Broadway actors are paid by the week under Actors' Equity's Production Contract. When the current contract was agreed in October 2025, Playbill reported the minimum rising to $2,717 a week, with 3% increases in each later year, which takes it to about $2,799 a week from 28 September 2026, the figure Backstage reports; principals in demand, swings and actors with extra duties earn more. Actors' Equity doesn't publish the Broadway rate sheet on its public website, so here's what can be verified, and where to check the rest.
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The Production Contract between Actors' Equity and the Broadway League sets the floor. Equity members ratified the current contract on 30 October 2025, and it runs through September 2028. Equity's announcement doesn't list the salary figures, but Playbill reported the terms sent to members:
| Production Contract (as reported, October 2025) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Weekly minimum under the old contract | $2,638 |
| Weekly minimum under the new contract | $2,717 |
| Later years of the three-year deal | 3% increase each year |
| Swings | An extra 6% on top of salary |
| Producer health fund contribution | $175 a week per employee, up $25 each year |
Playbill also reported the raises were backdated to 28 September 2025, when the old contract expired. Because the yearly increases change the number, ask Equity or your agent for the current week's minimum before you rely on it.
Yes. The contract minimum is a floor, not a fixed rate. Ben Whitehair explains the same idea for screen work: scale is simply the minimum the union has negotiated, and anything above it is negotiated by your representative. On Broadway, actors with leverage, such as leads with a following, can negotiate well above it.
Extra duties add money too. Equity's Why Join page lists "extra pay for additional duties" among its contract protections, and Playbill noted pay can rise when an actor takes on duties such as understudying.
Both start from the same contract minimum and add to it. A swing covers several roles; under the 2025 deal, Playbill reported swings get an extra 6% on top of their salary. Understudies can be paid extra for the roles they cover. The exact understudy payments aren't published publicly, so check your contract.
If musicals are your aim, Jess Orcsik told us singing and dancing are essential, and Kym suggests keeping footage that proves those skills so casting can see them straight away.
National tours use Equity's Touring Agreement, a single contract with the Broadway League since 2023 that covers commercial and not-for-profit tours. Equity's touring page says members on tour get 401(k), health and pension contributions, housing and per diem when they're away from home, and a share of any overage, with salaries rising once a show recoups. It doesn't publish the salary figures, and it lists the agreement as running to 7 September 2026, so check with Equity for the current terms.
Less than Broadway, on a sliding scale. Off-Broadway pay depends on the theatre's size under a four-year contract that runs to 28 July 2028; Equity hasn't published those salaries publicly. Regional theatres on the LORT agreement do have published minimums. From Equity's LORT summary of changes, actor minimums from 29 June 2026:
| LORT category | Weekly minimum from 29 June 2026 |
|---|---|
| A+ | $2,244 |
| A | $1,453 |
| B+ | $1,320 |
| B | $1,213 |
| C | $1,114 |
| D | $889 |
That LORT agreement runs to 27 June 2027. For film, TV and other kinds of acting pay, see how much actors make.
A few things before it reaches your bank. Equity takes working dues of 2.5% of gross earnings under its contracts, plus basic dues of $176 a year, according to its dues page. New members also pay off the $1,800 initiation fee through weekly deductions while they work. If you have representation, commission comes out too: Kym told us the standard theatrical agent commission in Hollywood is 10%. Then there's tax, so talk to a tax professional about your own situation.
Theatre jobs also end. Ajarae Coleman recommends a budgeting system built for variable income, with an emergency fund for the gaps between contracts.
Equity contracts include health insurance, pension and 401(k) benefits, funded by producer contributions. The 2025 Broadway deal was largely about keeping the Equity-League Health Fund stable: Equity said the agreement "saves" the fund, and Playbill reported the producer contribution rising from $150 to $175 a week per employee. Whether you qualify for coverage depends on the plan's own eligibility rules, so check with the Equity-League plans.
We don't repeat them. Star deals are private contracts, and the figures that circulate are rarely confirmed by anyone who signed them. What you can count on is the contract minimum, the extra payments the contract requires, and whatever your agent negotiates on top.
If Broadway is your goal, our guides to auditioning for Broadway and joining Actors' Equity are the next steps. This is general information; check with Actors' Equity for current rates on your contract.
At least the Production Contract minimum. Playbill reported it rising to $2,717 a week under the October 2025 contract, with 3% increases each later year, which makes it about $2,799 a week from 28 September 2026, and many actors earn more.
Swings received an extra 6% on top of salary under the 2025 contract, Playbill reported, and Equity contracts include extra pay for additional duties such as understudying.
As of November 2026, Equity's LORT agreement sets actor minimums from $889 a week at the smallest category to $2,244 at the largest, from 29 June 2026.
Yes. As of November 2026, Equity charges basic dues of $176 a year plus working dues of 2.5% of gross earnings under Equity contracts.
Equity contracts include health, pension and 401(k) benefits funded by producer contributions. Eligibility for coverage is set by the Equity-League plans.
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All rates current from actorsequity.org, cdn.actorsequity.org, playbill.com and backstage.com as of 10 November 2026.