Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media

Intimacy Coordinator Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Choreographs intimate and sensitive scenes in film, TV and theatre, protecting performers through consent and clear process.

Median pay
$55,310
Growth to 2035
+3.1%
Openings a year
600
Typical entry
High school

Choreographs intimate and sensitive scenes in film, TV and theatre, protecting performers through consent and clear process. BLS does not publish separate figures for choreographers; it counts them within choreographer (SOC 27-2032), whose median pay is $55,310 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent.

  • SOC 27-2032
  • Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
  • Last updated October 9, 2026

At a glance

Intimacy Coordinator in four numbers

Median pay
$55,310a year, or $26.59/hr
Lowest 10% $34KTop 10% $139K

US median, all jobs: $50,980

BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected growth
+3.1%About as fast as average
This career
+3.1%
All jobs
+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035
ItemValue
This career+3.1%
All jobs+3.5%
BLS EP, 2025–2035
Openings a year
6004,700 jobs today
  • Jobs in 20254.7K
  • Projected 20354.9K
Employment, 2025–2035
ItemValue
Jobs in 20254.7K
Projected 20354.9K
BLS EP, 2025–2035
Typical education
High schoolneeded to enter
  • Less than high school9.5%
  • High school33.3%
  • Certificate19.1%
  • Some college4.8%
  • Associate's9.5%
  • Bachelor's19.1%
Highest education held by choreographers
SegmentValue
Less than high school9.5%
High school33.3%
Certificate19.1%
Some college4.8%
Associate's9.5%
Bachelor's19.1%
BLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET

Also advertised as: Intimacy Director, Intimacy Choreographer, Intimacy Professional, Intimacy Consultant.

Pay

How much do Choreographers make?

Annual pay, lowest-paid to highest-paid

Every intimacy coordinator in the US, by percentile of annual wage

Median

$55,310

Middle half earn $41,600 to $75,710

10th
$34,090
25th
$41,600
75th
$75,710
90th
$138,630

All US occupations: $50,980

Intimacy Coordinator annual wages
PercentileValue
10th$34,090
25th$41,600
Median$55,310
75th$75,710
90th$138,630
All US occupations$50,980

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Median annual wage
$55,310
Median hourly wage
$26.59/hr
Mean annual wage
$73,100
People employed
2,860

Versus all US occupations

At $55,310, Choreographers earn 8% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $4,330 a year.

Versus arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

Inside the Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media group, where the middle occupation pays $68,060, this is 19% below the group median.

Pay range

The top 10% earn $138,630 or more while the bottom 10% earn $34,090, a gap of 4.1×. That is an unusually wide spread, which usually tracks specialisation, employer type and years of experience.

Rank in the bank

This median pays more than 27% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.

Highest-paying state

New York pays the most at $173,100, and still leads at $160,395 once local prices are taken into account.

Pay by state

Which states pay Choreographers the most?

State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.

Top 10 states by median annual wage for Choreographers
StateMedianCOL-adjustedEmployed
1New York$173,100$160,395340
2California$75,000$67,738410
3Minnesota$74,810$75,85640
4Maryland$69,140$65,87380
5Ohio$66,910$72,121120
6Louisiana$51,170$58,011210
7Nebraska$49,490$54,92660
8Texas$46,460$47,869380
9Indiana$44,840$48,045N/A
10South Dakota$40,320$45,515250

Job outlook

Is Intimacy Coordinator a growing career?

Projected change in jobs

Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation

Choreographers
+3.1%
All US occupations
+3.5%

About as fast as average. +3.1% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.

Projected employment change, 2025–2035
ItemValue
Choreographers+3.1%
All US occupations+3.5%

Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035

About as fast as average

BLS projects employment of Choreographers to change 3.1% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 100 more jobs.

Annual openings

About 600 openings are projected each year, 12.8% of the 4,700 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.

Getting in

How to become an Intimacy Coordinator

Intimacy coordinators come from acting, dance, movement, fight direction and mental health backgrounds. Training covers consent, choreography, harassment prevention, mental health first aid and set procedure.

SAG-AFTRA accredits intimacy coordinator training programs, including Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC) and the Intimacy Professionals Association, and it maintains a registry of coordinators who meet its qualification standards, including a minimum number of days worked and a background check. Many coordinators also hold mental health first aid certification, and new coordinators often shadow experienced professionals before leading sets on their own.

  1. 1

    Typical entry-level education

    High school diploma or equivalent

  2. 2

    Work experience in a related occupation

    5 years or more

  3. 3

    Typical on-the-job training

    Long-term on-the-job training

  4. 4

    Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)

    Some preparation

BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.

What education people in the job have

O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as choreographers.

  • High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)33.3%
  • Post-Secondary Certificate19.1%
  • Bachelor's Degree19.1%
  • Less than a High School Diploma9.5%
  • Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree9.5%
Highest education held by choreographers
ItemValue
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)33.3%
Post-Secondary Certificate19.1%
Bachelor's Degree19.1%
Less than a High School Diploma9.5%
Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree9.5%

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

The work

What does an Intimacy Coordinator do?

Intimacy coordinators work on scenes involving nudity, simulated sex and other sensitive content. Before filming, they read the script, meet with the director to understand the creative goals, and talk with each actor about their boundaries. They make sure nudity riders and consent are documented as required by union agreements.

