Photography Professionals Salaries, Locations, and Schools

Employment Overview

About 122,000 photography professionals can be found working in the US. A high unemployment level has been the case recently. Employees without jobs were about 4%.

Flexibility

Self-employed photography professionals represent an estimated 54% of the total. Workers working part-time accounted for 22% of those employed in 2006.

Education

You'll generally want long-term on-the-job training for this career path. Of current photography professionals, 46% graduated from college with degrees. Some 36% of workers attened college but did not go on to get a bachelor's degree. A high school education was sufficient for 19% of employees.

Local Outlook

Finding photography professionals is easiest in Alexandria (Louisiana), Burlington (North Carolina), and Rapid City (South Dakota), and by comparison more challenging in Riverside (California), Utica (New York), and Baton Rouge (Louisiana). The pay is best in San Francisco (California), Minneapolis (Minnesota), and Haverhill (Massachusetts) and worst in San Antonio (Texas), McAllen (Texas), and Waterloo (Iowa).

Detailed local employment conditions for Photography Professionals in metro areas across the US are shown in the table below.

Local Jobs Info for Photography Professionals

Employment info for Photography Professionals, by metropolitan area (for 2006). A Market Strength rating of 1.0 means the city (and surroundings) has an average number of workers in the occupation for to its population. A higher number indicates relatively more workers for the occupation in that location.

