Modeling Industry Statistics 2026

Most modeling statistics on the internet are unsourced. A number gets invented in a listicle, a second listicle copies it, and by the fifth copy it has a decimal point and an air of authority. This page is the opposite exercise: every figure below carries a named source and a date, and where the honest answer is “nobody knows,” it says that instead.

Everything here is free to quote. If you cite a figure, please link the original source next to ours.

Key modeling statistics at a glance

• US models in wage-and-salary employment

  Figure

  3,780

  Source

  BLS OEWS, May 2025

• US models incl. self-employed (projections base)

  Figure

  6,700

  Source

  BLS Employment Projections, 2024 base year

• Median wage for employed models

  Figure

  $23.30/hour · $48,470/year

  Source

  BLS OEWS, May 2025

• Top-decile wage for employed models

  Figure

  $63.21/hour · $131,470/year

  Source

  BLS OEWS, May 2025

• Projected change in model employment, 2024–2034

  Figure

  Little or no change

  Source

  BLS Employment Projections

• US talent and model agency establishments

  Figure

  7,065

  Source

  BLS QCEW, NAICS 711410, 2024

• Cost to start modeling legitimately

  Figure

  $0

  Source

  FTC consumer advice; agency submission forms

• Standard US agency commission

  Figure

  20% from model + 20% from client

  Source

  Industry standard contract structure

• Promotional / event modeling pay

  Figure

  $15–$50 per hour

  Source

  models.camp compilation, US markets

• Commercial and e-commerce pay

  Figure

  $500–$2,000 per day

  Source

  models.camp compilation, US markets

• Editorial pay

  Figure

  $150–$400 per day, often trade only

  Source

  models.camp compilation, US markets

• Runway height standard, women

  Figure

  5'9"–6'0"

  Source

  Agency casting briefs, US market

• Runway height standard, men

  Figure

  6'0"–6'3"

  Source

  Agency casting briefs, US market

• Median height on a live fashion curve board

  Figure

  5'9½" (n = 60)

  Source

  models.camp census of Wilhelmina New York curve, July 2026

• Average US women’s clothing size

  Figure

  16–18

  Source

  Christel & Dunn, via TIME

• US women wearing size 14 or above

  Figure

  54.4%

  Source

  2024 survey of 42,000+ women, via eMarketer

• Size 14+ share of FW26 runway looks

  Figure

  0.3% of 7,817 looks

  Source

  Vogue Business FW26 Size Inclusivity Report

• Typical modeling school program cost

  Figure

  $1,995–$4,800

  Source

  BBB complaints and court filings, Barbizon and John Casablancas

• Cost to open a modeling-school franchise

  Figure

  $146,845–$404,895

  Source

  John Casablancas franchise disclosure document, 2019

• Time from first submission to signing

  Figure

  2–12 months

  Source

  models.camp guidance, US market

Statistic	Figure	Source
US models in wage-and-salary employment	3,780	BLS OEWS, May 2025
US models incl. self-employed (projections base)	6,700	BLS Employment Projections, 2024 base year
Median wage for employed models	$23.30/hour · $48,470/year	BLS OEWS, May 2025
Top-decile wage for employed models	$63.21/hour · $131,470/year	BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected change in model employment, 2024–2034	Little or no change	BLS Employment Projections
US talent and model agency establishments	7,065	BLS QCEW, NAICS 711410, 2024
Cost to start modeling legitimately	$0	FTC consumer advice; agency submission forms
Standard US agency commission	20% from model + 20% from client	Industry standard contract structure
Promotional / event modeling pay	$15–$50 per hour	models.camp compilation, US markets
Commercial and e-commerce pay	$500–$2,000 per day	models.camp compilation, US markets
Editorial pay	$150–$400 per day, often trade only	models.camp compilation, US markets
Runway height standard, women	5'9"–6'0"	Agency casting briefs, US market
Runway height standard, men	6'0"–6'3"	Agency casting briefs, US market
Median height on a live fashion curve board	5'9½" (n = 60)	models.camp census of Wilhelmina New York curve, July 2026
Average US women’s clothing size	16–18	Christel & Dunn, via TIME
US women wearing size 14 or above	54.4%	2024 survey of 42,000+ women, via eMarketer
Size 14+ share of FW26 runway looks	0.3% of 7,817 looks	Vogue Business FW26 Size Inclusivity Report
Typical modeling school program cost	$1,995–$4,800	BBB complaints and court filings, Barbizon and John Casablancas
Cost to open a modeling-school franchise	$146,845–$404,895	John Casablancas franchise disclosure document, 2019
Time from first submission to signing	2–12 months	models.camp guidance, US market

Five of those rows deserve a warning label. “models.camp compilation” means exactly that and nothing more: ranges we compiled from working models’ public statements, agency rate cards and posted castings across US markets. It is not a survey — we did not sample a defined population or run an instrument, so the ranges carry no margin of error and should be read as a bracket rather than a national average. No such average exists in a form anyone has actually measured. And the two school-cost rows are figures reported in complaints and filings, not published prices; neither company publishes prices at all.

