Photography Professionals: Job, Salary, and School Information from The Riley Guide

Job Numbers and Growth

There are about 122,000 for photography professionals in the US. For this occupation the level of unemployment is relatively high.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Of those surveyed, 22% of employees work part-time. Approximately 54% of photography professionals work for themselves.

Training and Education

Prior to starting this profession, consider obtaining long-term on-the-job training. Government data shows that 46% of employees have a bachelor's degree or higher. Those who have gone to college, but don't have a degree make up 36% of photography professionals. For 19% of workers a high-school education was all they 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.

Area Job Conditions

The cities with the most employees jobs, compared to the population, are Cleveland (Tennessee), Anniston (Alabama), and Altoona (Pennsylvania). Fewer are found in Oakland (California), Tacoma (Washington), and Lafayette (Louisiana).

Photography professionals earn higher incomes in San Francisco (California), Ann Arbor (Michigan), and Springfield (Illinois), and lower incomes in San Antonio (Texas), Prescott (Arizona), and Anniston (Alabama).

Career Overview Video About Photography Professionals

Photography Professionals: Job and Salary Data by Metropolitan Area

The table below shows data for Photography Professionals, as of 2008. The Popularity in Area number tells you how common jobs for Photography Professionals are in the area, compared to other US metro areas. A value of 1.0 means an average number of people in the position for area population. Lower numbers mean fewer of these positions in the metro area. The most popular areas for Photography Professionals are starred .

