The Median Salary of a Documentary Film Producer

Film producers may produce documentaries and other genres.

Producers organize and oversee the production of radio, television, stage or film projects, choosing the script, coordinating writing, directing and editing and finding financial backing. The producer of a documentary film has many of the same responsibilities, but is tasked with developing a film based on actual events. The median salary of a documentary film producer may parallel the industry salary average of $68,440 per year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Producer Salary

The BLS does not separate film producer salaries based on genre. The bureau provides salary information for all producers and directors from the artist who earned an average annual salary of $32,140 in the 10th percentile to the producer in the 90th percentile who eared more than $166,400 per year. Producers in the 25th percentile earned an average annual salary of $45,470 and those in the 75th percentile earned $111,720 per year. The mean annual salary for producers and directors was $88,610 as of May 2010. SimplyHired lists the average annual salary for a documentary film producer as $50,000; however this average is culled from its own database of job openings.

Top Salaries

The motion picture and video industry is the top employer and one of the top payers of directors and producers according to the BLS. Such professionals averaged $109,860 per year as of May 2010. Other industries paying above the national average included accounting services and advertising, paying $121,940 and $105,600, respectively. Independent artists, writers and performers and business schools and computer and management training also offered higher than average salaries for producers who earned $101,240 and $97,350, respectively.

Top States

California and New York combined had the highest number of directors and producers, with nearly half of the approximately 83,000 professionals found in these states as of May 2010. Salaries for producers were the highest in the nation, with California leading as the best paying state to seek work. Producers there earned $126,360 per year followed by New York where producers averaged $111,930 annually. The District of Columbia, Tennessee and New Jersey followed, with annual salaries ranging from $74,450 to $90,820.

Outlook

The BLS noted that "many of the most successful actors, producers, and directors have extraordinarily high earnings, but many more of these professionals, faced with erratic earnings, supplement their income by holding jobs in other fields." Even someone as well known as Ken Burns who made such documentaries as "The Civil War" and "Baseball" earns just $125,000 per year, supplementing his income with book sales and speeches. For the 10-year period ending 2018, the bureau projects that job growth will be at 10 percent, which is equivalent to the growth rate for all jobs.

References

• O-Net Online; Summary Report for: 27-2012.01 - Producers; 2010
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11; Actors, Producers and Directors; Dec. 2009
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Occupational Employment Statistics; Producers and Directors; Dec. 2009
• Simply Hired: Documentary Film Producer
• "Forbes"; The Business of Ken Burns - America's Storyteller; Steven Bertoni; August 2010