Photography Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Photography maps to BLS occupations averaging about $78,302, with roughly 7,300 workers nationwide in those roles. A top linked occupation is Photographers.
Key Statistics
Photography: what the data shows
Common questions about photography degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a photography degree?
A Photography program is classified under NCES CIP in the Health Professions and Related Programs field family (00.00).
What do you learn in photography?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Speaking, Active Listening, Service Orientation, Active Learning, Monitoring, Complex Problem Solving, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Photographers (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a photography degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Photography to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Photographers | 51,230 | $42,520 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Photography and the types of students that study this field.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
N/A Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Photography from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Photography.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Photography programs across institutions.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $78,302. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Photography graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Photographers | $78,302 | 51,230 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$78,302 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Photography majors is $78,302.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Photography majors.
Occupations by Share
7,300 2023 Workforce
The number of Photography graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Photography by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Photography in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Photography.
Age distribution for Photography degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Gender distribution data is not available for this degree program.
Gender distribution of Photography degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Race and ethnicity distribution data is not available for this degree program.
Racial and ethnic distribution of Photography degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Photography are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Photography.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Photography field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Photography majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Photography majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Photography majors.
About
Photography
In 2023, N/A degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Photography.
CIP Code
- Photography
What the data shows
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $78,302. The largest mapped role by headcount is Photographers (51,230 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.