# Photographers

SOC 27-4021. Page: https://educationguide.com/careers/photographers

Photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects. May use lighting equipment to enhance a subject's appearance. May use editing software to produce finished images and prints. Includes commercial and industrial photographers, scientific photographers, and photojournalists.

## Pay and outlook
- U.S. median wage $44,660 (middle half $36,050–$62,740; BLS May 2025)
- Ages 25-34: median $38,830; 53% hold a bachelor's or higher (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Jobs 2025-35: -0.7%; ~10.7k openings a year; typical entry: High school diploma or equivalent

## Fields of degree of young workers (ages 25-34, bachelor's+)
- Film Video And Photographic Arts: 15% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/film-and-photography)
- Mass Media: 7% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/broadcasting-digital-media)
- Communications: 6% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/communications, https://educationguide.com/degrees/communication-journalism-and-related-programs-other)
- Fine Arts: 6%
- Psychology: 4% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/psychology)
- Commercial Art And Graphic Design: 4% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/graphic-interior-fashion-design)
- General Business: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/business)
- Journalism: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/journalism)
- Biology: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/biology)
- English Language And Literature: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/english)

## Median wage by state
- AK: $39,190
- AL: $36,130
- AR: $32,810
- AZ: $36,970
- CA: $47,840
- CO: $47,070
- CT: $49,790
- DC: $110,970
- DE: $50,100
- FL: $42,640
- GA: $43,770
- HI: $45,960
- IA: $38,290
- ID: $33,320
- IL: $36,570
- IN: $35,960
- KS: $37,790
- KY: $47,170
- LA: $36,830
- MA: $57,990
- MD: $46,450
- ME: $46,680
- MN: $46,470
- MO: $39,170
- MS: $45,860
- MT: $39,900
- NC: $37,120
- ND: $37,410
- NE: $41,920
- NH: $44,780
- NJ: $40,520
- NM: $48,090
- NV: $37,460
- NY: $60,050
- OH: $38,470
- OK: $36,750
- OR: $53,630
- PA: $40,520
- PR: $34,060
- RI: $37,300
- SC: $37,890
- SD: $45,330
- TN: $37,950
- TX: $41,280
- UT: $52,140
- VA: $46,550
- WA: $48,050
- WI: $42,060
- WV: $36,110
- WY: $39,330

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#careers

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0). O*NET data: CC BY 4.0, O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA).