Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$78,184
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$28,716
26.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,447
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$106,900
Kept after tax
$78,184
Worth in national money
$69,447
State rank
1
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays this job a middle wage of $106,900, ranking 1 of 46 states and sitting about 42.55% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations California reports, this job comes in at 105 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $106,900 the take-home is $78,184. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $69,447 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $106,350, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- California's median for camera operators, television, video, and film is $106,900, about 42.55% above the national figure and 1 of 46 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Camera operators, television, video, and film ranks 105 of 492 occupations by median in California, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $78,184 for camera operators, television, video, and film, from $106,900. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $69,447. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $106,350 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $53,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $106,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $154,240 |
| This salary | $106,900 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in California | $78,184 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $84,034 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$17,030 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $98,585 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$23,523 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $106,900. The published range is $53,910 up to $154,240, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind California's $78,184, worked from $106,900. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 105 of 492.
- Two cautions on $69,447, the adjusted value of that $106,900 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of California. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 105 of 492 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for camera operators, television, video, and film in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $53,910 to $154,240. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The California take-home of $78,184, on $106,900 for work ranking 105 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 105 of 492 in the state.
- This $69,447 adjusted figure, worked from $106,900, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 105 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 105 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $53,910 at the bottom tenth to $154,240 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $69,447 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and California's own levy, $78,184 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($53,910) and the ninetieth ($154,240) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $69,447 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $78,184 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.