Photographers in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,764
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$8,006
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,985
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — 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
$43,770
Kept after tax
$35,764
Worth in national money
$36,985
State rank
21
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Georgia sits in the middle of the pack for photographers. The median is $43,770, ranking 21 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Georgia, this one sits low: 370 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Georgia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $43,770 you keep $35,764, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $36,985 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $57,260, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Georgia occupies the middle band for photographers: a median of $43,770, ranking 21 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Photographers occupies position 370 of 492 in Georgia's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Georgia income tax, retained pay for photographers on $43,770 is $35,764. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $36,985 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $57,260 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Photographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $103,550 |
| This salary | $43,770 |
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 Georgia | $35,764 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,349 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,450 |
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 | $41,797 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,754 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Georgia earn less than $43,770. The published range is $22,690 up to $103,550, 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 Georgia's $35,764, worked from $43,770. 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 370 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Georgia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $36,985, the adjusted value of that $43,770 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 370 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for photographers in Georgia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $22,690 to $103,550. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Georgia take-home of $35,764, on $43,770 for work ranking 370 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 370 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Georgia, so $36,985 — the adjusted value of that $43,770 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 370 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $57,260, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $22,690 and the top tenth $103,550 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Georgia is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $36,985 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Georgia then takes its own share, leaving $35,764.
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 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Georgia is $57,260. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($22,690) and the ninetieth ($103,550) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $36,985 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $35,764 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.