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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020
27-4021 Photographers
Photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects. May use lighting equipment to enhance a subject's appearance. May use editing software to produce finished images and prints. Includes commercial and industrial photographers, scientific photographers, and photojournalists. Excludes "Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film" (27-4031).
National estimates for Photographers
Industry profile for Photographers
Geographic profile for Photographers
National estimates for Photographers: Top
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Photographers:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 41,600 |
2.4 % |
$ 24.18 |
$ 50,290 |
1.7 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Photographers:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 10.78 |
$ 13.72 |
$ 19.85 |
$ 30.02 |
$ 41.76 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 22,410 |
$ 28,530 |
$ 41,280 |
$ 62,440 |
$ 86,850 |
Industry profile for Photographers: Top
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Photographers are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Photographers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Photographers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services |
21,690 |
2.99 |
$ 22.14 |
$ 46,050 |
| Radio and Television Broadcasting |
3,740 |
1.84 |
$ 26.40 |
$ 54,910 |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers |
1,710 |
0.62 |
$ 26.96 |
$ 56,080 |
| Motion Picture and Video Industries |
1,570 |
0.48 |
$ 37.73 |
$ 78,470 |
| Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses |
1,120 |
0.27 |
$ 23.87 |
$ 49,640 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Photographers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services |
21,690 |
2.99 |
$ 22.14 |
$ 46,050 |
| Radio and Television Broadcasting |
3,740 |
1.84 |
$ 26.40 |
$ 54,910 |
| Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers |
790 |
1.63 |
$ 23.57 |
$ 49,030 |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers |
1,710 |
0.62 |
$ 26.96 |
$ 56,080 |
| Motion Picture and Video Industries |
1,570 |
0.48 |
$ 37.73 |
$ 78,470 |
Top paying industries for Photographers:
Geographic profile for Photographers: Top
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Photographers are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Photographers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Photographers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
5,770 |
0.35 |
1.17 |
$ 28.92 |
$ 60,150 |
| New York |
3,710 |
0.43 |
1.43 |
$ 35.15 |
$ 73,110 |
| Florida |
3,640 |
0.43 |
1.44 |
$ 17.59 |
$ 36,590 |
| Texas |
2,980 |
0.25 |
0.82 |
$ 27.51 |
$ 57,230 |
| Illinois |
1,570 |
0.28 |
0.93 |
$ 26.92 |
$ 55,990 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Photographers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Hawaii |
390 |
0.68 |
2.29 |
$ 21.22 |
$ 44,130 |
| District of Columbia |
430 |
0.63 |
2.11 |
$ 44.10 |
$ 91,720 |
| Nevada |
770 |
0.62 |
2.06 |
$ 14.07 |
$ 29,270 |
| Rhode Island |
210 |
0.47 |
1.56 |
$ 25.20 |
$ 52,410 |
| Florida |
3,640 |
0.43 |
1.44 |
$ 17.59 |
$ 36,590 |
Top paying states for Photographers:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Photographers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
3,810 |
0.43 |
1.44 |
$ 34.95 |
$ 72,690 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
2,950 |
0.51 |
1.69 |
$ 30.46 |
$ 63,350 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
1,290 |
0.29 |
0.99 |
$ 26.54 |
$ 55,210 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
1,120 |
0.42 |
1.42 |
$ 25.98 |
$ 54,040 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
1,100 |
0.31 |
1.02 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
990 |
0.40 |
1.33 |
$ 23.22 |
$ 48,290 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
850 |
0.37 |
1.22 |
$ 32.07 |
$ 66,700 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
840 |
0.31 |
1.04 |
$ 21.22 |
$ 44,140 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
840 |
0.28 |
0.93 |
$ 33.90 |
$ 70,510 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
760 |
0.39 |
1.29 |
$ 27.02 |
$ 56,190 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Photographers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
320 |
0.78 |
2.61 |
$ 21.92 |
$ 45,600 |
| Asheville, NC |
140 |
0.77 |
2.59 |
$ 13.95 |
$ 29,020 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
690 |
0.76 |
2.54 |
$ 14.22 |
$ 29,570 |
| Springfield, MO |
150 |
0.72 |
2.41 |
$ 14.67 |
$ 30,520 |
| Lubbock, TX |
90 |
0.65 |
2.16 |
$ 20.40 |
$ 42,430 |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
40 |
0.63 |
2.11 |
$ 20.92 |
$ 43,520 |
| Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA |
190 |
0.60 |
2.00 |
$ 16.08 |
$ 33,440 |
| Green Bay, WI |
100 |
0.59 |
1.98 |
$ 18.79 |
$ 39,080 |
| Wilmington, NC |
80 |
0.59 |
1.98 |
$ 19.29 |
$ 40,130 |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN |
40 |
0.59 |
1.97 |
$ 20.60 |
$ 42,840 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Photographers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Logan, UT-ID |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 36.11 |
$ 75,100 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
80 |
0.20 |
0.68 |
$ 35.88 |
$ 74,620 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
3,810 |
0.43 |
1.44 |
$ 34.95 |
$ 72,690 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
840 |
0.28 |
0.93 |
$ 33.90 |
$ 70,510 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
660 |
0.25 |
0.85 |
$ 33.00 |
$ 68,640 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
850 |
0.37 |
1.22 |
$ 32.07 |
$ 66,700 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
2,950 |
0.51 |
1.69 |
$ 30.46 |
$ 63,350 |
| New Haven, CT |
70 |
0.28 |
0.92 |
$ 30.20 |
$ 62,810 |
| Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI |
40 |
0.35 |
1.15 |
$ 30.16 |
$ 62,740 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
660 |
0.36 |
1.20 |
$ 29.57 |
$ 61,510 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Photographers:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Photographers:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Photographers:
About May 2020 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021
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United States Department of Labor
