Contents
- Sports coaching employment statistics: U.S. workforce size and outlook
- Sports coaching employment statistics: U.S. pay and work conditions
- Sports coaching employment statistics: Australian occupation profile
- sports coaching employment: Sports coaching participation across the UK
- sports coaching employment: Sports coaching workforce profile and hours in the UK
- sports coaching employment: Sports coaching participation and retention in Ireland
- Sources
Sports coaching employment statistics: U.S. workforce size and outlook
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics groups coaches with scouts under occupation code 27-2022. Its 2025 occupational table reports 298.8 thousand coaches and scouts employed in 2025. The same table projects employment of 316.9 thousand in 2035, with a numeric change of 18.1 thousand and a percentage change of 6.1% over 2025–35. These are estimates and projections for the combined occupation; they do not isolate sports coaches from scouts. BLS occupational projections and worker characteristics
The table also projects an annual average of 36.4 thousand occupational openings over 2025–35. Openings are a distinct measure from the projected net employment change: the source reports both figures, and they answer different questions. The openings figure is an annual average across the projection period, while 18.1 thousand is the numeric change in employment between its endpoints. BLS occupational projections and worker characteristics
| U.S. coaches and scouts measure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Employment | 298.8 thousand | 2025 |
| Projected employment | 316.9 thousand | 2035 |
| Employment change | 18.1 thousand; 6.1% | 2025–35 |
| Annual average occupational openings | 36.4 thousand | 2025–35 |
Source: BLS occupational projections and worker characteristics
Sports coaching employment statistics: U.S. pay and work conditions
The BLS projection and characteristics table gives a 2025 median annual wage of $47,320 for U.S. coaches and scouts. A median marks the middle of the wage distribution: the table’s figure is not a starting salary, an average, or a promise about what an individual coach will earn. The occupational outlook wage information supplies additional points from the distribution for May 2025: the lowest-paid 10% earned less than $28,790, while the highest-paid 10% earned more than $98,860. BLS occupational projections and worker characteristics; BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Coaches and Scouts
| U.S. coaches and scouts wage measure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual wage | $47,320 | 2025 |
| Lowest-paid 10% earned less than | $28,790 | May 2025 |
| Highest-paid 10% earned more than | $98,860 | May 2025 |
Sources: BLS occupational projections and worker characteristics; BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
Pay also varies by industry. In May 2025, median annual wages for coaches and scouts were $48,440 in arts, entertainment, and recreation; $46,890 in state, local, and private educational services; $43,870 in religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations; and $38,730 in local government, excluding education and hospitals. These are industry-specific medians for the occupation, not figures for every employee in those industries. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Coaches and Scouts
The 2025 BLS table reports that 8.3% of U.S. coaches and scouts were self-employed. Work schedules can also vary with the season: the Occupational Outlook Handbook says full-time coaches may work more than 40 hours a week for several months during a sports season. That is a description of a possible seasonal schedule, not an average weekly-hours estimate for the occupation. BLS occupational projections and worker characteristics; BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Coaches and Scouts
Sports coaching employment statistics: Australian occupation profile
Australia’s ANZSCO 4523 occupation combines sports coaches, instructors, and officials. Jobs and Skills Australia reports 66,400 people employed in the occupation in February 2026 trend data. Its definition counts people for whom this occupation is their main job. This broader occupational grouping and its employment definition differ from U.S. coaches-and-scouts data and from surveys that count people who coach as volunteers or in other roles. Jobs and Skills Australia: Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials
The agency’s state and territory profile for February 2026 assigns 32.5% of employment in the occupation to Victoria, 31.5% to New South Wales, and 16.7% to Queensland. Those figures describe the distribution of this occupation across the listed jurisdictions, not each jurisdiction’s share of all Australian employment. Jobs and Skills Australia: Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials
| Australian ANZSCO 4523 indicator | Value | Reference period |
|---|---|---|
| Employed in main job | 66,400 | February 2026 trend data |
| Victoria’s share of occupation employment | 32.5% | February 2026 trend data |
| New South Wales’ share of occupation employment | 31.5% | February 2026 trend data |
| Queensland’s share of occupation employment | 16.7% | February 2026 trend data |
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia
A separate set of profile indicators uses the 2025 four-quarter average. Women represented 50% of employed workers, and the median age was 21 years. The reported part-time share was 79%; in this measure, part-time means usually working less than 35 hours a week across all jobs combined. The same profile reports that 21% worked full-time hours. These are distinct indicators and should be read with their published definitions and period, rather than treated as a single hours distribution. Jobs and Skills Australia: Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials
