Film and Video Editors
Median $75,420
Occupation · SOC 27-4031
Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film: pay and where the jobs are
What camera operators, television, video, and film earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$74,990 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $83,210
- Median hourly wage
- $36.05
- Mean hourly wage
- $40.01
- Employment
- 21,550
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 27-4031.
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How much do camera operators, television, video, and film make?
The median annual wage for camera operators, television, video, and film was $74,990 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $38,520 and the highest-paid 10% more than $135,180. As an hourly rate, the median is $36.05. About 21,550 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in California ($106,900), Illinois ($100,170) and District of Columbia ($98,300). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Illinois.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for camera operators, television, video, and film looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $38,520 | $18.52 | $3,210 | $2,761 |
| 25th percentile | $50,920 | $24.48 | $4,243 | $3,591 |
| Median | $74,990 | $36.05 | $6,249 | $5,132 |
| 75th percentile | $106,660 | $51.28 | $8,888 | $6,989 |
| 90th percentile | $135,180 | $64.99 | $11,265 | $8,638 |
Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film: pay by state
47 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$74,517 take-home in national prices
2
$69,498 take-home in national prices
3
$67,676 take-home in national prices
Where a median camera operators, television, video, and film paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 4,700 | $106,900 | $53,910 | $154,240 | $76,948 | $69,498 |
| Illinois | 1,060 | $100,170 | $38,840 | $133,940 | $74,486 | $74,517 |
| District of Columbia | 240 | $98,300 | $62,450 | $134,450 | $72,597 | $66,057 |
| New York | 2,930 | $93,410 | $56,710 | $133,410 | $69,638 | $64,527 |
| Georgia | 570 | $85,050 | $36,250 | $159,090 | $65,167 | $67,676 |
| Alaska | 50 | $83,620 | $43,140 | $83,630 | $67,386 | $65,833 |
| Colorado | 300 | $74,990 | $47,900 | $122,170 | $58,664 | $56,927 |
| Utah | 240 | $73,450 | $39,940 | $105,270 | $57,481 | $58,142 |
| Arizona | 520 | $68,250 | $38,520 | $162,960 | $55,531 | $55,158 |
| Maryland | 290 | $65,870 | $44,900 | $97,800 | $52,344 | $49,871 |
| Connecticut | 170 | $65,630 | $37,000 | $89,900 | $51,726 | $49,924 |
| Ohio | 520 | $64,860 | $43,080 | $104,830 | $52,955 | $57,079 |
| Texas | 1,100 | $63,110 | $32,360 | $111,990 | $52,889 | $54,493 |
| North Carolina | 380 | $62,720 | $43,040 | $85,710 | $50,582 | $53,624 |
| Florida | 970 | $62,220 | $32,230 | $132,320 | $52,174 | $50,451 |
| Nevada | 320 | $62,110 | $33,160 | $99,560 | $52,085 | $52,096 |
| Alabama | 220 | $61,800 | $41,190 | $69,630 | $49,248 | $55,445 |
| Massachusetts | 370 | $61,320 | $31,300 | $133,760 | $48,323 | $45,692 |
| Kansas | 110 | $60,690 | $36,270 | $90,820 | $48,358 | $53,690 |
| Washington | 440 | $60,250 | $37,780 | $130,410 | $49,755 | $46,494 |
| Louisiana | 270 | $58,440 | $38,590 | $95,990 | $47,770 | $54,156 |
| Virginia | 420 | $58,440 | $41,710 | $98,870 | $46,590 | $46,082 |
| Idaho | 120 | $58,140 | $33,540 | $98,770 | $46,922 | $49,136 |
| South Carolina | 40 | $57,940 | $40,740 | $76,110 | $47,209 | $50,356 |
| Iowa | 90 | $57,220 | $36,700 | $81,180 | $46,634 | $53,137 |
| Tennessee | 460 | $57,030 | $40,440 | $131,050 | $48,004 | $52,252 |
| Indiana | 200 | $56,810 | $34,640 | $76,540 | $46,180 | $49,481 |
| Michigan | 380 | $55,290 | $38,280 | $81,030 | $44,506 | $46,256 |
| Kentucky | 170 | $53,790 | $43,420 | $70,480 | $43,635 | $48,398 |
| North Dakota | 40 | $53,650 | $38,130 | $84,990 | $45,288 | $50,909 |
| Wisconsin | 300 | $52,810 | $32,280 | $85,320 | $42,898 | $45,590 |
| Pennsylvania | 670 | $51,760 | $21,580 | $95,910 | $42,144 | $43,193 |
| Minnesota | 300 | $51,420 | $34,320 | $115,420 | $41,297 | $41,874 |
| Montana | 110 | $50,910 | $26,100 | $65,620 | $41,450 | $43,795 |
| Mississippi | 60 | $49,920 | $31,540 | $79,170 | $41,026 | $47,182 |
| Rhode Island | 50 | $49,790 | $42,290 | $76,500 | $40,388 | $39,488 |
| New Mexico | 290 | $49,050 | $38,730 | $101,160 | $40,450 | $43,866 |
| Arkansas | 60 | $48,680 | $30,070 | $93,090 | $39,981 | $45,988 |
| Oklahoma | 220 | $48,620 | $34,830 | $103,440 | $39,604 | $45,085 |
| Vermont | 130 | $46,350 | $36,810 | $119,660 | $38,303 | $39,102 |
| Nebraska | 100 | $46,180 | $28,080 | $65,120 | $38,064 | $42,245 |
| New Hampshire | Not published | $45,880 | $33,180 | $70,850 | $39,045 | $37,483 |
| Hawaii | 90 | $44,230 | $30,880 | $76,600 | $35,885 | $32,637 |
| South Dakota | 50 | $44,160 | $28,880 | $77,180 | $37,663 | $42,515 |
| West Virginia | 60 | $43,390 | $28,330 | $67,790 | $35,879 | $40,089 |
| Puerto Rico | 150 | $38,380 | $27,080 | $49,660 | — | — |
| Maine | 70 | $37,590 | $32,810 | $154,230 | $31,233 | $32,183 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 27-4031. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.