Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film salary

SOC 27-4031 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$74,990

per year, nationally

Middle half

$50,920–$106,660

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

21,550

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+1.2%

2,900 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.

$38,520$135,180

10th: $38,520
25th: $50,920
Median: $74,990
75th: $106,660
90th: $135,180

Getting in

Typical education to enter: Bachelor's degree
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None

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

Where camera operators, television, video, and film 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	California	$106,900	110.7	4,700	1.86×
2	Illinois	$100,170	100.0	1,060	1.25×
3	District of Columbia	$98,300	109.9	240	2.51×
4	New York	$93,410	107.9	2,930	2.19×
5	Georgia	$85,050	96.3	570	0.84×
6	Alaska	$83,620	102.4	50	1.01×
7	Colorado	$74,990	103.1	300	0.76×
8	Utah	$73,450	98.9	240	1.02×
9	Arizona	$68,250	100.7	520	1.17×
10	Maryland	$65,870	105.0	290	0.77×
11	Connecticut	$65,630	103.6	170	0.72×
12	Ohio	$64,860	92.8	520	0.68×
13	Texas	$63,110	97.1	1,100	0.57×
14	North Carolina	$62,720	94.3	380	0.55×
15	Florida	$62,220	103.4	970	0.71×
16	Nevada	$62,110	100.0	320	1.49×
17	Alabama	$61,800	88.8	220	0.75×
18	Massachusetts	$61,320	105.8	370	0.73×
19	Kansas	$60,690	90.1	110	0.56×
20	Washington	$60,250	107.0	440	0.90×
21	Virginia	$58,440	101.1	420	0.74×
22	Louisiana	$58,440	88.2	270	1.00×
23	Idaho	$58,140	95.5	120	1.01×
24	South Carolina	$57,940	93.7	40	0.11×
25	Iowa	$57,220	87.8	90	0.43×
26	Tennessee	$57,030	91.9	460	1.01×
27	Indiana	$56,810	93.3	200	0.46×
28	Michigan	$55,290	96.2	380	0.62×
29	Kentucky	$53,790	90.2	170	0.63×
30	North Dakota	$53,650	89.0	40	0.65×
31	Wisconsin	$52,810	94.1	300	0.73×
32	Pennsylvania	$51,760	97.6	670	0.79×
33	Minnesota	$51,420	98.6	300	0.73×
34	Montana	$50,910	94.6	110	1.56×
35	Mississippi	$49,920	87.0	60	0.37×
36	Rhode Island	$49,790	102.3	50	0.78×
37	New Mexico	$49,050	92.2	290	2.40×
38	Arkansas	$48,680	86.9	60	0.34×
39	Oklahoma	$48,620	87.8	220	0.94×
40	Vermont	$46,350	98.0	130	3.08×
41	Nebraska	$46,180	90.1	100	0.68×
42	New Hampshire	$45,880	104.2	—	—
43	Hawaii	$44,230	110.0	90	1.06×
44	South Dakota	$44,160	88.6	50	0.75×
45	West Virginia	$43,390	89.5	60	0.57×
46	Maine	$37,590	97.0	70	0.81×

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 camera operators, television, video, and film wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for camera operators, television, video, and film

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	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$107,620	113.6	3,540	4.07×
2	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$102,370	103.6	740	1.18×
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$98,500	115.6	280	0.84×
4	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$93,410	112.6	3,000	2.28×
5	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$84,870	106.7	50	0.34×
6	Anchorage, AK	$83,620	105.4	40	1.49×
7	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$83,320	108.9	500	1.15×
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$80,380	104.8	190	0.71×
9	Fresno, CA	$80,030	102.2	40	0.60×
10	Rochester, NY	$76,700	97.0	50	0.74×
11	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$76,250	100.1	360	0.91×
12	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$74,990	105.8	220	0.99×
13	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$74,710	98.1	210	1.15×
14	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$73,710	100.9	140	1.24×
15	Columbus, OH	$72,540	95.5	120	0.76×
16	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$71,390	108.8	50	1.65×
17	St. Louis, MO-IL	$71,360	95.1	70	0.36×
18	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$71,080	103.3	350	1.07×
19	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$67,560	106.9	40	0.79×
20	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$65,870	104.5	150	0.79×
21	Jacksonville, FL	$65,640	99.5	60	0.61×
22	Huntsville, AL	$65,530	93.1	—	—
23	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$65,130	101.4	110	0.58×
24	Birmingham, AL	$64,730	91.6	50	0.75×
25	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$64,490	94.7	60	0.41×
26	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$64,380	103.1	290	0.52×
27	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$63,990	97.3	—	—
28	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$63,970	95.4	90	0.60×
29	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$63,720	95.5	60	0.69×
30	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$63,230	100.9	130	0.64×
31	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$62,870	98.6	220	0.48×
32	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$62,810	108.3	210	0.56×
33	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$62,720	98.2	120	1.14×
34	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$62,220	114.2	330	0.86×
35	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$62,110	100.2	290	1.83×
36	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$61,820	111.1	320	1.09×
37	New Orleans-Metairie, LA	$61,500	92.6	130	2.08×
38	Kansas City, MO-KS	$61,150	92.5	90	0.62×
39	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$60,800	96.3	250	1.61×
40	Baton Rouge, LA	$60,320	90.8	50	0.94×

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 camera operators, television, video, and film 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
Photographers$44,660
Film and Video Editors$75,420
Broadcast Technicians$59,570
Sound Engineering Technicians$73,130
Media and Communication Equipment Workers, All Other$70,720
Lighting Technicians$68,060

Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film salary

What the range looks like

Getting in

Where camera operators, television, video, and film earn the most

Best paying metro areas for camera operators, television, video, and film

Similar occupations

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