State	Area	Positions	Typical Pay	Popularity in Area
Alabama	Anniston	80	$19,560	4.4
Alabama	Auburn	30	$22,530	1.7
Alabama	Birmingham	170	$24,220	0.7
Alabama	Huntsville	110		1.2
Alabama	Mobile	60	$21,130	0.8
Alabama	Montgomery	100	$26,820	1.4
Alabama	Tuscaloosa	50	$22,970	1.4
Arizona	Phoenix	930	$39,880	1.1
Arizona	Prescott	30	$20,690	1.2
Arizona	Tucson	140	$42,650	0.9
Arkansas	Fayetteville	100	$31,560	1.2
Arkansas	Little Rock	130	$25,870	0.9
California	Bakersfield	120		1
California	Chico	40	$25,890	1.4
California	Fresno	120	$31,250	0.8
California	Modesto	100	$29,340	1.4
California	Oakland	250	$38,460	0.5
California	Riverside	400	$35,210	0.7
California	Sacramento	310	$39,770	0.8
California	San Diego	440	$33,970	0.7
California	San Francisco	560	$62,470	1.3
California	Santa Ana	590	$41,220	0.9
California	Santa Cruz	30	$42,850	0.8
California	Vallejo	50	$31,740	1
California	Visalia	50	$34,550	0.9
Colorado	Boulder	100	$35,180	1.5
Colorado	Colorado Springs	190	$30,380	1.8
Colorado	Denver	580	$39,200	1
Colorado	Fort Collins	60	$37,510	1.2
Connecticut	Bridgeport	260	$32,010	1.4
Connecticut	Hartford	280	$38,350	1.1
Connecticut	New Haven	120	$40,210	1
Connecticut	Norwich	60	$30,380	1.2
Delaware	Dover	40	$25,680	1.9
Delaware	Wilmington	90	$32,260	0.6
District of Columbia	Washington	960	$47,380	0.9
Florida	Cape Coral	90	$24,990	1
Florida	Deltona	50	$32,390	0.8
Florida	Fort Lauderdale	460	$29,790	1.4
Florida	Gainesville	50	$22,690	1.1
Florida	Jacksonville	300	$31,550	1.1
Florida	Lakeland	50	$27,600	0.6
Florida	Miami	730	$42,160	1.7
Florida	Orlando	470	$28,940	1
Florida	Palm Bay	110	$35,390	1.3
Florida	Pensacola	90	$28,280	1.4
Florida	Sarasota	100	$29,230	0.9
Florida	Tallahassee	100	$31,900	1.5
Florida	Tampa	350	$37,630	0.6
Florida	West Palm Beach	400	$32,460	1.7
Georgia	Atlanta	1,520	$25,250	1.4
Georgia	Augusta	80	$29,980	0.9
Georgia	Columbus	40	$28,710	0.9
Georgia	Macon	30	$28,020	0.7
Georgia	Savannah	70	$26,900	1.1
Hawaii	Honolulu	350	$29,130	1.8
Idaho	Boise	110	$27,330	0.9
Idaho	Idaho Falls	60	$23,760	3.3
Illinois	Chicago	1,860	$56,060	1.1
Illinois	Peoria	70	$27,980	1
Illinois	Springfield	40	$55,260	0.9
Indiana	Bloomington	50	$29,030	1.8
Indiana	Elkhart	40	$22,480	0.7
Indiana	Evansville	60	$35,210	0.8
Indiana	Fort Wayne	110	$28,080	1.2
Indiana	Gary	170	$23,820	1.4
Indiana	Indianapolis	930	$32,150	2.3
Indiana	South Bend	120	$24,650	2.1
Iowa	Ames	40	$24,690	2.8
Iowa	Cedar Rapids	50	$27,440	0.9
Iowa	Davenport	180	$26,400	2.3
Iowa	Des Moines	370	$27,230	2.6
Iowa	Sioux City	40	$23,500	1.4
Iowa	Waterloo	50	$25,290	1.4
Kansas	Topeka	110	$26,410	2.4
Kansas	Wichita	160	$28,590	1.2
Kentucky	Bowling Green	50	$25,180	2.2
Kentucky	Lexington	150	$35,170	1.4
Kentucky	Louisville	260	$28,930	1
Louisiana	Baton Rouge	110	$28,220	0.7
Louisiana	Lafayette	30	$27,120	0.5
Louisiana	New Orleans	250	$24,270	1.1
Louisiana	Shreveport	90	$30,760	1.2
Maine	Portland	90	$28,170	1
Maryland	Baltimore	830	$33,010	1.4
Maryland	Bethesda	270	$34,260	1.1
Maryland	Hagerstown	50	$23,500	1.2
Maryland	Salisbury	40	$21,030	2
Massachusetts	Boston	750	$41,260	1
Massachusetts	Framingham	210	$27,300	3.1
Massachusetts	Springfield	160	$29,580	1.2
Massachusetts	Taunton	40		2.3
Massachusetts	Worcester	70		0.7
Michigan	Ann Arbor	60	$54,800	0.9
Michigan	Flint	50	$27,980	0.9
Michigan	Grand Rapids	270	$35,390	1.6
Michigan	Lansing	100	$34,330	1.2
Minnesota	Duluth	60	$33,820	1.1
Minnesota	Minneapolis	1,500	$56,520	1.9
Minnesota	St Cloud	30	$36,590	0.7
Mississippi	Jackson	90	$30,670	0.8
Missouri	Columbia	50		1.5
Missouri	Jefferson City	40	$23,610	1.5
Missouri	Joplin	40	$19,490	1.2
Missouri	Kansas City	550	$40,020	1.2
Missouri	Springfield	60	$25,830	0.7
Missouri	St Joseph	30	$25,560	1.6
Missouri	St Louis	900	$34,230	1.5
Montana	Missoula	40		2
Nebraska	Lincoln	70	$25,220	1
Nebraska	Omaha	300	$28,890	1.5
Nevada	Las Vegas	930	$36,380	2.3
Nevada	Reno	70	$40,410	0.8
