Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars is well on its way to being one of the most interesting seasons yet. Hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro returned with judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli. With contestants like Dylan Efron, Hilaria Baldwin, Elaine Hendrix, and Robert Irwin, the reality competition show is serving up incredible dances and drama too. And while every celebrity is on the show to take home the iconic Len Goodman mirrorball trophy, they also make a massive salary too.
Per Variety, every celebrity on the show makes around $125,000 for rehearsals and the first two weeks on air. After competing on two rounds of DWTS, any celebrity that makes it through the eliminations earns extra cash for every week they compete. While each star earns a solid salary for their participation, apparently the limits to their earnings are huge.
After winning DWTS in 2020, Kaitlyn Bristowe confirmed reports that contestants get paid extra for every week they make it through the competition. "You get a bonus every week that you make it. The final four are in the final episode, they all get paid the same," she explained on the Trading Secrets podcast.
How much do DWTS contestants make each week?
Kaitlyn confirmed that the further along in the competition one gets, the more money they earn, but just how much? Well, in 2010, stars received $10,000 per episode for weeks three and four, $20,000 per episode for weeks five and six, $30,000 per episode for weeks seven and eight, and $50,000 for the final two episodes.
While that would add up to $345,000, Variety reported in 2020 that the most a celebrity could make while competing on DWTS was $295,000. Pro dancer Jenna Johnson explained the pay during an appearance on The Morning After podcast, saying: "If you make it all the way to the end, you're getting paid the whole season, which is amazing. And you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale."
How much do the DWTS hosts make?
While it is not explicitly clear how much the current judges – Julianne and Alfonso – make, while Tom Bergeron was DWTS host, he reportedly earned $150,000 per episode. This means he made anywhere between $1.5 and $1.8 million each season.
What about the DWTS pros? How much do they make?
According to Us Weekly, DWTS pro dancers earn just $1,200 per week when they first start the show. However, their salaries increase the longer they dance. There are reports that the highest paid dancer makes around $5,000 an episode, thus earning a grand total of $50,000 to $75,000 per season.
Former troupe and now professional dancer, Lindsay Arnold, told Jason Tatrick on the Trading Secrets podcast that her salary was cut by "more than half" when she turned pro. She explained: "With one season a year, no [I don't think it's livable, I guess it depends on the kind of life that you live, but living in L.A., paying rent, buying food there, paying for gas…you'd be really tight."