Photographers in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,033
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$8,927
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,098
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$45,960
Kept after tax
$37,033
Worth in national money
$34,098
State rank
17
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Hawaii is 17 of 49 states for photographers, with a middle wage of $45,960. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Hawaii this is lower-paid work. Of 437 occupations the state publishes figures for, photographers ranks 359. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $45,960 the take-home is $37,033. But Hawaii costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $34,098 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $57,030, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Hawaii ranks 17 of 49 for photographers at $45,960. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Hawaii reports, photographers ranks 359 of 437, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Hawaii income tax is $37,033 for photographers, from $45,960. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,098. ⚠️ 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 $57,030 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 | $30,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $105,820 |
| This salary | $45,960 |
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 Hawaii | $37,033 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,109 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,148 |
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 | $43,377 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,435 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Hawaii earn less than $45,960. The published range is $30,800 up to $105,820, 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 Hawaii's $37,033, worked from $45,960. 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 359 of 437.
- One number stands for prices across all of Hawaii, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $34,098, the adjusted value of that $45,960 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 359 of 437 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for photographers in Hawaii the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,800 to $105,820. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Hawaii take-home of $37,033, on $45,960 for work ranking 359 of 437 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 359 of 437 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Hawaii, so $34,098 — the adjusted value of that $45,960 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 359 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $57,030 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $30,800 at the bottom tenth to $105,820 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Hawaii costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $34,098 rather than its face figure.
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 Hawaii's own levy, $37,033 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Hawaii is $57,030. 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 ($30,800) and the ninetieth ($105,820) 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?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $34,098 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 $37,033 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.