Salary
Average Salary: $36,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $1,502,928
The money you could make as a good clown in the right town is no laughing matter—or it could be a joke, if you're not that good or don't know how to market yourself. Experienced clowns working in affluent areas make a lot more money than those trying to eke out a living in places where everyone's broke. But that should be a given.
For newbie clowns with no experience and no formal training, pay is low and venues aren't all that exciting. Expect most of your gigs to be paid hourly, and involve little more than festivals, store openings, and birthday parties.
Once you go to Clown College and get some experience, your rates will go up. A good clown with solid networking skills may be able to book a couple of parties or events a day, aiming especially for private dinners and exclusive parties that come with a heftier paycheck. Put it all together, and your average clown is banking about $38,000 per year (source).
A small-time circus clown earns about the same as an inexperienced party clown, but gets his or her room and board paid for—and that's not peanuts. Bigger circuses offer bigger pay—the day rate for a featured clown in a large production can be in the thousands, depending on the contract.
Clowns working under the big top get their insurance paid for by the circus, while freelancing Bozos need to join either the World Clown Association or the World Clown Coalition if they want similar benefits.