State	City and Surroundings	Market Strength	Workers	Median Wage
Alabama	Anniston	2.07	40	$23,000
Alabama	Huntsville	1.5	130	$30,000
Alabama	Mobile	1.16	90	$23,000
Alabama	Montgomery	1.37	100	$23,000
Alaska	Anchorage	1.02	70
Arizona	Phoenix	1.38	1,200	$35,000
Arizona	Prescott	1.55	40	$21,000
Arizona	Tucson	0.83	140	$34,000
Arkansas	Fayetteville	1.51	130	$32,000
Arkansas	Fort Smith	0.82	40	$23,000
Arkansas	Little Rock	1.35	200	$29,000
California	Bakersfield	0.78	90
California	Fresno	0.75	110	$30,000
California	Los Angeles	0.98	1,870	$56,000
California	Modesto	0.84	60	$32,000
California	Oakland	0.71	330	$38,000
California	Riverside	0.57	340	$37,000
California	Sacramento	0.85	350	$39,000
California	Salinas	0.76	50
California	San Diego	0.59	360	$33,000
California	San Francisco	1.21	540	$66,000
California	San Jose	0.8	330	$29,000
California	Santa Ana	1.03	730	$41,000
California	Santa Barbara	0.69	50	$39,000
California	Visalia	0.68	40	$34,000
Colorado	Boulder	1.76	120	$32,000
Colorado	Colorado Springs	1.33	150	$27,000
Colorado	Denver	1.03	580	$35,000
Colorado	Fort Collins	1.33	70	$34,000
Colorado	Grand Junction	1.72	40	$23,000
Connecticut	Danbury	2.1	60	$21,000
Connecticut	Hartford	0.85	220	$38,000
Connecticut	New Haven	1.14	140	$36,000
Connecticut	Norwich	0.96	50	$33,000
Delaware	Dover	1.77	40	$26,000
Delaware	Wilmington	0.68	100	$29,000
District of Columbia	Washington	0.84	890	$55,000
Florida	Cape Coral	0.84	80	$24,000
Florida	Deltona	1.01	70	$34,000
Florida	Fort Lauderdale	2.08	710	$26,000
Florida	Gainesville	1.06	50	$27,000
Florida	Jacksonville	1.01	280	$26,000
Florida	Lakeland	0.69	60	$23,000
Florida	Miami	1.56	710	$42,000
Florida	Naples	0.91	50	$30,000
Florida	Orlando	1.09	530	$26,000
Florida	Palm Bay	1.38	120	$34,000
Florida	Pensacola	1.33	90	$27,000
Florida	Sarasota	0.96	120	$29,000
Florida	Tallahassee	2.53	180	$23,000
Florida	Tampa	0.7	400	$34,000
Florida	West Palm Beach	1.14	290	$25,000
Georgia	Atlanta	1.11	1,220	$23,000
Georgia	Augusta	1.01	90	$31,000
Georgia	Columbus	0.85	40	$25,000
Georgia	Savannah	0.76	50	$26,000
Hawaii	Honolulu	1.57	300	$26,000
Idaho	Boise	0.93	110	$30,000
Illinois	Champaign	1.38	50	$30,000
Illinois	Chicago	1.01	1,780	$53,000
Illinois	Peoria	1.26	90	$24,000
Illinois	Rockford	1.08	70	$37,000
Illinois	Springfield	0.93	40	$48,000
Indiana	Bloomington	1.06	30	$27,000
Indiana	Evansville	1.45	110	$36,000
Indiana	Fort Wayne	1.17	110	$31,000
Indiana	Gary	1.37	170	$26,000
Indiana	Indianapolis	1.62	650	$35,000
Indiana	South Bend	1.68	100	$34,000
Indiana	Terre Haute	1.81	50	$33,000
Iowa	Ames	2.72	40	$27,000
Iowa	Cedar Rapids	0.87	50	$27,000
Iowa	Davenport	1.53	120	$27,000
Iowa	Des Moines	2.59	370	$28,000
Iowa	Sioux City	1.39	40	$24,000
Iowa	Waterloo	2.38	80	$19,000
Kansas	Topeka	1.76	80	$25,000
Kansas	Wichita	1.27	170	$22,000
Kentucky	Bowling Green	2.71	60	$25,000
Kentucky	Louisville	1.24	340	$25,000
Louisiana	Alexandria	4.7	110
Louisiana	Baton Rouge	0.44	70	$28,000
Louisiana	Lafayette	0.68	40	$25,000
Louisiana	Lake Charles	0.83	30	$21,000
Louisiana	Monroe	1.27	40	$22,000
Louisiana	New Orleans	1.2	270	$26,000
Louisiana	Shreveport	1.1	80	$29,000
Maryland	Baltimore	1.69	990	$28,000
Maryland	Bethesda	1.02	260	$34,000
Maryland	Hagerstown	1.66	70	$26,000
Maryland	Salisbury	2.44	50	$21,000
Massachusetts	Boston	0.91	710	$37,000
Massachusetts	Framingham	2.92	200	$28,000
Massachusetts	Haverhill	1.25	40	$51,000
Massachusetts	Lowell	1.8	90	$27,000
Massachusetts	Springfield	1.57	210	$38,000
Massachusetts	Worcester	0.99	110	$42,000
Michigan	Detroit	0.83	280	$45,000
Michigan	Grand Rapids	1.46	250	$33,000
Michigan	Lansing	0.69	60	$35,000
Michigan	Warren	1.01	540	$28,000
Minnesota	Duluth	1.11	60	$23,000
Minnesota	Minneapolis	1.6	1,320	$56,000
Minnesota	Rochester	0.87	30	$41,000
Minnesota	St Cloud	0.97	40	$35,000
Mississippi	Gulfport	0.91	40	$29,000
Mississippi	Jackson	0.9	100	$25,000
