Some fitness professionals are looking for a different style of training or simply want to supplement their income. One of the most popular group fitness classes is Zumba Fitness.
Whether you’re planning to dive into the Zumba coaching industry or you’re just starting on your Zumba instructor journey, there’s one big question you would surely want to know the answer to– how much Zumba instructors get paid?
After all, this is one of your most significant considerations when looking for Zumba instructor jobs. The thing is Zumba instructor rates are not as cut-and-dry as you think it is. There are a lot of factors that come into play. Lucky for you, we have compiled everything your need to know about Zumba instructor pay in this article.
If you want to know more about this industry and profession you’re trying to get into, you need to read this article!
How Much is the Zumba Instructor Yearly Salary?
There’s no precise information when it comes to the yearly salary of a Zumba instructor due to a lot of reasons:
- Zumba instructors are not paid every month. They are typically paid on an hourly basis based on the amount of classes they teach.
- Many factors can affect the rates of a Zumba instructor (we will discuss what these factors are below).
- It can be challenging to estimate a Zumba instructor’s annual salary because most of them supplement their income by working as a yoga instructor, personal fitness trainer, and providing other fitness-related services.
Factors that Affect Zumba Instructor Pay
So you see, it’s difficult to say how much you’ll earn as a Zumba instructor in a year. Before we give you a better idea of how much Zumba instructors are getting paid, let us first identify the significant factors that may affect your rates. Here they are:
Location
As expected, your coaching fees will vary depending on where you’re located. If you plan on coaching in small cities like Tennessee, your pay will not be as high as those instructors who are coaching Zumba classes in big cities like New York or San Francisco.
The larger the population in the area, the more competitive the classes are. Bigger cities have a lot of people and businesses. As a result, coaches in these cities charge a location premium for their classes.
Certifications and Trainings
Certifications are also crucial in your Zumba career as passing such classes and training will show your students that you are an authority in your trade.
Initially, you will have to become eligible to get a Zumba instructor job. To get this, you would need to enroll in either Basic 1 or Jump Start Gold Zumba certification.
But just like in any profession, you would also need continuing education so you can stay up-to-date with the different coaching techniques and strategies. To do this, you can join the Zumba Instructor Network (ZIN) or other well-known organizations.
When you have all these certifications and trainings on your Zumba instructor resume, you can charge a higher fee for your services.
Instructor Experience
Gyms and personal fitness centers pay great attention to your experience. The longer your coaching experience is, the higher pay you can get.
Class Size
Some gyms and fitness centers would pay Zumba instructors based on their class size. This is common for most types of group classes. With this setup, you’re incentivized with a higher income if you’re able to fill your class with many students.
This is one way to encourage Zumba instructors to advertise and promote their services and classes.
How Much Does a Zumba Instructor Make?
Now, we’ll finally get down to brass tacks. Considering everything that we’ve mentioned, how much does a Zumba instructor make? Based on Glassdoor’s report from March 2020, the average base pay of Zumba instructors is around $22/hour, with $15/hour being the lowest and $44/hour being the highest.
If we’re going to talk about the class rates, the fee will typically range from $15 to $30 per class. Based on these figures, we can say that the Zumba instructor salary is about the same as the pay of any standard group exercise instructor like yoga instructors, aerobics instructors, and many more.
Conclusion
Getting into the Zumba industry can seem challenging at first, but once you’ve penetrated the playing field, you can quickly achieve your target hourly or class rate. Of course, you still need to consider all the factors we’ve mentioned.
The amount Zumba instructors make varies based on the individual, so it’s up to you to position yourself at the forefront of the fitness professionals in your area.
The keys to boosting your income as a Zumba instructor are passion and love for your clients. Once you’re able to establish good relations with many of your clients, you can even open up your own fitness studio and provide opportunities to other aspiring instructors!
