How much do Pilates instructors make?

How much do Pilates instructors make? It's usually asked quietly, and usually answered with a number somebody saw online once. The trouble is that no federal source publishes a figure for Pilates teachers on their own. So here's the closest real number we have, where it comes from, and what it can't tell you.

The closest public number

Start with the federal data. The Occupational Outlook Handbook from the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't break out Pilates; it lumps Pilates teachers in with "fitness trainers and instructors." Their median for May 2025: $47,160 a year. Hourly, $22.67. The bottom tenth made under $28,800. The top tenth made over $83,100. Same job title, more than $54,000 apart.

Gyms and rec centers, where 55 percent of these jobs sit, paid a median of $48,140. Barely different.

What the number hides

And remember who else is in that bucket: personal trainers, yoga teachers, the person running your Saturday spin class. The BLS also points out that lots of people in this line of work keep part-time or irregular hours, bounce between gyms or clients' homes, and about 15 percent work for themselves. Put a teacher doing three classes a week next to a full-time studio manager and you have one median describing two very different lives.

If you've seen one confident Pilates salary figure on a website, it's worth asking who was surveyed, and how many.

What moves one teacher's pay

A few things clearly move it. What you can teach matters: a comprehensive training lets you work on more equipment and with a wider range of clients, which opens more kinds of jobs, as Holly Swanson points out in her guide. Group versus private is the next lever. Then: are your classes full or half full, how many studios are you juggling, and have you picked up anything on the side, like mentoring newer teachers?

Then there is the part nobody enjoys: asking. Teachers who know their own numbers, such as how many people they bring in and how many return, tend to negotiate from a stronger place than teachers who just hope for a raise.

Learn to negotiate it

That is the focus of Holly's two-hour workshop, The Pilates Career Center. It covers what to expect at an audition, how to negotiate your pay, and which numbers to track once you have the job. Building a steady client list is the other half, and our guide on how to get more Pilates clients covers it. Still at the start? Read how to become a Pilates instructor.

For what else STRENGTH Collective runs for working instructors, see the events page.