Best Photographer programs in Washington, ranked by enrollment
Photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects. May use lighting equipment to enhance a subject's appearance. May use editing software to produce finished images and prints.
11 schools in Washington run programs that feed this job, graduating 265 people a year. The job pays a median of $48,050 in Washington across about 960 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Washington that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
6 programs in Washington that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Washington (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Washington page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0701In Washington → | 229 | 86.4% | 8 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0101In Washington → | 15 | 5.7% | 2 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0406In Washington → | 10 | 3.8% | 1 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0605In Washington → | 8 | 3.0% | 3 | $25,014 | $24,650 |
| 5 | CIP 09.0404In Washington → | 2 | 0.8% | 1 | $34,515 | $24,250 |
| 6 | CIP 50.0102In Washington → | 1 | 0.4% | 1 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
Top 11 schools in Washington
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 11 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 142 | Art/Art Studies, General | $25,947 | 85% | — | 39% |
| 2 | Western Washington University Bellingham, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 41 | Art/Art Studies, General | $23,102 | 65% | — | 93% |
| 3 | Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA Public · 3 feeder programs | 23 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 43% | — | 91% |
| 4 | Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Art/Art Studies, General | $26,123 | 54% | — | 91% |
| 5 | Spokane Falls Community College Spokane, WA Public · 3 feeder programs | 13 | Commercial Photography | $21,508 | 32% | — | — |
| 6 | Seattle University Seattle, WA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 8 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 76% | $31,900 | 77% |
| 7 | Gonzaga University Spokane, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 86% | $30,006 | 82% |
| 8 | Whitworth University Spokane, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 71% | $23,510 | 90% |
| 9 | University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Art/Art Studies, General | $28,469 | 68% | $35,057 | 72% |
| 10 | Peninsula College Port Angeles, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Photography | — | 37% | — | — |
| 11 | Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Art/Art Studies, General | $35,938 | 62% | $24,653 | 83% |
All 11 schools in Washington
Every school in Washington with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Washington - Seattle Campus | Seattle | Public | 142 | 1 |
| Western Washington University | Bellingham | Public | 41 | 1 |
| Eastern Washington University | Cheney | Public | 23 | 3 |
| Central Washington University | Ellensburg | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Spokane Falls Community College | Spokane | Public | 13 | 3 |
| Seattle University | Seattle | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 2 |
| Gonzaga University | Spokane | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| Whitworth University | Spokane | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| University of Puget Sound | Tacoma | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Peninsula College | Port Angeles | Public | 2 | 1 |
| Seattle Pacific University | Seattle | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What photographers earn in Washington
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $44,660. Washington pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Washington
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Photographers page.
How to become a Photographer
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Washington
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 6 majors mapped to Photographers6 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0404Photojournalism
- 50.0101Visual and Performing Arts, General
- 50.0102Digital Arts
- 50.0406Commercial Photography
- 50.0605Photography
- 50.0701Art/Art Studies, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing photographers programs in Washington.
What degree do you need to become a Photographer?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Art/Art Studies, General, which awarded 229 degrees in Washington in 2024-25, 86.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Photographer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Fine and Studio Arts, Visual and Performing Arts, Design and Applied Arts, Film/Video and Photographic Arts, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 265 people a year in Washington.
How much do photographers earn in Washington?+
The median is $48,050 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 7.6% above the U.S. median of $44,660. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for photographers growing?+
BLS projects a +1.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 12,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Washington?+
11 institutions in Washington reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do photographers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Photographer, Photojournalist, Portrait Photographer, Commercial Photographer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-4021.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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