Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film · SOC 27-4031

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Films

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for camera operators, television, video, and film. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (7 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 71 metro areas

Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$107,620	3,540	0.6
2	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$102,370	740	0.2
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$98,500	280	0.1
4	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$93,410	3,000	0.3
5	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$84,870	50	0.0
6	Anchorage, AK	$83,620	40	0.2
7	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$83,320	500	0.2
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$80,380	190	0.1
9	Fresno, CA	$80,030	40	0.1
10	Rochester, NY	$76,700	50	0.1
11	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$76,250	360	0.1
12	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$74,990	220	0.1
13	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$74,710	210	0.2
14	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$73,710	140	0.2
15	Columbus, OH	$72,540	120	0.1
16	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$71,390	50	0.2
17	St. Louis, MO-IL	$71,360	70	0.1
18	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$71,080	350	0.1
19	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$67,560	40	0.1
20	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$65,870	150	0.1
21	Jacksonville, FL	$65,640	60	0.1
22	Huntsville, AL	$65,530	Not published	Not published
23	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$65,130	110	0.1
24	Birmingham, AL	$64,730	50	0.1
25	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$64,490	60	0.1

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.