Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

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)
57,740 2.8 % $14.23 $29,590 1.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.02 $8.55 $12.04 $17.27 $24.98
Annual Wage (2) $14,610 $17,780 $25,050 $35,910 $51,960

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 37,540 $13.15 $27,340 1 36
Newspaper, book, and directory publishers 6,410 $17.63 $36,670 2 18
Radio and television broadcasting 3,670 $15.09 $31,380 3 32
Other personal services 950 $12.59 $26,190 4 38
Colleges and universities 920 $16.05 $33,380 5 26

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Other information services 50 $24.35 $50,640 27 1
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing 90 $24.08 $50,080 23 2
Misc. nondurable goods merchant wholesalers 40 $23.32 $48,500 33 3
Electronic instrument manufacturing 50 $23.23 $48,310 30 4
Management of companies and enterprises 310 $22.74 $47,310 11 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
Hawaii 500 $12.97 $26,970 0.090% 378
Missouri 1,820 $12.37 $25,720 0.069% 518
Rhode Island 320 $14.11 $29,360 0.068% 363
North Dakota 210 $11.66 $24,260 0.067% 374
Connecticut 1,040 $16.77 $34,890 0.063% 392

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Washington 880 $21.03 $43,740 0.034% 304
North Carolina 1,420 $19.29 $40,110 0.038% 234
Illinois 2,510 $17.47 $36,340 0.044% 373
Minnesota 980 $17.39 $36,170 0.038% 373
District of Columbia 170 $17.15 $35,670 0.029% 298

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 300 $13.14 $27,330 0.162%
Anniston, AL MSA 60 $9.90 $20,580 0.131%
Orlando, FL MSA 1,100 $11.91 $24,770 0.123%
Columbia, MO MSA 80 $9.44 $19,640 0.108%
Waco, TX MSA 100 $10.57 $21,980 0.107%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Francisco, CA PMSA 620 $27.79 $57,810 0.064%
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA PMSA 500 $22.76 $47,330 0.039%
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 60 $22.33 $46,450 0.030%
Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA MSA 50 $21.37 $44,440 0.014%
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO MSA 60 $21.02 $43,710 0.051%

About May 2003 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) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include 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.

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

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004