Q: Do photographers make good money?

No, photographers do not make good money. It is very hard to become a professional photographer that makes a consistently good living. Many photographers have to have second jobs in order to keep up with living expenses.

Q: How much do most photographers make?

Photographers make around $43,114 a year. As you can imagine, though, there is a lot of variation in how much a photographer can earn. The typical range is anywhere from $14,000 a year to $102,000 a year.

Q: What is the highest-paid photography job?

The highest-paid photography job is a photogrammetrist. The salary range for a photogrammetrist is between $49,500 to $134,500. The wide range of potential salaries is due to various skill levels, years of experience, and job locations.

Question 1

How much does a photographer make?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 2

What state pays Photographers the most?

Accepted Answer

New York pays Photographers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $56,937 per year, or $27.37 per hour.

Question 3

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a photographer?

Accepted Answer

You know if you are being paid fairly as a photographer if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Minnesota you should be paid close to $41,165 per year.

Question 4

What is a good starting salary for a Photographer?

Accepted Answer

A good starting salary for a photographer is $21,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a photographer in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for photographers is $36,237, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a photographer can vary by state.

Question 5

Do photographers make good money?

Accepted Answer

No, photographers do not make good money. It is very hard to become a professional photographer that makes a consistently good living. Many photographers have to have second jobs in order to keep up with living expenses.

Question 6

How much do most photographers make?

Accepted Answer

Photographers make around $43,114 a year. As you can imagine, though, there is a lot of variation in how much a photographer can earn. The typical range is anywhere from $14,000 a year to $102,000 a year.

Question 7

How much does a professional photographer make?

Accepted Answer

A professional photographer makes an average annual salary of $42,770. However, determining how much a specific professional photographer makes depends on many different factors, including:

Industry (Fine Art, Portrait, Fashion, Journalism, Sports, etc.)
Their experience level
If they work on a full-time basis
If they work freelance or full-time for a media or other company
How many regular clients they have
The region they work in (city, county, state)

While professional photographers in certain industries can earn six-figure salaries, and sometimes more, most professional photographers earn under $100,000 per year.

Question 8

How much money can you make as a photographer?

Accepted Answer

A photographer can make between $40,000 a year and $60,000 a year. There is a lot of variation in how much a photographer can make with a range anywhere from $14,000 a year to $102,000 a year. Factors such as the type of photographer and location all impact how much a photographer can make.

Question 9

What is the average starting salary for a photographer?

Accepted Answer

The average starting salary for a photographer is $32,893 a year. The range, however, can start as low as $17,500 a year to as high as $76,000 a year. Factors such as type of photographer and location impact how much a starting out photographer can make.

Question 10

What is the highest-paid photography job?

Accepted Answer

The highest-paid photography job is a photogrammetrist. The salary range for a photogrammetrist is between $49,500 to $134,500. The wide range of potential salaries is due to various skill levels, years of experience, and job locations.

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

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

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
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

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Audio Visual Technician	$43,529	$3,627	$20.93	15,387
Camera Operator	$43,609	$3,634	$20.97	26,006
Freelance Video Editor	$54,795	$4,566	$26.34	5,910
Freelance Producer	$62,218	$5,185	$29.91	9,703
Video Production Internship	$33,585	$2,799	$16.15	105,041
Video Producer	$58,612	$4,884	$28.18	10,484

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Jacobs Engineering Group	$76,239	$36.65
2	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	$60,495	$29.08
3	Mayo Clinic	$55,935	$26.89
4	Sinclair Broadcast Group	$51,054	$24.55
5	Uline	$50,495	$24.28
6	New York State Restaurant Association	$47,771	$22.97
7	NBCUniversal	$47,637	$22.90
8	Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Inc.	$46,787	$22.49
9	Ukpeagvik IOoOupiat Corporation	$45,774	$22.01
10	Lifeway Kefir	$43,937	$21.12
11	State of Connecticut	$43,928	$21.12
12	Fashion Nova	$43,032	$20.69
13	Quad	$42,496	$20.43
14	Pacific Architects and Engineers	$40,850	$19.64
15	TEGNA	$40,654	$19.55
16	University of Houston	$40,077	$19.27
17	Messiah College	$40,032	$19.25
18	Fox News	$39,981	$19.22
19	The Walt Disney Company	$39,926	$19.20
20	Savannah College of Art and Design	$38,609	$18.56

Photographer salary

Average photographer salary

$16.33

Understanding Photographer Salaries

Salary by State

Industry Variation

Career Growth

Where can a Photographer earn more?