Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

27-4021 Photographers

Photograph persons, subjects, merchandise, or other commercial products. May develop negatives and produce finished prints. Include scientific photographers, aerial photographers, and photojournalists.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
63,140 2.6 % $13.85 $28,810 1.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.04 $8.53 $11.56 $16.79 $24.00
Annual Wage (2) $14,640 $17,740 $24,040 $34,910 $49,920

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Other professional and technical services 42,010 $12.65 $26,320 1 35
Newspaper, book, and directory publishers 6,610 $17.13 $35,630 2 23
Radio and television broadcasting 4,080 $15.97 $33,220 3 28
Colleges and universities 930 $15.85 $32,970 4 29
Other personal services 880 $11.52 $23,950 5 39

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Nonscheduled air transportation 80 $26.40 $54,910 26 1
Other information services 220 $24.63 $51,230 15 2
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing 90 $23.75 $49,410 25 3
Electronic instrument manufacturing 50 $22.97 $47,790 33 4
Management of companies and enterprises 310 $22.82 $47,460 9 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Rhode Island 460 $13.40 $27,860 0.097% 358
Hawaii 500 $11.80 $24,550 0.091% 398
Missouri 1,930 $12.74 $26,500 0.073% 448
North Dakota 210 $11.65 $24,240 0.067% 339
Connecticut 1,080 $16.38 $34,070 0.066% 361

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Washington 990 $19.59 $40,750 0.039% 315
New York 4,290 $18.14 $37,740 0.052% 363
Minnesota 970 $17.42 $36,220 0.037% 340
District of Columbia 190 $17.04 $35,450 0.032% 278
Michigan 1,760 $16.89 $35,130 0.040% 357

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Bridgeport, CT PMSA 340 $13.00 $27,040 0.185%
Tallahassee, FL MSA 280 $11.42 $23,750 0.180%
Anniston, AL MSA 70 $9.82 $20,420 0.150%
Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN MSA 120 $10.84 $22,540 0.122%
Amarillo, TX MSA 110 $9.70 $20,170 0.116%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Francisco, CA PMSA 780 $24.65 $51,260 0.078%
Worcester, MA-CT PMSA (6) $24.16 $50,250 (6)
New York, NY PMSA 1,750 $23.18 $48,200 0.044%
Yolo, CA PMSA 40 $20.75 $43,150 0.045%
New London-Norwich, CT-RI MSA 70 $20.66 $42,970 0.049%

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003