
92,984 people filed under this code. A field that large has a settled price, a settled set of expectations, and no shortage of people willing to meet both.
4,835 people — 5.2% of filers — grossed $100,000 or more. At that share the upper tier is visible from inside the field, which usually means someone doing Performing arts companies locally can tell you what those people do differently.
Independent performing arts and sport work suits people who already have a second income, because the receipts distribution in this subsector is among the most bottom-heavy in the federal data.
There is no qualification, licence or minimum to appear in this data — you file and you are counted. Read the receipts distribution as the price of that: no barrier at the door means no filter before the numbers.
Who should not do this
The top quarter of Performing arts companies earns 6.9x the bottom quarter — under $3,059 against over $21,184, a spread of $18,125. Distributions this stretched are usually two different jobs sharing one label, and any average across them means little.
The bottom quarter of Performing arts companies earns under $3,059 — $46,961 below the $50,020 a typical American job pays. Entering at the bottom and waiting is a live risk here, not a theoretical one, and some people never leave that quarter.
Do not start this on the assumption that you are the exception. The distribution below already contains everyone who thought so.
60.3% of the 92,984 people who filed as Performing arts companies in 2022 grossed under $10,000 for the entire year, before expenses: 56,069 people. The majority outcome here is not a small income, it is effectively no income.
Take it as a floor, not an estimate. The $10,000 threshold is measured on money received, before materials, rent, fuel, insurance and self-employment tax, so the true share of filers who ended the year with no income is higher than the figure shown — we simply cannot say how much higher.
What the spread tells you
A ratio of 6.9x between the quarters is the signature of a winner-take-most distribution. $7,350 is a real number about a real population, but nobody entering Performing arts companies should plan around it.
Put in money rather than ratios: $3,059 at the 25th percentile, $7,350 at the midpoint, $21,184 at the 75th. $18,125 separates the quarter of Performing arts companies at the bottom from the quarter at the top.
Between $3,059 and $21,184 — the two ends of the middle half — sits $7,350. Moving from the midpoint to the upper quarter is worth $13,834; the whole climb from the lower quarter is $18,125.
The top quarter of Performing arts companies begins $13,834 above the $7,350 midpoint, while the bottom quarter starts only $4,291 below it. A range stretched that far in one direction is the signature of a field where a small group earns a great deal more than the middle does.
Spread across a 2,080-hour year those receipts come to $3.53 an hour at the midpoint, $1.47 at the 25th percentile and $10.18 at the 75th. That is turnover per hour, not pay per hour, and it is not comparable with the $24.04 an hour a typical American job pays.
The raw counts, before anyone interprets them: under $5,000, 37,997 filers. $5,000 to $9,999, 18,071. $10,000 to $24,999, 18,335. Over $100,000, 4,874 — and 1,584 over $250,000.
What these figures are, and what they are not
Every figure above is GROSS RECEIPTS, before expenses — money that arrived before rent, materials, fuel, insurance and self-employment tax. The $7,350 midpoint for Performing arts companies is not take-home pay and is not comparable to a $7,350 salary.
Treat the per-hour figure as a conversion. It assumes a flat full-time year against $7,350 because we have no verified record of unpaid hours or out-of-pocket costs for this work, and we would rather convert honestly than adjust invented ones.
How this is calculated · Self-employment failure rates · What credentials cost and pay back · Look up something else