Median pay for photographers in each state, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). Nationally the median is $44,660 a year across about 145,000 jobs. More about this career.
By state
Listed alphabetically to start; MajorPays does not rank states. Click a column heading to sort; shift-click more headings to sort by several columns as a group.
| State | Median pay | 10th to 90th percentile | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $36,970 | $32,080–$84,130 | 1,360 |
| California | $47,840 | $36,470–$125,490 | 7,980 |
| Colorado | $47,070 | $36,440–$92,200 | 1,140 |
| Florida | $42,640 | $29,990–$80,400 | 4,390 |
| Georgia | $43,770 | $22,690–$103,550 | 1,420 |
| Illinois | $36,570 | $31,200–$96,770 | 2,150 |
| New Jersey | $40,520 | $34,990–$91,780 | 1,460 |
| New York | $60,050 | $37,890–$109,470 | 3,650 |
| North Carolina | $37,120 | $28,330–$76,060 | 2,130 |
| Ohio | $38,470 | $23,670–$80,990 | 1,540 |
| Pennsylvania | $40,520 | $29,020–$75,100 | 1,870 |
| Texas | $41,280 | $24,910–$62,720 | 4,330 |
| Virginia | $46,550 | $31,200–$91,060 | 1,580 |
Fields of study linked to this career by the federal CIP-to-SOC crosswalk (U.S. Department of Education, NCES, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics; a classification crosswalk, and many workers entered by other routes): Journalism · Visual and Performing Arts, General · Design and Applied Arts · Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, state estimates (employees only; self-employed workers are not included); price-level adjustment uses the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (where 100 is the U.S. average; MajorPays' calculation). Wages are for an occupation in a state as a whole and vary widely by employer, experience, industry and place within the state. MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; neither agency has approved or endorsed this presentation. See Data sources for each dataset's terms.