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Job outlook for news photographers in the United States
Are news photographer jobs in demand?
News Photographer job and salary trends over time
News Photographer jobs over time
News Photographer job growth rate over time
Year  | # Of Jobs | % Of Population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 502 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 541 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 636 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 608 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 612 | 0.00% |
Average news photographer salary over time
News Photographer salary by year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $76,014 | $36.54 | +13.8% |
| 2024 | $66,806 | $32.12 | +6.7% |
| 2023 | $62,608 | $30.10 | +4.6% |
| 2022 | $59,828 | $28.76 | --4.6% |
| 2021 | $62,737 | $30.16 | +7.4% |
News Photographer jobs by state
Most common states for news photographers
| Rank | State | Population | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 98 | 14% |
| 2 | New York | 19,849,399 | 498 | 3% |
| 3 | California | 39,536,653 | 632 | 2% |
| 4 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 162 | 2% |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 108 | 2% |
| 6 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 98 | 2% |
| 7 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 91 | 2% |
| 8 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 74 | 2% |
| 9 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 68 | 2% |
| 10 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 58 | 2% |
| 11 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 57 | 2% |
| 12 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 50 | 2% |
| 13 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 35 | 2% |
| 14 | Alaska | 739,795 | 16 | 2% |
| 15 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 14 | 2% |
| 16 | Vermont | 623,657 | 10 | 2% |
| 17 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 9 | 2% |
| 18 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 170 | 1% |
| 19 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 25 | 1% |
| 20 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 15 | 1% |
Most common cities for news photographers
| Rank | City | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Sacramento | 1 | 2% | $85,479 |
| 2 | Fayetteville | 1 | 1% | $67,695 |
| 3 | Grand Rapids | 1 | 1% | $66,747 |
| 4 | Lansing | 1 | 1% | $68,091 |
| 5 | Shreveport | 1 | 1% | $59,612 |
| 6 | Fresno | 2 | 0% | $84,789 |
| 7 | Birmingham | 1 | 0% | $66,899 |
| 8 | Chicago | 1 | 0% | $82,208 |
| 9 | Indianapolis | 1 | 0% | $66,690 |
| 10 | Orlando | 1 | 0% | $58,021 |
News Photographer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of news photographer experts
Georgia State University
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Florida State University
What skills will help News Photographers earn the most?
Jill Frank: This is probably too abstract a question for the field of art, but I will try my best: the better you are at taking photographs and marketing yourself & the better you are at moving seamlessly across different media and speaking to the relevant issues, the greater your success will be.
How do you envision technology impacting News Photographers in the next 5 years?
Nate Bynum: It will ever increase. Long before the pandemic, more and more stage performers were being asked to submit auditions via self-tapes. That process can be a time and money saver for both the theatre and the actor. Still, stage acting is centered around performing in front of a live audience, and the best way to prove confidence and ability in doing that is to audition live and respond to feedback in real-time. Recording and streaming live performances is already an issue causing legal ramifications between SAG-AFTRA and AEA. This is a sensitive issue at present.
On the other hand, technology has already impacted film/tv acting, and I think it is to stay there. A reliance on self-taped audition submissions, and Zoom auditions, will probably remain a norm in the on-screen discipline because, again, of time and cost. I think everyone is eager to get back to in-person auditions, getting adjustments in the room from the decision-makers, and just direct reading the room. Still, a lot of money has been spent on the equipment during the pandemic, and no one wants it only to become obsolete. Also, a lot of actors are getting good at self-taping. As well, casting directors have a lot more opportunities nowadays to cast multiple shows. The quick turnaround demanded from network, cable, and streaming shows doesn't allow for many in-person auditions.
What general advice would you give to a News Photographer?
Michael Neal Ph.D.: The advice can be tricky, especially since our graduates go into a number of fields. My hope for them is that they continue to build upon what they learned in our program and apply it to new situations and contexts outside of school. I often tell students that editing, writing, and media aren't skills you master and then apply universally across contexts. Instead, we encourage students to keep growing and stretching themselves, since they will most likely face new genres, audiences, and contexts that they didn't see in college. Therefore, we teach them to be flexible, to be close readers, and analyze each rhetorical situation to determine how to best communicate within that context. Good writing isn't one-size-fits-all. Instead, it's a complex, negotiated relationship between writers, texts, contexts, audiences, media, modalities, etc.