Carnival Worker Living Conditions
When the lights go down at the fair, many of the 250 workers retire to the grassy area behind the Ferris wheel, where they live in scores of RVs, trailers and tents. After hours in Carny Land, it’s the workers’ time to play. There’s no sleep. When carnies find time to crash, they often share cramped rooms in bunkhouse trailers or camp in tents. The close quarters foster camaraderie.
Carnival Worker Pay Rates
The average carnival worker salary is $19,062 per year, or $9.16 per hour, in the United States. In terms of salary range, an entry level carnival worker salary is roughly $14,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $24,000. Factors That Affect Carnival Worker Salaries include location, job duties, and experience.
The Geek in a Carnival
Geek was originally an early 20th-century term for a carnival worker who was so unskilled that the only thing the worker could do at the carnival to entice an audience was to bite off the heads of live animals. Essentially, a geek was a socially undesirable person who lacked any skill or ability.