On set, they choreograph the scene so movements are specific and repeatable, recommend modesty garments and barriers, ask for closed sets and act as a liaison between performers and production. They also check in after takes and can pause work if consent changes. In theatre, the equivalent role is usually called an intimacy director and often overlaps with fight direction.

Day-to-day tasks

  1. Review scripts for intimate and sensitive content
  2. Meet with directors to understand creative intent
  3. Discuss boundaries with each performer
  4. Confirm nudity riders and consent documentation
  5. Choreograph intimate scenes for repeatability
  6. Provide modesty garments and barriers
  7. Advocate for performers on closed sets

Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.

Working conditions and hours

Intimacy coordinators work on sets, stages and in rehearsal rooms on a per-day or per-project basis, often across several productions at once. The job involves sensitive conversations, standing near the action and long shoot days. Travel to locations is common.

Where the work happens

  • Indoors, climate-controlled

    NeverEvery day
  • Outdoors in all weather

    NeverEvery day

Physical demands

  • Sitting

    NeverAlmost all the time
  • Standing

    NeverAlmost all the time

    On their feet more than half the working day.

  • Bending or twisting

    NeverAlmost all the time

    Regular bending or twisting.

Working with people

  • Contact with other people

    NoneConstant

    Constant contact with other people.

  • Face-to-face discussions

    NeverEvery day

    Face-to-face discussions every day.

  • Dealing with the public

    Not importantExtremely important

Pressure and stakes

  • Strict deadlines

    NeverEvery day
  • Conflict situations

    NeverEvery day
  • Cost of a mistake

    Not seriousExtremely serious

    Mistakes are not usually serious.

Autonomy

  • Freedom to decide

    NoneA lot

    A lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.

Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.

Core skills

O*NET importance, 1 to 5

  • Active Listening3.9
  • Speaking3.9
  • Monitoring3.8
  • Learning Strategies3.6
  • Reading Comprehension3.5
  • Critical Thinking3.4
  • Active Learning3.3
  • Writing3.0
Core skills for Choreographers
ItemValue
Active Listening3.9
Speaking3.9
Monitoring3.8
Learning Strategies3.6
Reading Comprehension3.5
Critical Thinking3.4
Active Learning3.3
Writing3.0

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

Transferable skills

O*NET importance, 1 to 5

  • Instructing4.0
  • Coordination3.9
  • Social Perceptiveness3.6
  • Time Management3.4
  • Service Orientation3.3
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.3
  • Management of Personnel Resources3.1
  • Persuasion3.0
Transferable skills for Choreographers
ItemValue
Instructing4.0
Coordination3.9
Social Perceptiveness3.6
Time Management3.4
Service Orientation3.3
Judgment and Decision Making3.3
Management of Personnel Resources3.1
Persuasion3.0

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

Tools and software

  • Customer relationship management CRM software · in demand
  • Office suite software · in demand
  • Presentation software · in demand
  • Spreadsheet software · in demand
  • Web page creation and editing software · in demand
  • Word processing software · in demand
  • Electronic mail software
  • Graphical user interface development software
  • Graphics or photo imaging software
  • Internet browser software
  • Video creation and editing software

“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.

Personality fit

What personality type suits an Intimacy Coordinator?

Interest profile

NueCareer estimate (Holland code SAE) built on O*NET's Choreographer profile, scored 1 to 7

Intimacy Coordinator · Realistic: 4Intimacy Coordinator · Investigative: 2Intimacy Coordinator · Artistic: 7Intimacy Coordinator · Social: 5Intimacy Coordinator · Enterprising: 4Intimacy Coordinator · Conventional: 2
Intimacy Coordinator interest profile
AxisIntimacy Coordinator
Realistic4
Investigative2
Artistic7
Social5
Enterprising4
Conventional2

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

What the work is built around

Day to day this is work built around creating, designing and working without a fixed set of rules, combined with teaching, helping and working directly with other people.

  • Artistic7.0
  • Social4.9
  • Enterprising4.4
  • Realistic3.6
  • Investigative2.2
  • Conventional2.1

Closest MBTI types

NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.

Questions

Intimacy Coordinator: frequently asked questions

How much do Choreographers make?

BLS does not publish a separate wage for choreographers. It counts them within choreographer, whose median pay is $55,310 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $41,600 and $75,710, and the top 10% earn $138,630 or more.

Do you need a degree to become an Intimacy Coordinator?

No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Choreographers. BLS also lists long-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. Employers typically expect 5 years or more of related work experience first. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 33.3% hold high school diploma or the equivalent (such as a ged).

Is Intimacy Coordinator a growing career?

It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 3.1% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 600 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

What does an Intimacy Coordinator do?

Intimacy coordinators work on scenes involving nudity, simulated sex and other sensitive content. A typical task: review scripts for intimate and sensitive content. Employers most often ask for Customer relationship management CRM software, Office suite software, Presentation software.

Which states pay Choreographers the most?

The highest state medians for Choreographers are New York ($173,100), California ($75,000), Minnesota ($74,810) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

What personality type suits an Intimacy Coordinator?

O*NET scores Choreographers highest on the Artistic, Social and Enterprising interest areas, so the work mixes creating, designing and working without a fixed set of rules with teaching, helping and working directly with other people. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ENFP personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Research sources for this career