Professional Photographer Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

There were about 122,000 jobs for professional photographers in the US in 2008. Compared to other occupations, unemployment for workers was ranked high. The percentage of employees without jobs in 2008 was 4%.

Area Job Conditions

The cities with the most jobs for professional photographers are Cleveland (Tennessee), Anniston (Alabama), and Altoona (Pennsylvania), and cities with the least jobs are Oakland (California), Tacoma (Washington), and Lafayette (Louisiana).

The highest salaries for workers are found in San Francisco (California), Ann Arbor (Michigan), and Springfield (Illinois), and the lowest-paying areas are in San Antonio (Texas), Prescott (Arizona), and Anniston (Alabama).

Training and Education

People who want to work as employees should consider getting long-term on-the-job training. More than 46% of professional photographers have a four year degree. About 36% of workers have attended college, but not earned a bachelor's degree. For 19% of employees a high school diploma was all that was required. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

About 22% of professional photographers work part of the time. About 54% of workers are self-employed.

Professional Photographers: An Introductory Video

Professional Photographers Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of professional photographers compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for professional photographers.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Birmingham	$24,000	170
Huntsville		110
Montgomery	$27,000	100
Anniston	$20,000	80
Mobile	$21,000	60
Tuscaloosa	$23,000	50
Auburn	$23,000	30

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Phoenix	$40,000	930
Tucson	$43,000	140
Prescott	$21,000	30

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Little Rock	$26,000	130
Fayetteville	$32,000	100

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Santa Ana	$41,000	590
San Francisco	$62,000	560
San Diego	$34,000	440
Riverside	$35,000	400
Sacramento	$40,000	310
Oakland	$38,000	250
Fresno	$31,000	120
Bakersfield		120
Modesto	$29,000	100
Vallejo	$32,000	50
Visalia	$35,000	50
Chico	$26,000	40
Santa Cruz	$43,000	30

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Denver	$39,000	580
Colorado Springs	$30,000	190
Boulder	$35,000	100
Fort Collins	$38,000	60

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Hartford	$38,000	280
Bridgeport	$32,000	260
New Haven	$40,000	120
Norwich	$30,000	60

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$32,000	90
Dover	$26,000	40

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$47,000	960

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Miami	$42,000	730
Orlando	$29,000	470
Fort Lauderdale	$30,000	460
West Palm Beach	$32,000	400
Tampa	$38,000	350
Jacksonville	$32,000	300
Palm Bay	$35,000	110
Sarasota	$29,000	100
Tallahassee	$32,000	100
Cape Coral	$25,000	90
Pensacola	$28,000	90
Gainesville	$23,000	50
Deltona	$32,000	50
Lakeland	$28,000	50

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Atlanta	$25,000	1,520
Augusta	$30,000	80
Savannah	$27,000	70
Columbus	$29,000	40
Macon	$28,000	30

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$29,000	350

Idaho

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boise	$27,000	110
Idaho Falls	$24,000	60

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Chicago	$56,000	1,860
Peoria	$28,000	70
Springfield	$55,000	40

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Indianapolis	$32,000	930
Gary	$24,000	170
South Bend	$25,000	120
Fort Wayne	$28,000	110
Evansville	$35,000	60
Bloomington	$29,000	50
Elkhart	$22,000	40

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Des Moines	$27,000	370
Davenport	$26,000	180
Waterloo	$25,000	50
Cedar Rapids	$27,000	50
Sioux City	$24,000	40
Ames	$25,000	40

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wichita	$29,000	160
Topeka	$26,000	110

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Louisville	$29,000	260
Lexington	$35,000	150
Bowling Green	$25,000	50

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
New Orleans	$24,000	250
Baton Rouge	$28,000	110
Shreveport	$31,000	90
Lafayette	$27,000	30

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$28,000	90

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Baltimore	$33,000	830
Bethesda	$34,000	270
Hagerstown	$24,000	50
Salisbury	$21,000	40

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boston	$41,000	750
Framingham	$27,000	210
Springfield	$30,000	160
Worcester		70
Taunton		40

