How Much Do Umpires Make?

As a general rule the pay for umpires is very consistent and uniform. A new umpire and an experienced umpire who both work the same game are usually paid the same rate. However, larger organizations (e.g. a youth league) will occasionally pay umpires of different experience at different rates.

As you might expect, umpire pay varies around the country. What an umpire receives working a 12u game in Southern California may be different than what an umpire receives for a 12u game in Maine. Generally youth leagues will pay between $15 and $50 per game, per umpire. High school is typically $50 - $75 per 7 inning game, per umpire. Tournaments are paid at a different rate. Baseball is usually paid more than softball (mostly because the baseball games are longer), and the older the age group, the greater the pay.

Typically a youth umpire can make between $200 and $400 for a weekend's work at a tournament. Couple that with weekday work (2 games x 3 nights a week) and a beginning umpire can easily make an extra $500/wk working part-time. Taxes are usually not withheld and the umpire is given a 1099 at the end of the year.

As an example, I know a 17 year old umpire in the Midwest who works for a competitive youth softball league. He is mature, dependable, hard-working, and has a great attitude. The league has a 75 minute time limit on their games. This young man works Monday thru Friday, two games a night. He does not work Saturday or Sunday. His pay rate is $25 per game, so he takes home $250 per week for 17.5 hours of work (5:30-9:00). That's an hourly rate of $14.28! Sure beats the $7.50 an hour his buddies are making at the Piggly Wiggly.

Pete Reiser is an amateur baseball and softball umpire in the Midwest. Pete has umpired at various levels from 9U to NCAA Division I.

For more information about umpiring and equipment, see Pete's blog: http://midwestump.blogspot.com/