Highest-paying Cities for Photographers

The top 100 highest paying cities for photographers (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of photographers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $65,920, Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Massachusetts is the highest paying city for photographers. It is followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California (average annual salary $64,250). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of photographers in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Photographers

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Massachusetts	$65,920	$34,330	n/a
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$64,250	$37,200	2,040
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$64,020	$39,080	230
4	Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan	$63,330	$34,490	40
5	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$62,400	$39,190	820
6	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$60,600	$27,150	1,320
7	Fresno, California	$60,590	$38,010	90
8	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$59,990	$34,970	3,940
9	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$58,950	$39,280	50
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$58,260	$23,280	2,430
11	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$56,870	$23,700	40
12	Rochester, Minnesota	$56,820	$37,060	30
13	New Haven, Connecticut	$56,670	$36,400	80
14	Boulder, Colorado	$56,260	$34,540	80
15	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$56,150	$19,220	3,390
16	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$55,630	$30,270	960
17	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$54,980	$35,510	40
18	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$54,240	$30,870	350
19	Central East New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$51,890	$33,120	30
20	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$51,420	$33,780	620
21	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$50,770	$18,690	3,350
22	Springfield, Massachusetts	$50,310	$30,180	100
23	Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan	$50,240	$23,090	190
24	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$50,240	$18,170	230
25	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$50,110	$33,520	260
26	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$50,040	$36,640	70
27	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$49,980	$36,920	400
28	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$49,920	$33,840	660
29	Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont	$49,380	$36,900	30
30	Augusta-Richmond County, South Carolina	$49,100	$23,230	40
31	Santa Fe, New Mexico	$48,880	$30,950	40
32	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$48,710	$36,410	140
33	Worcester, Massachusetts	$48,260	$30,390	70
34	Logan, Utah	$47,910	$17,460	30
35	Spartanburg, South Carolina	$47,430	$17,910	40
36	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$47,380	$36,010	700
37	Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado	$47,110	$30,780	70
38	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Florida	$46,820	$19,900	140
39	Jackson, Mississippi	$46,800	$18,180	30
40	North Georgia nonmetropolitan area, Georgia	$46,590	$24,640	40
41	Springfield, Illinois	$46,570	$24,180	30
42	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$46,430	$28,840	770
43	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$46,340	$40,560	80
44	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	$46,220	$23,890	70
45	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$46,170	$33,840	220
46	Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$46,150	$29,190	30
47	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$46,060	$23,400	720
48	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$46,000	$27,520	680
49	Northwestern Virginia nonmetropolitan area, Virginia	$45,970	$21,700	40
50	Salinas, California	$45,840	$32,850	30
51	Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina	$45,780	$27,940	130
52	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$45,390	$18,060	190
53	Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina	$45,130	$28,150	240
54	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$44,940	$35,870	80
55	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$44,830	$27,480	270
56	Salt Lake City, Utah	$44,570	$21,270	420
57	Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, Michigan	$44,540	$18,700	40
58	Stockton, California	$44,510	$29,120	40
59	Peoria, Illinois	$44,170	$27,770	70
60	Monroe, Louisiana	$44,080	$33,040	n/a
61	Syracuse, New York	$43,980	$31,550	90
62	Northwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area, Minnesota	$43,880	$28,660	30
63	Manchester, New Hampshire	$43,880	$36,640	40
64	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$43,800	$31,010	550
65	Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area, Vermont	$43,770	$23,600	30
66	Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area, Maine	$43,760	$38,370	30
67	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$43,600	$20,710	710
68	Springfield, Missouri	$43,520	$26,000	70
69	Reno-Sparks, Nevada	$43,270	$25,700	60
70	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$43,110	$27,920	210
71	Anchorage, Alaska	$43,100	$23,480	60
72	Boise City-Nampa, Idaho	$43,010	$25,500	110
73	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$42,930	$37,740	60
74	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$42,740	$30,560	2,070
75	Provo-Orem, Utah	$42,490	$20,760	160
76	Roanoke, Virginia	$42,180	$22,880	30
77	Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, New Hampshire	$42,080	$27,400	80
78	Champaign-Urbana, Illinois	$42,060	$29,800	30
79	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$41,810	$23,810	160
80	Northern Utah nonmetropolitan area, Utah	$41,670	$26,690	40
81	Rochester, New York	$41,450	$29,180	150
82	Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	$41,370	$27,630	40
83	Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida	$41,320	$27,500	120
84	Sandusky, Ohio	$41,180	$18,970	50
85	Idaho Falls, Idaho	$41,030	$22,180	30
86	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$40,900	$30,400	340
87	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$40,700	$30,540	140
88	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$40,680	$28,880	50
89	Bakersfield-Delano, California	$40,630	$37,200	50
90	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida	$40,590	$18,010	560
91	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$40,340	$28,890	180
92	Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area, Mississippi	$40,070	$21,570	40
93	Savannah, Georgia	$40,040	$23,380	70
94	Asheville, North Carolina	$40,000	$26,680	90
95	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$39,910	$32,870	390
96	Honolulu, Hawaii	$39,840	$22,020	380
97	Erie, Pennsylvania	$39,830	$21,590	40
98	Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Florida	$39,820	$23,880	50
99	Richmond, Virginia	$39,810	$23,980	190
100	Bloomington, Indiana	$39,770	$21,500	40

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for photographers.