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Grand Rapids	$35,000	270
Lansing	$34,000	100
Ann Arbor	$55,000	60
Flint	$28,000	50

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Minneapolis	$57,000	1,500
Duluth	$34,000	60
St Cloud	$37,000	30

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Jackson	$31,000	90

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
St Louis	$34,000	900
Kansas City	$40,000	550
Springfield	$26,000	60
Columbia		50
Jefferson City	$24,000	40
Joplin	$19,000	40
St Joseph	$26,000	30

Montana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Missoula		40

Nebraska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Omaha	$29,000	300
Lincoln	$25,000	70

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Las Vegas	$36,000	930
Reno	$40,000	70

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Nashua	$35,000	50
Manchester	$31,000	30

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Newark	$35,000	350
Edison	$40,000	320
Camden	$42,000	170
Atlantic City	$38,000	80
Trenton	$34,000	60

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Albuquerque	$38,000	180

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
New York	$52,000	2,050
Nassau	$30,000	740
Buffalo	$29,000	250
Syracuse	$28,000	200
Albany	$36,000	170
Poughkeepsie	$27,000	70
Glens Falls	$38,000	40
Utica	$30,000	30

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Raleigh		330
Charlotte	$33,000	300
Greensboro	$34,000	220
Durham	$32,000	180
Asheville	$35,000	90
Hickory	$28,000	60
Fayetteville	$29,000	50
Wilmington	$26,000	50

North Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Fargo	$31,000	140

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Cincinnati	$25,000	700
Cleveland	$30,000	550
Columbus	$32,000	360
Dayton	$33,000	210
Toledo	$23,000	150
Youngstown	$24,000	140
Akron	$27,000	130
Canton	$26,000	130

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Oklahoma City	$22,000	390
Tulsa	$30,000	150

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$38,000	390
Salem	$32,000	80
Eugene	$34,000	70

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Philadelphia	$37,000	830
Pittsburgh	$30,000	430
Lancaster	$41,000	170
Allentown	$33,000	160
Scranton	$36,000	160
York	$28,000	90
Harrisburg	$36,000	80
Altoona	$31,000	80
Reading	$36,000	70
Erie	$31,000	40
Johnstown	$27,000	40
State College	$37,000	30

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$40,000	340

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Columbia	$29,000	160
Myrtle Beach	$22,000	140
Greenville	$33,000	120
Charleston	$33,000	70
Spartanburg	$36,000	30
Anderson	$38,000	30

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Rapid City	$24,000	80
Sioux Falls	$32,000	50

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Nashville	$32,000	280
Knoxville	$32,000	210
Memphis	$26,000	200
Chattanooga	$25,000	180
Cleveland	$23,000	70
Johnson City	$25,000	60
Kingsport	$24,000	40

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Houston	$27,000	1,400
Dallas	$36,000	930
Fort Worth	$34,000	520
Austin	$35,000	500
San Antonio	$22,000	390
El Paso	$25,000	120
Lubbock	$28,000	90
Mcallen	$25,000	90
Corpus Christi	$28,000	70
Tyler	$26,000	60
Beaumont	$28,000	50
Amarillo	$28,000	50
Abilene	$27,000	40
Killeen	$24,000	30

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Salt Lake City	$36,000	230
Provo	$26,000	60
Ogden	$30,000	60

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$40,000	30

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Virginia Beach	$26,000	420
Richmond	$36,000	170
Roanoke	$34,000	80
Blacksburg	$31,000	40

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Seattle	$36,000	840
Spokane	$37,000	90
Tacoma	$34,000	60
Bremerton	$28,000	60
Kennewick	$30,000	40
Olympia	$26,000	30

West Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Huntington	$25,000	90
Charleston	$28,000	60

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Milwaukee	$38,000	340
Madison	$45,000	200
Green Bay	$34,000	100
La Crosse	$34,000	50
Appleton	$39,000	50
Wausau	$34,000	40
Oshkosh	$39,000	40
Eau Claire	$23,000	40

Wyoming

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Casper	$36,000	40

Our professional photographer career and school information is provided by CTI Career Search.