For full-time workers, the occupation’s average weekly hours were 44 in the 2021 Census. Earnings measures come from May 2025: median full-time earnings were $1,442 per week, and median hourly earnings were $38. The weekly figure is specifically for full-time employees; neither number should be presented as the earnings of all people in the occupation. The source states that this occupation profile will not be updated further, so its different indicators retain their own source periods. Jobs and Skills Australia: Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials
sports coaching employment: Sports coaching participation across the UK
A UK Coaching report based on a 2017 YouGov survey counts coaching participation among UK adults aged 18 and over. It uses a broad definition that includes instructing, training, teaching, or leading sport or physical activity in any environment, not only paid coaching. The report estimated that 13,132,204 adults had coached at some point in their lives by the survey date. Its table of when people last coached lists 3,106,053 in the past 12 months, 1,026,783 in the past 2 years, 1,018,192 in the past 3 years, 1,003,621 in the past 5 years, and 6,977,455 longer than 5 years ago. UK Coaching, Coaching in the UK: The Coaching Workforce, pp. 8–9
| Last time coached, as reported in the 2017 survey | Estimated number of UK adults |
|---|---|
| In the past 12 months | 3,106,053 |
| In the past 2 years | 1,026,783 |
| In the past 3 years | 1,018,192 |
| In the past 5 years | 1,003,621 |
| Longer than 5 years ago | 6,977,455 |
| Coached at any point in their lifetime | 13,132,204 |
Source: UK Coaching, Coaching in the UK: The Coaching Workforce, Table 1.1
The report’s active-coach measure means coaching within the 12 months before the survey. It estimated 2,608,967 active coaches in England, 306,106 in Scotland, 173,967 in Wales, and 99,860 in Northern Ireland. These are country estimates from the 2017 survey, not current employment counts. UK Coaching, Coaching in the UK: The Coaching Workforce, Table 1.2
sports coaching employment: Sports coaching workforce profile and hours in the UK
Among active coaches in the 2017 UK survey, 46% were female and 22% were from BAME backgrounds, using the report’s category. A physical or mental health condition was reported by 26%, and 65% were in higher social grades. These percentages describe the active-coach base, meaning people who coached in the previous 12 months; they do not describe paid sports-coaching employees alone. UK Coaching, Coaching in the UK: The Coaching Workforce, Table 1.4
The same survey’s age-at-start indicators show that 55% of active coaches began coaching before age 25, while 14% began over age 40. These figures concern when respondents started coaching, not their age in 2017. On formal qualifications, 58% of active coaches reported having no formal coaching qualification. The report’s result records qualification status as respondents reported it; it does not establish the requirements for any particular coaching role. UK Coaching, Coaching in the UK: The Coaching Workforce, pp. 11 and 14
Weekly hours in the report refer to coaching in a typical week. Among active coaches, 35% reported 1–2 hours, and 27% reported over 10 hours. These categories illustrate that reported coaching commitments vary; they should not be interpreted as paid working hours or combined with employment schedules from national labour statistics. UK Coaching, Coaching in the UK: The Coaching Workforce, Table 1.9
sports coaching employment: Sports coaching participation and retention in Ireland
Sport Ireland’s 2024 Irish Sports Monitor reports coaching in the context of sport participation and volunteering. Among Irish adults, 29% had coached at some point in their lives, 7% were currently coaching, and 22% had coached previously but no longer did so. The current-coach measure was 10% among men and 4% among women. These participation measures do not constitute a count of paid coaching jobs; the report separately describes payment and coaching-related activities. Sport Ireland, Irish Sports Monitor 2024: Spotlight on Coaching, p. 7
For the people currently coaching, 65% coached children only. The age-group categories in the report further show 44% coaching primary-school children only, 15% coaching both children and adults, and 20% coaching adults only. The first figure refers to children broadly, while the next three are the report’s specific age-group categories; they should not be merged into a different classification. Sport Ireland, Irish Sports Monitor 2024: Spotlight on Coaching, p. 8
The report also describes the time and payment associated with coaching. Irish coaches spent an average of 5.5 hours per week on activities around coaching, including preparing sessions and matches and liaising with other coaches. In the 2024 monitor, 84% of coaches reported never receiving payment for their coaching time. Together, these measures show why participation in coaching and paid employment are different concepts in the Irish data: the activity can involve substantial weekly time while being unpaid for many respondents. Sport Ireland, Irish Sports Monitor 2024: Spotlight on Coaching, p. 9
Sources
- Occupational projections and worker characteristics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Coaches and Scouts, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials, Jobs and Skills Australia
- Coaching in the UK: The Coaching Workforce, UK Coaching
- Irish Sports Monitor 2024: Spotlight on Coaching, Sport Ireland