Ok, it's probably all over the board, but let's assumed an experienced, good-looking girl, let's say a 7, who does a good job, works in a good club in a major city. Any guesses?
AN, I've never really asked but I'd be shocked if my ATF and her friends ever declared a dime that they made working in their SC. They weren't employees and there was no record of the amount they made (they sure as hell didn't keep track) or that they even worked there. There were no credit card transactions either, it was all cash. I'm sure there are pros who work in fancy GC's who declare a substantial protion of their SC income. But I'm also sure that there are lots of young girls working in little neighborhood places that declare nothing. One of the highest earning girls, a seasoned pro working at the same club a my ATF, lived in subsudized housing where you had to make less than around $35K to qualify - I bet she made twice that just by herself, and she had a husband in the military.
FONDL, Not sure how it works for strippers, but as a waiter and bartender I had to pay both income taxes and social security out of my "tipped employee" $2.90/hr minimum wage. It was never really enough to cover the recorded tip income (from credit cards) so I'd have to declare some and usually pay some at tax time. I'm sure there is something similar for most strippers, but when you control what you declare and there is no way to check you can walk away with a lot of extra cash. It is about the only thing that makes tipped jobs worthwhile.
AN, it is until the day that they retire and discover that they don't quality for much social security because of all the years they didn't pay into the system.
I agree that there are probably a lot of good strippers in good clubs who clear that $70,000 mark. My guess is that the vast majority are in the $40,000 or less range. Still, $40,000 cash is about equivalent to $60,000 salary.
I suddenly remember one dancer told me she hadn't seen me in a long time (at least a year or two I believe). Then she told me she had been selling real estate. I was thinking she's not the first dancer at that club to tell me that. I need to find that real estate agency one of these days.
...and now for the funny answer to the topic. How much do strippers make? They make a hell of a lot more than me by just shaking their tits and ass.
A couple dancers have told me that they have been buying properties on delinquent tax deeds.
I think this interest of strippers in low-capital real estate is a funtion of getting home at 4:00 am in time to see all the "no money down" infomercials on TV.
One of the girls at my favorite club recently mentioned that she had taken a day job, retail, and that working 5 days didn't add up to the 2 nights she kept at the club.
My experience is that most strippers work the number of hours that pay their bills and allow them to experience some luxuries (a nice car, some nice vacations, getting their hair and nails done weekly) and that's all. They'd rather work fewer hours than make more money.
To answer Chitown's Q, a lot of them either (1) marry someone with money (or they think the guy has money), or (2) they move on to the escort stage of life, or (3) they adjust to a much lower income level. I think most of them end up doing (3).
Lots of very reasonable estimates here. My guess is that my hypothetical 7 working in a good club could, potentially, sock away a lot of money from age 18 to 28, if she had a good work ethic, stayed away from the drugs and bad boyfriends, etc. My guess is that most girls, by age 30, don't have much to show for their stripping. Maybe this is why I'm seeing so many foreign chicks now.
I knew a dancer at Favorite Club who claimed to make $75-80K a year, which I found plausible (Let us each contemplate, silently, how long we had been in our careers before we made that kind of money. If you are really a masochist, net out the cost of the education it took you to get there). This leads me to a naggung question...how do ex-dancers ever adjust to the much-lower wages of the "real world?" Even if they could make in a "straight" job what they made dancing, they would still lose 25-35% for taxes, minimum.
Also remember that they only get paid when they work, and every stripper I've ever known is taking weeks off here and there pretty regularly, in addition to only working 3 or 4 days a week.
As others have said, it varies widely with the girl and the club. A top girl in a top high-class club makes well over $100K, maybe twice that in NYC or Vegas. A below-average girl in a below-average club probably makes 10% of that at best unless she's doing extras. My ATF, who was a top girl in a tiny so-so place always considered $300 to be a bad night. My guess is that a typical above-average girl in a decent but not super-fancy club probably makes around $40-50K, but she's also only working 4 7-hour shifts a week. And that's without having to pay any taxes, but there are some expenses. Not bad. But I think for most girls the earnings are declining.
Are the numbers you've posted here before or after tipout? They can make hundreds even thousands per night, but a lot of that goes to the club. For instance, every time they go to the VIP room or even just the regular lapdance room in some cases, the club gets their cut. Then there's DJ, bouncer, and house mom tipouts, not to mention other work-related expenses like costumes, shoes, perfume and makeup, etc.
It's still better money than making minimum wage, no doubt, and a lot more fun (and drama) than your typical office job.
I based my guess on the only "good club in a major city" I know enough about, the Flight Club outside Detroit. I've known about a dozen girls who've danced there well enough to trust what they've told me. Some might rate an 8 or a 9, which still only puts them in the middle of the pack there. It's a very good club for dancers, but I know there are better ones in other major cities. $500 would be a rare off night for them. One thing they all said is that when it's busy and there are a lot of big spenders, they make as much from guys just throwing money at them - $100 bills - as they make from dances. So, any estimate based on $25 x (Dances per Hour) x (Hours Worked) isn't going to add up.
I don't think you can generalize this too easily, but I'll try anyway. My guess, based on the strippers I've talked to is that in a decent LD club they can probably expect about $400-500/night of $200ish/day. In a non-contact club, maybe $250-300/night, $150-200/day. In the non-contact clubs this makes stripping only slightly more lucrative than waiting tables. The big thing to remember is that working for cash is a big difference. A girl working 4 day shifts at $150/shift takes home probably $500/week after tipouts fees, whatever. That is $26,000/year cash and is probably equivalent to about $35,000-40,000 salaried. That is very close to the median US salary, and in a smallish town a decent living.
AC: In the example you describe, I'd guess $600-$800 per night, or $2k per week, $100K per year. A few make double that. Thousands make only a fraction.
