Photographers

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Total Workforce

119k

Average Age

Average Salary

$40,845

Average Male Salary

$50,594

Average Female Salary

$28,042

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Photographers are most often employed by the Other professional, scientific & technical services industry. The average yearly wage for Photographers was $40,845 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Photographers by wage are Jewelers & precious stone & metal workers, Supervisors of personal care and service workers, and Carpenters.

Photographers are part of the Arts, design, entertainment, sports, & media occupations, along with Artists & related workers, Commercial and industrial designers, Fashion designers, Floral designers, Graphic designers, and 25 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Photographers are Lake (South) & Sumter (South) Counties PUMA, FL, Greenpoint & Williamsburg PUMA, NY, and LA City (East Central/Hollywood) PUMA, CA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Photographers are Lake (South) & Sumter (South) Counties PUMA, FL, Park Slope, Carroll Gardens & Red Hook PUMA, NY, and Greenpoint & Williamsburg PUMA, NY.

Photo by Kristoffer Trolle

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Education, legal, community service, arts, & media occupations Arts, design, entertainment, sports, & media occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Photographers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Other professional, scientific & technical services is the industry that employs the most Photographers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Photographers, by average wage, is Other information services, except libraries & archives, & internet publishing & broadcasting & web search portals. Photographers are paid most in LA City (Central/Pacific Palisades) PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in Lake (South) & Sumter (South) Counties PUMA, FL.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$40,845

AVERAGE SALARY

± $3,668

In 2018, Photographers earned an average of $40,845, $13,043 less than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Jewelers & precious stone & metal workers make somewhat more than Photographers while Carpenters make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Photographers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.503

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Photographers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.503, which is higher than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly for Photographers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Photographers.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Photographers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Photographers.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Photographers, by number of employees, are Other professional, scientific & technical services , Broadcasting (except internet), and Independent artists, writers, and performers.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Photographers, by average wage, are Periodical, book, & directory publishers, Other information services, except libraries & archives, & internet publishing & broadcasting & web search portals, Motion pictures & video industries, Specialized design services, National security & international affairs, and Electronic shopping.

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Industries by Share

119k

2018 Workforce

± 8,483

4.49%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 9.72%

The number of people employed as Photographers has been growing at a rate of 4.49%, from 114,345 people in 2017 to 119,475 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Photographers employed by various industries. Other professional, scientific & technical services employs the largest share of Photographers at 51.5%, followed by Broadcasting (except internet) with 5.07% and Independent artists, writers, and performers with 4.18%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Photographers in the US. The average age of male Photographers in the workforce is 41 and of female Photographers is 33.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Photographers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

67.8k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 6,393

51.6k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 5,579

56.8% of Photographers are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Photographers.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Photographers

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

70.9% of Photographers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 8.97% of Photographers, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Photographers.

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Age by Gender

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.41

33.9

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.3

The median age of Photographers is 38, and Male employees are generally 7.1 years older than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Photographers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Photographers is Visual & Performing Arts but a relatively high number of Photographers hold a major in Communication Technologies.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Photographers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Photographers need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Speaking, and Social Perceptiveness. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Photographers need more than the average amount of Operations Analysis, Equipment Selection, and Technology Design.