Missouri	Columbia	1.49	50
Missouri	Joplin	1.25	40	$18,000
Missouri	Kansas City	1.1	510	$40,000
Missouri	Springfield	1.42	120	$23,000
Missouri	St Joseph	1.58	30	$23,000
Missouri	St Louis	1.38	850	$36,000
Montana	Missoula	1.88	40	$36,000
Nebraska	Lincoln	0.73	50	$25,000
Nebraska	Omaha	1.9	390	$25,000
Nevada	Las Vegas	1.85	790	$30,000
Nevada	Reno	1.05	100	$33,000
New Hampshire	Nashua	1.19	70
New Hampshire	Rochester	1.38	30	$38,000
New Jersey	Edison	1.03	480	$34,000
New Jersey	Newark	0.68	310	$35,000
New Jersey	Trenton	0.73	70	$29,000
New Mexico	Albuquerque	1.27	220	$36,000
New Mexico	Santa Fe	2.79	60
New York	Albany	0.67	130	$34,000
New York	Binghamton	1.3	60	$35,000
New York	Buffalo	1.42	340	$27,000
New York	Glens Falls	3	60	$30,000
New York	Kingston	1.25	30	$33,000
New York	Nassau	1.31	740	$31,000
New York	New York	0.98	2,250	$50,000
New York	Poughkeepsie	0.85	90	$27,000
New York	Rochester	1.42	320	$27,000
New York	Syracuse	1.41	190	$30,000
New York	Utica	0.56	30	$26,000
North Carolina	Asheville	1.17	90	$36,000
North Carolina	Burlington	3.86	90	$28,000
North Carolina	Durham	1.54	180
North Carolina	Fayetteville	1.39	70	$29,000
North Carolina	Greensboro	1.2	200	$39,000
North Carolina	Raleigh	1.59	360
North Carolina	Wilmington	0.98	60	$25,000
North Dakota	Fargo	2.27	110	$37,000
Ohio	Akron	1	150	$31,000
Ohio	Canton	2.43	180	$23,000
Ohio	Cincinnati	1.15	540	$23,000
Ohio	Cleveland	1.42	690	$25,000
Ohio	Columbus	0.91	380	$31,000
Ohio	Dayton	1.42	250	$37,000
Ohio	Lima	1.86	40	$23,000
Ohio	Toledo	1.11	160	$23,000
Ohio	Youngstown	1.33	140	$23,000
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	1.41	360	$22,000
Oklahoma	Tulsa	0.74	140	$28,000
Oregon	Eugene	1.4	90	$29,000
Oregon	Medford	0.87	30	$33,000
Oregon	Portland	1	470	$34,000
Oregon	Salem	1.41	90	$29,000
Pennsylvania	Allentown	1.28	190	$32,000
Pennsylvania	Erie	0.72	40	$31,000
Pennsylvania	Harrisburg	0.83	110	$33,000
Pennsylvania	Lancaster	0.78	80	$34,000
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	1	850	$34,000
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	0.98	510	$28,000
Pennsylvania	Reading	0.85	60	$31,000
Pennsylvania	Scranton	1.31	150	$31,000
Pennsylvania	York	1.03	80	$24,000
Rhode Island	Providence	1.29	340	$38,000
South Carolina	Charleston	0.86	110	$34,000
South Carolina	Columbia	0.78	120	$29,000
South Carolina	Greenville	0.88	120	$38,000
South Carolina	Myrtle Beach	2.97	150	$21,000
South Dakota	Rapid City	3.25	80	$23,000
South Dakota	Sioux Falls	0.87	50	$35,000
Tennessee	Chattanooga	2.05	200	$25,000
Tennessee	Johnson City	1.28	40	$23,000
Tennessee	Knoxville	1.42	210	$30,000
Tennessee	Memphis	0.63	180	$29,000
Tennessee	Nashville	1.73	600	$26,000
Texas	Amarillo	1.92	80	$23,000
Texas	Austin	1.42	480	$31,000
Texas	Beaumont	0.59	40	$29,000
Texas	Corpus Christi	1.48	110	$21,000
Texas	Dallas	1.09	1,030	$30,000
Texas	El Paso	0.97	110	$22,000
Texas	Fort Worth	1.22	460	$31,000
Texas	Houston	1.01	1,160	$26,000
Texas	Lubbock	2.46	120	$23,000
Texas	Mcallen	0.88	80	$21,000
Texas	San Antonio	0.92	340	$23,000
Texas	Tyler	1.86	70	$22,000
Utah	Ogden	0.72	60	$33,000
Utah	Provo	1.1	80	$24,000
Utah	Salt Lake City	1.09	300	$34,000
Virginia	Blacksburg	1.8	40	$34,000
Virginia	Harrisonburg	1.39	30	$35,000
Virginia	Richmond	0.77	210	$42,000
Virginia	Roanoke	1.61	110	$23,000
Virginia	Virginia Beach	1.08	370	$24,000
Washington	Bellingham	1.23	40	$40,000
Washington	Bremerton	1.53	50	$24,000
Washington	Kennewick	1.39	50	$30,000
Washington	Seattle	1.09	710	$41,000
Washington	Tacoma	0.59	70	$33,000
West Virginia	Charleston	1.12	70	$24,000
West Virginia	Huntington	1.25	60	$27,000
Wisconsin	Appleton	1.44	70	$33,000
Wisconsin	Eau Claire	1.63	50	$26,000
Wisconsin	Green Bay	1.82	130	$35,000
Wisconsin	Madison	1.65	240	$37,000
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	0.8	310	$40,000
Wyoming	Casper	2.86	40	$34,000
Wyoming	Cheyenne	1.96	30	$34,000