What Can a Magician Make a Year?Inside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

Inside Magic Favorite Mike Caveney used to joke in his act that the difference between a magician and a pizza is that a pizza can feed a family of four.

Of course, most folks in the business did not choose the profession because they hoped to make millions from it. Some, a very few, had the talent and very good fortune to make enormous sums but we’re guessing even they did not choose magic as a path to huge annual incomes.

According to Simply Hired, the average annual income for a “street magician” is $43,000. For a mere “magician” – presumably one who does not practice the art in the street – the salary averages $41,000.

We wonder about the accuracy of these figures. The site says they are averaging the salaries for those jobs listed that include the terms “street magician” or “magician.” For some reason, employers are willing to offer about $2,000 more per year in job listings seeking a magician of the streets.

We tried to drill down these figures and found a couple of job information sites that describe the skills needed to be a “street magician.”

Talent is more important than education in the world of street magic, but it takes years of reading and practice to become proficient in this art. Other essential requirements are an attention to detail, persistence, physical stamina, creativity, memorization, reading and speaking skills.

That seems like an accurate description of the skills needed.

The best region for street magic is Washington, D.C. where the average annual income was $68,000 and the lowest was in Mississippi where $33,000 was the yearly average.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job forecast for magicians is less than promising. The Bureau predicts there will only be a four percent increase in employment through 2020. That is considerably lower than most jobs and is based on the demand for the broader category of “actor.”

We have no idea why we were motivated to look into the income and skill set associated with the career of “magician.” We are very fortunate to have a daytime job that keeps our family fed, sheltered and able to perform on weekends. We tip our bunny-filled hat to those in our art who are the true, full-time professionals.