The ‘Modern Family’ Child Actors Got Paid More Than You Might Think

At this point, any “Modern Family” fan can identify Sarah Hyland. She is the eldest former child star of the ABC sitcom and has made a name for herself in the industry, appearing in a variety of other roles. But the paycheck that Hyland and her on-screen siblings received for each episode of the sitcom is more than many people might assume.

According to Deadline, in 2012, Hyland who plays Haley, Ariel Winter (Alex), Nolan Gould (Luke), and Rico Rodriguez (Manny), all reportedly negotiated their salaries to around $70,000 an episode. At that time “Modern Family” had only been on the air for three years.

At the time of the show's 2009 premiere, most of the young actors on the show not yet teenagers. For context, Hyland was 18 during Season 1, while Winter, Gould, and Rodriguez were all only 11, Business Insider reported.

“I look like I’m 12 and that’s OK,” Hyland told Ellen DeGeneres in her first-ever talk show appearance in 2011.

By 2015, “Modern Family” had already established itself as a hallmark of television comedy, winning a total of 22 Emmys, Entertainment Weekly reported. Five of those Emmy wins were for best overall comedy alone.

As the show's popularity increased, so did the cast’s salaries. In 2017, Deadline reported the young actors were receiving a pay increase, putting them at $100,000 each per episode for seasons 9 and 10. With each installment sitting at 22 episodes, that meant they were individually earning more than $2 million per season.

Hyland also has additional forms of income separate from her “Modern Family” career. She uses her Instagram to promote brands like Bounty paper towels, Hasbro games, and various other partnerships, Cosmopolitan reported.

“Boo ended up stealing @Hasbro Disney's Frozen 2 Monopoly …and my man…,” Hyland wrote on Instagram in December 2019, posting a photo of herself with fiancé Wells Adams.