Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of photographer salary by state for the United States:
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New York has the highest photographer salary of $56,937
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Nevada has the lowest photographer salary of $20,532
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The national average salary for photographers is $33,968
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The national hourly pay for photographers is $16.33
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do photographers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for photographer by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for photographers after this adjustment? That would be New York.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for photographer salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Photographers By State
| Rank | State | Average Photographer Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $56,937 | $33,000 | $95,000 |
| 2 | Minnesota | $41,165 | $27,000 | $60,000 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $40,485 | $24,000 | $67,000 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $40,028 | $24,000 | $64,000 |
| 5 | Vermont | $39,517 | $25,000 | $60,000 |
| 6 | Alaska | $38,626 | $29,000 | $51,000 |
| 7 | California | $37,556 | $24,000 | $58,000 |
| 8 | New Hampshire | $37,373 | $23,000 | $58,000 |
| 9 | West Virginia | $37,194 | $23,000 | $59,000 |
| 10 | Utah | $37,038 | $25,000 | $54,000 |
| 11 | North Dakota | $36,732 | $26,000 | $51,000 |
| 12 | Illinois | $36,527 | $23,000 | $56,000 |
| 13 | Wyoming | $36,454 | $25,000 | $52,000 |
| 14 | Maine | $35,707 | $23,000 | $53,000 |
| 15 | Washington | $35,531 | $24,000 | $51,000 |
| 16 | New Jersey | $35,083 | $20,000 | $59,000 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | $34,197 | $22,000 | $52,000 |
| 18 | Maryland | $34,183 | $20,000 | $57,000 |
| 19 | Idaho | $33,964 | $23,000 | $49,000 |
| 20 | Colorado | $33,620 | $23,000 | $48,000 |
| 21 | Kentucky | $33,152 | $21,000 | $50,000 |
| 22 | Virginia | $32,992 | $20,000 | $53,000 |
| 23 | Montana | $32,409 | $23,000 | $45,000 |
| 24 | South Dakota | $32,091 | $22,000 | $46,000 |
| 25 | New Mexico | $31,570 | $21,000 | $47,000 |
| 26 | Oregon | $31,503 | $21,000 | $46,000 |
| 27 | Nebraska | $31,347 | $21,000 | $45,000 |
| 28 | Kansas | $31,320 | $21,000 | $45,000 |
| 29 | Pennsylvania | $31,215 | $18,000 | $52,000 |
| 30 | Arkansas | $30,689 | $21,000 | $44,000 |
| 31 | Texas | $29,945 | $20,000 | $44,000 |
| 32 | Michigan | $29,665 | $18,000 | $47,000 |
| 33 | Ohio | $29,277 | $18,000 | $47,000 |
| 34 | Tennessee | $29,272 | $19,000 | $43,000 |
| 35 | Alabama | $28,890 | $19,000 | $42,000 |
| 36 | Indiana | $28,666 | $18,000 | $44,000 |
| 37 | Georgia | $28,568 | $19,000 | $41,000 |
| 38 | Mississippi | $27,759 | $19,000 | $40,000 |
| 39 | Hawaii | $26,692 | $19,000 | $36,000 |
| 40 | Arizona | $26,348 | $17,000 | $39,000 |
| 41 | South Carolina | $26,034 | $17,000 | $38,000 |
| 42 | North Carolina | $25,710 | $16,000 | $39,000 |
| 43 | Delaware | $25,359 | $15,000 | $42,000 |
| 44 | Rhode Island | $24,964 | $15,000 | $40,000 |
| 45 | Louisiana | $24,762 | $16,000 | $36,000 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $24,410 | $16,000 | $35,000 |
| 47 | Iowa | $23,207 | $15,000 | $34,000 |
| 48 | Florida | $22,984 | $15,000 | $33,000 |
| 49 | Missouri | $22,485 | $15,000 | $33,000 |
| 50 | Nevada | $20,532 | $13,000 | $31,000 |
Methodology: Photographer Salary By State
To better understand photographer pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for photographers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for photographers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for photographers.
Photographer Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for photographers?
The highest-paid state for photographers is New York with an average salary of $56,937 per year.
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What city pays photographers the most?
New York, NY pays photographers the most with an average salary of $57,095 per year.
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What is the worst state for photographers?
The worst state for photographers is Nevada with an average salary of $20,532 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
