Photographers Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $44K, rent takes 60.6% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,810/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 $34K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,029/month. At HUD’s $1,810/month FMR, rent would take 89% 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 — $44K locally vs. $45K nationally, a 2% difference.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington pays $44K median vs. the U.S. average of $45K — that’s -2%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 102.55), the purchasing-power equivalent is $43K — below the national median.

The median is $43,750 a year, that works out to about $21 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $33,810, and experienced photographers can clear $80,670. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,987/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,810/month, which eats 60.6% 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.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington has a Regional Price Parity of 102.55 (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 $42,662 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.