In a large city with lots of out of town guys visiting and willing to spend money, I know one dancer told me she made $4000 in one week. I believe that may have been extremely good for her. Normal for some dancers may only be $200 to $600 a week in some clubs that aren't so busy. Of course I am guestimating and am not asking a dancer these questions. Well the $4000 figure was a quote from a dancer and I think it may have been an exceptional amount of money for her to comment on it. The other numbers I tried to remember from what a manager told me in a smaller club that wasn't doing as well.
JC: When strippers talk about how much they make in a night, like a lot of people who come into easy money, they only mention gross revenue, not net income after expenses. Tipouts, however, they're aware of from the second they come on shift, so the amount they say they typically make in a night is more likely to be what they take out the door. Still, I guessed on the low side, without being systematic about it.
$200 per week? That is only $50 per shift. The club you are at must be really slow. I assume this is on day shifts. But it is still real slow. "Mileage" and the VIP booth action must be only occasionally, instead of something regular and in steady demand.
You can't make money if the club does not draw people in.
Anyway, if it is steady and reliable, and the basics of the job and dealing with the customers is pleasant, then maybe just ride with it.
The club you are at has a really clever name. I don't exactly understand what it means, but I do like it.
Depends on many factors including the city, the club, the price of dances, the economy, and the current mood in the city. One of my favorites averages at about $1500 to $2000 per week, but a few times a year she can make $4000 or more one day.
Last year during a really busy night with two bachelor parties and a big convention in town, I ended up staying over 3 hrs. I saw my favorite get three 1/2 hour champagne dances, and the bachelor party paid for an hour with her and another dancer which gets her about $500. She made over $100 in singles each of the five times she was on stage, not counting the one drunk idiot who rained $200 in bills on the stage. She must have done at least 30 lap dances the 3 hours I was there before I got dancer from her, for another $600
After both parties left she made another $100 in dances from me. While I waited for the song started, she mentioned how drunk and rude both bachelor parties were, and if it wasn't that the bachelor tipped her $100 for the hour, and she made another $1000 in dances and tips from both bachelor parties she would have been a really bad mood. That Goes to show that $3000 in about 3 hours can make up for some really bad customers.
The next time I saw her she mentioned making made well over $8000 that night, which was the most ever for her.
Conversely another of my favorites at a different club was lucky to get $500 during a typical week, but has enough regulars who every few months buy hundreds of dollars of dances from her, to make up for it.
Then there are the many dancers I see some quite pretty who don't last more than a few weeks before quitting.
"I will break the mystery I am a 7 working in portland about 4 shifts a week and I AM LUCKY to get over $200 a week ..."
HUH?? I'm hoping that's a typo. Hell, minimum wage in Portland is about $9 per hour, and you're getting like $6 an hour for four 8-hour shifts. Yeah, no taxes I imagine, but still. That's pretty sucky. And you said "IF I'M LUCKY", which means you often get less. With less than $800 a month you can't even pay rent.
Oh, and for Mr. Spic. If you want references for those figures, type "portand oregon minimum wage" and there's a link showing it's $9.10 starting Jan. 2014.
And the $6 an hour figure was the result of using a calculator and dividing $200 by 32, which is four 8-hour shifts. Because 4x8=32. You can come up with that on your calculator also.
27 comments
...and now for the funny answer to the topic. How much do strippers make? They make a hell of a lot more than me by just shaking their tits and ass.
I think this interest of strippers in low-capital real estate is a funtion of getting home at 4:00 am in time to see all the "no money down" infomercials on TV.
To answer Chitown's Q, a lot of them either (1) marry someone with money (or they think the guy has money), or (2) they move on to the escort stage of life, or (3) they adjust to a much lower income level. I think most of them end up doing (3).
It's still better money than making minimum wage, no doubt, and a lot more fun (and drama) than your typical office job.
$200 per week? That is only $50 per shift. The club you are at must be really slow. I assume this is on day shifts. But it is still real slow. "Mileage" and the VIP booth action must be only occasionally, instead of something regular and in steady demand.
You can't make money if the club does not draw people in.
Anyway, if it is steady and reliable, and the basics of the job and dealing with the customers is pleasant, then maybe just ride with it.
The club you are at has a really clever name. I don't exactly understand what it means, but I do like it.
SJG
Last year during a really busy night with two bachelor parties and a big convention in town, I ended up staying over 3 hrs. I saw my favorite get three 1/2 hour champagne dances, and the bachelor party paid for an hour with her and another dancer which gets her about $500. She made over $100 in singles each of the five times she was on stage, not counting the one drunk idiot who rained $200 in bills on the stage. She must have done at least 30 lap dances the 3 hours I was there before I got dancer from her, for another $600
After both parties left she made another $100 in dances from me. While I waited for the song started, she mentioned how drunk and rude both bachelor parties were, and if it wasn't that the bachelor tipped her $100 for the hour, and she made another $1000 in dances and tips from both bachelor parties she would have been a really bad mood. That Goes to show that $3000 in about 3 hours can make up for some really bad customers.
The next time I saw her she mentioned making made well over $8000 that night, which was the most ever for her.
Conversely another of my favorites at a different club was lucky to get $500 during a typical week, but has enough regulars who every few months buy hundreds of dollars of dances from her, to make up for it.
Then there are the many dancers I see some quite pretty who don't last more than a few weeks before quitting.
HUH?? I'm hoping that's a typo. Hell, minimum wage in Portland is about $9 per hour, and you're getting like $6 an hour for four 8-hour shifts. Yeah, no taxes I imagine, but still. That's pretty sucky. And you said "IF I'M LUCKY", which means you often get less. With less than $800 a month you can't even pay rent.
Wow.