Creative pay 2026
Photographer salary in Iowa (2026)
Photographers in Iowa earn a median $38,290 a year ($18.41 an hour), according to BLS wage data for May 2025. That is 14% below the US median of $44,660; Iowa is 33rd of 50 states and territories. That is below the $48,540 median for all jobs in Iowa.
- $38,290median a year in Iowa
- $18.41median an hour
- −14%vs the US median ($44,660)
- 430employee jobs (BLS estimate)
What is the salary range for a photographer in Iowa?
Half of photographers in Iowa earn between $23,670 and $49,440. Pay is more spread out than nationally: the top 10% earn at least 5.2 times what the bottom 10% earn, against 3.0 times across the US.
| 10th percentile | $15,080 | $30,820 | $7.25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th | $23,670 | $36,050 | $11.38 |
| Median | $38,290 | $44,660 | $18.41 |
| 75th | $49,440 | $62,740 | $23.77 |
| 90th percentile | $77,830 | $91,810 | $37.42 |
The mean (average) is $42,860, above the median, pulled up by the highest earners.
How does Iowa compare with other states?
Iowa sits 33rd of 50, between Ohio ($38,470) and Tennessee ($37,950).
Which cities in Iowa pay photographers best?
Of the 4 metro areas in Iowa where BLS publishes a median for the job, Omaha pays most, at $45,160, 18% above the state median.
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 170 | $42,080 | $20.23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha, NE-IA | 100 | $45,160 | $21.71 |
| Cedar Rapids, IA | 50 | $37,190 | $17.88 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 30 | $43,100 | $20.72 |
How many photographers work in Iowa?
BLS estimates 430 employee jobs, 0.28 in every 1,000 jobs in the state. It is about as common here as nationally (location quotient 0.83).
Employees only. BLS does not count the self-employed, who are a large share of several creative jobs.
What do other creative jobs pay in Iowa?
Every other creative job here pays a higher median than photographers do.
| UX/UI designer | $69,060 | 670 |
|---|---|---|
| Copywriter | $61,010 | 290 |
| Videographer | $57,220 | 90 |
| Graphic designer | $50,310 | 2,100 |
| Motion designer | $47,530 | n/a |
What do freelance photographers charge?
Upwork, photographers list $25 to $45 an hour, worldwide. Iowa's employee median of $18.41 an hour is below that range. The rate calculator works out an hourly rate from the salary you want.
Questions
What is the average photographer salary in Iowa?
The median is $38,290 a year and the mean is $42,860, from BLS data for May 2025 covering about 430 employee jobs.
How much does a photographer make an hour in Iowa?
The median hourly wage is $18.41. The bottom 10% earn under $7.25 and the top 10% over $37.42.
What does a starting photographer earn in Iowa?
BLS does not publish pay by experience. The lowest-paid quarter of photographers in Iowa earn under $23,670 a year and the lowest-paid tenth under $15,080, which is the nearest guide to starting pay.
Get the Slice Weekly
One free email every Friday: tools for creators and the best advice we found from people who make things.
Where do these numbers come from?
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (published 15 May 2026). Occupation 27-4021, Photographers. Employees only; annual figures are hourly times 2,080.
n = 430 jobs in the Iowa estimate. Last updated 2 October 2026.
Get the data
Free · CSV and JSON · 2 files
This page’s own figures as a CSV, and the full files behind What creative jobs pay in 2026. One email unlocks every download on Slice’s data pages.
- This page’s figures (CSV) Every table and figure on this page, with its source line.
- Every role, country and source (CSV) One row per role, country and measure: percentiles for employees and every published freelance rate, with its source.
- The full dataset (JSON) Everything above plus every US state and metro table, the outlook figures and the source records.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit “Slice (tryslicemedia.com)” and link to this page. Leave the box unticked and we send you nothing. Everything on this page stays free to read without an email.
Photographer pay in other states
- District of Columbia $110,970
- New York $60,050
- Massachusetts $57,990
- Oregon $53,630
- Utah $52,140
- Connecticut $49,790
- Washington $48,050
- California $47,840
- Kentucky $47,170
- Colorado $47,070
- Virginia $46,550
- Minnesota $46,470