New Hampshire	Manchester	30	$31,020	0.7
New Hampshire	Nashua	50	$34,850	0.9
New Jersey	Atlantic City	80	$37,560	1.3
New Jersey	Camden	170	$42,170	0.7
New Jersey	Edison	320	$39,670	0.7
New Jersey	Newark	350	$35,130	0.8
New Jersey	Trenton	60	$34,010	0.7
New Mexico	Albuquerque	180	$37,500	1.1
New York	Albany	170	$36,470	0.9
New York	Buffalo	250	$29,270	1.1
New York	Glens Falls	40	$38,070	2
New York	Nassau	740	$30,130	1.3
New York	New York	2,050	$51,680	0.9
New York	Poughkeepsie	70	$27,220	0.7
New York	Syracuse	200	$28,220	1.5
New York	Utica	30	$29,730	0.6
North Carolina	Asheville	90	$35,350	1.2
North Carolina	Charlotte	300	$32,970	0.8
North Carolina	Durham	180	$32,060	1.5
North Carolina	Fayetteville	50	$29,040	1
North Carolina	Greensboro	220	$33,880	1.4
North Carolina	Hickory	60	$28,440	0.9
North Carolina	Raleigh	330		1.5
North Carolina	Wilmington	50	$26,480	0.8
North Dakota	Fargo	140	$30,510	2.9
Ohio	Akron	130	$27,360	0.9
Ohio	Canton	130	$25,970	1.8
Ohio	Cincinnati	700	$24,820	1.5
Ohio	Cleveland	550	$29,970	1.2
Ohio	Columbus	360	$31,540	0.9
Ohio	Dayton	210	$32,900	1.2
Ohio	Toledo	150	$23,340	1.1
Ohio	Youngstown	140	$23,830	1.4
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	390	$22,420	1.6
Oklahoma	Tulsa	150	$29,790	0.8
Oregon	Eugene	70	$33,710	1.1
Oregon	Portland	390	$37,930	0.8
Oregon	Salem	80	$31,620	1.3
Pennsylvania	Allentown	160	$33,180	1.1
Pennsylvania	Altoona	80	$31,360	3.4
Pennsylvania	Erie	40	$31,280	0.8
Pennsylvania	Harrisburg	80	$35,540	0.6
Pennsylvania	Johnstown	40	$27,420	1.8
Pennsylvania	Lancaster	170	$40,700	1.7
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	830	$37,220	1
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	430	$29,870	0.8
Pennsylvania	Reading	70	$36,120	1
Pennsylvania	Scranton	160	$35,690	1.4
Pennsylvania	State College	30	$37,140	1.4
Pennsylvania	York	90	$27,820	1.2
Rhode Island	Providence	340	$39,520	1.4
South Carolina	Anderson	30	$37,590	1.3
South Carolina	Charleston	70	$33,060	0.6
South Carolina	Columbia	160	$28,600	1
South Carolina	Greenville	120	$33,010	0.9
South Carolina	Myrtle Beach	140	$22,290	2.8
South Carolina	Spartanburg	30	$36,170	0.6
South Dakota	Rapid City	80	$23,760	3.3
South Dakota	Sioux Falls	50	$31,700	0.9
Tennessee	Chattanooga	180	$25,350	1.8
Tennessee	Cleveland	70	$23,030	5.3
Tennessee	Johnson City	60	$24,710	2
Tennessee	Kingsport	40	$23,750	0.8
Tennessee	Knoxville	210	$31,920	1.4
Tennessee	Memphis	200	$26,450	0.7
Tennessee	Nashville	280	$31,720	0.8
Texas	Abilene	40	$27,420	1.6
Texas	Amarillo	50	$27,910	1.2
Texas	Austin	500	$34,530	1.5
Texas	Beaumont	50	$28,200	0.8
Texas	Corpus Christi	70	$27,900	0.9
Texas	Dallas	930	$36,210	1
Texas	El Paso	120	$25,020	1.1
Texas	Fort Worth	520	$34,040	1.4
Texas	Houston	1,400	$27,310	1.2
Texas	Killeen	30	$23,990	0.6
Texas	Lubbock	90	$28,210	1.8
Texas	Mcallen	90	$24,620	1
Texas	San Antonio	390	$22,380	1
Texas	Tyler	60	$26,360	1.6
Utah	Ogden	60	$29,650	0.7
Utah	Provo	60	$26,490	0.9
Utah	Salt Lake City	230	$35,700	0.8
Vermont	Burlington	30	$39,750	0.7
Virginia	Blacksburg	40	$30,840	1.7
Virginia	Richmond	170	$35,610	0.6
Virginia	Roanoke	80	$33,540	1.2
Virginia	Virginia Beach	420	$26,440	1.3
Washington	Bremerton	60	$27,520	1.8
Washington	Kennewick	40	$30,360	1.1
Washington	Olympia	30	$26,080	0.8
Washington	Seattle	840	$35,980	1.3
Washington	Spokane	90	$36,740	1
Washington	Tacoma	60	$34,350	0.5
West Virginia	Charleston	60	$28,370	1
West Virginia	Huntington	90	$24,750	1.9
Wisconsin	Appleton	50	$38,720	1.1
Wisconsin	Eau Claire	40	$23,400	1.3
Wisconsin	Green Bay	100	$33,940	1.4
Wisconsin	La Crosse	50	$34,100	1.8
Wisconsin	Madison	200	$45,390	1.4
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	340	$38,390	0.9
Wisconsin	Oshkosh	40	$38,800	1.2
Wisconsin	Wausau	40	$33,650	1.5
Wyoming	Casper	40	$35,590	2.8

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Photography Professionals