Photographer salary

Average photographer salary

$16.33

$33,968 yearly

Entry-level photographer salary
$22,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a photographer make?

The average photographer salary in the United States is $33,968. Photographer salaries typically range between $22,000 and $52,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for photographers is $16.33 per hour.

Photographer salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Photographers earn the highest average salary in New York.

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Photographer salary by: 

Where can a Photographer earn more?

Compare salary by location
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Vs
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78k
58k
38k
18k
-2k
Columbus, OH$57,095
Indianapolis, IN$28,248
Compare salary by company
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89k
69k
49k
29k
9k
Jacobs Engineering Group$76,239
Savannah College of Art and Design$38,609

Photographer salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert and Comparably, the average salary for a photographer typically falls between $33,968 and $66,618.
zippia
$33,968yearly
glassdoor[1]
$52,803yearly
indeed[2]
$41,218yearly
comparably[3]
$62,907yearly
ZipRecruiter[4]
$42,491yearly
SalaryExpert[5]
$66,618yearly

Average photographer salary by state

Highest paying states for photographers

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1New York$56,937$27.37
2Connecticut$40,485$19.46
3Utah$37,038$17.81
4West Virginia$37,194$17.88
5Alaska$38,626$18.57
6California$37,556$18.06
7Vermont$39,517$19.00
8Minnesota$41,165$19.79
9Massachusetts$40,028$19.24
10North Dakota$36,732$17.66
11Illinois$36,527$17.56
12Wisconsin$34,197$16.44
13Wyoming$36,454$17.53
14New Hampshire$37,373$17.97
15Washington$35,531$17.08
16Arkansas$30,689$14.75
17Colorado$33,620$16.16
18Maine$35,707$17.17
19Virginia$32,992$15.86
20Idaho$33,964$16.33
21Nebraska$31,347$15.07
22Pennsylvania$31,215$15.01
23Maryland$34,183$16.43
24Michigan$29,665$14.26
25Oregon$31,503$15.15
26Tennessee$29,272$14.07
27New Jersey$35,083$16.87
28Kentucky$33,152$15.94
29South Dakota$32,091$15.43
30Montana$32,409$15.58
31Texas$29,945$14.40
32Alabama$28,890$13.89
33Ohio$29,277$14.08
34Kansas$31,320$15.06
35New Mexico$31,570$15.18
36Mississippi$27,759$13.35
37Georgia$28,568$13.73
38District of Columbia$24,311$11.69
39Oklahoma$24,410$11.74
40South Carolina$26,034$12.52
41Louisiana$24,762$11.90
42Florida$22,984$11.05
43Indiana$28,666$13.78
44Arizona$26,348$12.67
45Hawaii$26,692$12.83
46North Carolina$25,710$12.36
47Missouri$22,485$10.81
48Iowa$23,207$11.16
49Rhode Island$24,964$12.00
50Delaware$25,359$12.19
51Nevada$20,532$9.87

Highest paying cities for photographers

The highest-paying cities for photographers are New York, NY, Minneapolis, MN, and Sacramento, CA.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1New York, NY$57,095$27.45
2Minneapolis, MN$41,120$19.77
3Sacramento, CA$40,255$19.35
4Boston, MA$39,883$19.17
5Salt Lake City, UT$37,127$17.85
6Chicago, IL$36,900$17.74
7Springfield, VA$35,747$17.19
8Seattle, WA$35,717$17.17
9Baltimore, MD$34,461$16.57
10Milwaukee, WI$34,270$16.48
11Denver, CO$33,705$16.20
12Kansas City, KS$31,643$15.21
13Philadelphia, PA$31,393$15.09
14Cleveland, OH$31,388$15.09
15Dallas, TX$30,157$14.50
16Detroit, MI$29,837$14.34
17Birmingham, AL$29,059$13.97
18Chattanooga, TN$28,956$13.92
19Atlanta, GA$28,751$13.82
20Indianapolis, IN$28,248$13.58

Photographers are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. New York, NY
  2. Minneapolis, MN
  3. Sacramento, CA
  4. Boston, MA
  5. Salt Lake City, UT

Photographer salary details

A photographer's salary ranges from $22,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $52,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Photographer Salary Graph
Average Photographer Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a photographer's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$52,000$4,333$25
75th Percentile$42,000$3,500$20
Average$33,968$2,831$16
25th Percentile$27,000$2,250$13
10th Percentile$22,000$1,833$11

Highest paying photographer jobs

The highest paying types of photographers are executive producer, producer, and photography internship.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
Audio Visual Technician$43,529$3,627$20.9315,387
Camera Operator$43,609$3,634$20.9726,006
Freelance Video Editor$54,795$4,566$26.345,910
Freelance Producer$62,218$5,185$29.919,703
Video Production Internship$33,585$2,799$16.15105,041
Video Producer$58,612$4,884$28.1810,484

Which companies pay photographers the most?

Photographer salaries at Jacobs Engineering Group and Vanderbilt University Medical Center are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average photographer salary at companies like Mayo Clinic and Sinclair Broadcast Group are highly competitive.

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$36,000$35,200$34,400$33,600$32,800$32,000
MaleFemale

Photographer salary by industry

The average photographer salary varies across industries:

  • The average photographer salary in the professional industry is $35,564, the highest of any industry.
  • The average photographer salary in the finance industry is $34,426.
  • Photographers in the retail industry earn an average salary of $32,723, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for photographers

Rank
ascdesc
Industry
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Professional$35,564$17.10
2Manufacturing$34,426$16.55
3Media$34,195$16.44
4Retail$32,723$15.73

High Paying Photographer Jobs

Photographer salary trends

The average photographer salary has risen by $10,220 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average photographer earned $23,748 annually, but today, they earn $33,968 a year. That works out to a 21% change in pay for photographers over the last decade.

Compare photographer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average photographer salary over time

Compare photographer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average
  • Columbus, OH

Photographer salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$34,000$16.33+12.1%
2024$29,900$14.35+6.3%
2023$28,000$13.45+4.4%
2022$26,700$12.85-4.9%
2021$28,000$13.48+6.9%

Recently added photographer salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
Illinois State UniversityStudent PhotographerNormal, IL12/18/2024$31,305
Luttrell Staffing GroupShort-Term Marketing PhotographerGrover Beach, CA12/17/2024$43,827
NbcuniversalPhotographer (Nabet Engineer), NBC & Telemundo Washington DCIone, WA12/16/2024$58,019
Stefanini GroupPhotographerNewark, NJ12/16/2024$48,001
Manhattan MotorcarsInventory PhotographerNew York, NY12/16/2024$41,740
Mom365, Inc.PhotographerRichmond, VA12/16/2024$43,827
AgupdateOptical SalesMill Creek, WA12/16/2024$45,914
Oklahoma AGLegislative PhotographerOklahoma City, OK12/16/2024$42,000
XciteautoFrontline PhotographerWaltham, MA12/16/2024$37,566
Cardata Inc.Automotive Dealership Photographer-Fort Myers, FL12/16/2024$30,000

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