Photographers Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $47K, rent takes 68.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $2,169/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $900/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new photographers typically earn — is $38K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,572/month. At HUD’s $2,169/month FMR, rent would take 84% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $47K locally vs. $45K nationally, a 6% difference.

Denver-Aurora-Centennial pays $47K median vs. the U.S. average of $45K — that’s +6%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 105.78), the purchasing-power equivalent is $45K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $47,340 a year, that works out to about $23 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $37,950, and experienced photographers can clear $97,810. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,166/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $2,169/month, which eats 68.5% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Denver-Aurora-Centennial has a Regional Price Parity of 105.78 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median photographers salary is worth about $44,753 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.