Photographers salary

SOC 27-4021 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$44,660

per year, nationally

Middle half

$36,050–$62,740

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

51,760

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+1.8%

12,700 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$30,820$91,810

10th: $30,820
25th: $36,050
Median: $44,660
75th: $62,740
90th: $91,810

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where photographers earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	District of Columbia	$110,970	109.9	260	1.13×
2	New York	$60,050	107.9	3,650	1.13×
3	Massachusetts	$57,990	105.8	830	0.69×
4	Oregon	$53,630	103.4	510	0.78×
5	Utah	$52,140	98.9	660	1.14×
6	Delaware	$50,100	99.8	180	1.11×
7	Connecticut	$49,790	103.6	630	1.12×
8	New Mexico	$48,090	92.2	230	0.79×
9	Washington	$48,050	107.0	960	0.81×
10	California	$47,840	110.7	7,980	1.32×
11	Kentucky	$47,170	90.2	380	0.57×
12	Colorado	$47,070	103.1	1,140	1.19×
13	Maine	$46,680	97.0	180	0.86×
14	Virginia	$46,550	101.1	1,580	1.15×
15	Minnesota	$46,470	98.6	730	0.74×
16	Maryland	$46,450	105.0	790	0.86×
17	Hawaii	$45,960	110.0	440	2.09×
18	Mississippi	$45,860	87.0	190	0.50×
19	South Dakota	$45,330	88.6	190	1.22×
20	New Hampshire	$44,780	104.2	220	0.97×
21	Georgia	$43,770	96.3	1,420	0.87×
22	Florida	$42,640	103.4	4,390	1.33×
23	Wisconsin	$42,060	94.1	850	0.87×
24	Nebraska	$41,920	90.1	220	0.66×
25	Texas	$41,280	97.1	4,330	0.92×
26	Pennsylvania	$40,520	97.6	1,870	0.93×
27	New Jersey	$40,520	108.8	1,460	1.02×
28	Montana	$39,900	94.6	190	1.09×
29	Wyoming	$39,330	92.7	50	0.56×
30	Alaska	$39,190	102.4	50	0.48×
31	Missouri	$39,170	90.8	950	0.97×
32	Ohio	$38,470	92.8	1,540	0.83×
33	Iowa	$38,290	87.8	430	0.83×
34	Tennessee	$37,950	91.9	780	0.71×
35	South Carolina	$37,890	93.7	630	0.82×
36	Kansas	$37,790	90.1	300	0.63×
37	Nevada	$37,460	100.0	890	1.71×
38	North Dakota	$37,410	89.0	70	0.49×
39	Rhode Island	$37,300	102.3	220	1.34×
40	North Carolina	$37,120	94.3	2,130	1.30×
41	Arizona	$36,970	100.7	1,360	1.26×
42	Louisiana	$36,830	88.2	510	0.79×
43	Oklahoma	$36,750	87.8	330	0.58×
44	Illinois	$36,570	100.0	2,150	1.06×
45	Alabama	$36,130	88.8	530	0.76×
46	West Virginia	$36,110	89.5	110	0.46×
47	Indiana	$35,960	93.3	810	0.76×
48	Idaho	$33,320	95.5	190	0.67×
49	Arkansas	$32,810	86.9	240	0.56×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where photographers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for photographers

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Bend, OR	$65,990	103.6	30	0.93×
2	Fort Collins-Loveland, CO	$62,550	101.1	70	1.18×
3	Boulder, CO	$60,930	105.2	60	0.86×
4	Springfield, MA	$60,430	96.1	40	0.57×
5	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$60,050	112.6	3,590	1.14×
6	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$60,000	100.9	280	1.00×
7	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$59,220	105.4	350	0.86×
8	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$58,840	115.6	880	1.12×
9	Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY	$58,050	109.4	150	1.67×
10	Charleston-North Charleston, SC	$56,890	101.0	100	0.73×
11	Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$56,220	100.9	60	0.49×
12	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$55,220	108.8	60	0.95×
13	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$55,020	108.3	670	0.74×
14	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$54,530	108.9	1,060	1.01×
15	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$54,260	106.9	160	1.19×
16	Springfield, MO	$52,510	88.6	80	1.12×
17	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$52,470	110.4	210	0.56×
18	Montgomery, AL	$52,160	89.7	30	0.58×
19	Kahului-Wailuku, HI	$51,870	109.4	100	4.04×
20	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$51,790	111.1	550	0.80×
21	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$51,410	102.7	160	0.79×
22	New Haven, CT	$51,000	104.6	100	1.07×
23	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$50,940	99.6	130	0.88×
24	Santa Fe, NM	$50,670	98.8	40	1.94×
25	Manchester-Nashua, NH	$50,620	105.7	40	0.65×
26	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$50,500	107.8	60	0.88×
27	Worcester, MA	$50,170	102.5	60	0.54×
28	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$50,060	101.8	240	0.99×
29	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	$50,000	93.1	150	0.68×
30	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$49,980	114.2	1,470	1.56×
31	Naples-Marco Island, FL	$49,760	103.2	40	0.75×
32	Syracuse, NY	$49,560	95.7	80	0.84×
33	Savannah, GA	$49,110	95.2	70	1.01×
34	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$48,790	108.6	40	0.94×
35	Reno, NV	$48,670	101.0	80	0.82×
36	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$48,670	100.1	930	0.96×
37	Albuquerque, NM	$48,090	95.5	100	0.74×
38	Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL	$47,920	97.7	40	0.63×
39	Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL	$47,870	97.1	40	0.48×
40	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$47,840	113.6	4,290	2.06×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where photographers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Audio and Video Technicians$58,100
Film and Video Editors$75,420
Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film$74,990
Broadcast Technicians$59,570
Sound Engineering Technicians$73,130
Media and Communication Equipment Workers, All Other$70,720
Lighting Technicians$68,060