How many working models are there?

Fewer than almost anyone guesses — and the government’s own two counts disagree, for a reason worth understanding before you quote either.

Measure	Figure	Programme and period
Models in wage-and-salary employment	3,780	BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Models incl. self-employed	6,700	BLS Employment Projections, 2024 base year
Median wage	$23.30/hour · $48,470/year	BLS OEWS, May 2025
Mean wage	$35.00/hour · $72,800/year	BLS OEWS, May 2025
10th percentile wage	$16.44/hour	BLS OEWS, May 2025
90th percentile wage	$63.21/hour · $131,470/year	BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected employment change, 2024–2034	Little or no change	BLS Employment Projections
Projected annual job openings, 2024–2034	1,200	BLS Employment Projections
Talent and model agency establishments	7,065	BLS QCEW, NAICS 711410, 2024 annual
Employment at those agencies	30,539	BLS QCEW, NAICS 711410, 2024 annual
Total annual wages at those agencies	$4.26 billion	BLS QCEW, NAICS 711410, 2024 annual

The two employment figures are not interchangeable and neither is the whole picture. The 3,780 comes from a survey of employer payrolls, so it counts only models on someone’s payroll. The 6,700 is the projections base year, which adds self-employed workers. Modeling is overwhelmingly freelance and frequently part-time or seasonal, so a large share of people doing paid modeling work in a given year appear in neither number. Read them as a floor on the size of the profession, not a census of it.

The wage figures carry the same caveat but are still the closest thing to an authoritative pay statistic that exists: a median of $23.30 an hour, $48,470 a year, against a mean of $35.00 an hour — a mean well above the median, which is the signature of a small number of very high earners pulling the average up while most people sit below it. That is the whole economics of modeling in one comparison.

The agency figures come from a different programme and a broader category. NAICS 711410 is “agents and managers for artists, athletes, entertainers, and other public figures” — it includes sports and entertainment agents, not just modeling agencies, so treat 7,065 establishments as the outer bound of the agency landscape rather than a count of modeling agencies.

What are the height requirements really?

Height is the most-searched modeling statistic and the most badly reported one. The honest answer has two halves: a set of casting-brief thresholds that vary by category, and the messier reality of who is actually on the boards.

Category	Height (women)	Height (men)	Typical size	Age sweet spot
Runway / high fashion	5'9"–6'0"	6'0"–6'3"	US 0–4	16–22
Editorial	5'9"–6'0"	6'0"–6'3"	US 0–4	16–25
Commercial / lifestyle	5'5"+ flexible	5'10"+ flexible	Any	18–45
Plus-size / curve	5'8"–6'0"	6'0"+	US 8–18	18–35
Fitness	5'5"–5'11"	5'9"–6'2"	Any, athletic	20–40
Petite	under 5'7"	under 5'9"	Any	18–40
Parts (hands, feet, hair)	Any	Any	Any	18–60+

Read that as a filter agencies apply when writing a brief, not as a description of who works. Kate Moss is 5’7“ and Devon Aoki walked Chanel at 5’5“. Those are exceptions, and exceptions are a bad foundation for a plan.

Original research: what a live curve board actually measures

Because published height figures for plus-size modeling are almost entirely invented, we counted a real one.

Methodology. On 30 July 2026 we read every model profile listed on Wilhelmina’s New York curve board — n = 60, the complete board, no sampling and no exclusions. For each profile we recorded the five measurements the agency itself publishes: height, dress size, bust, waist and hips. We took no measurements ourselves and estimated nothing; where the agency omitted a field, that profile was excluded from that field’s statistics only. The figures below are ranges and medians of the agency’s own published numbers.

Variable	Range	Median	Notable concentration
Height	5'4" – 5'11½"	5'9½"	53 of 60 models are 5'8" or taller
Dress size (US)	2 – 18	10	39 of 60 sit between size 8 and 16
Bust (models listed size 10–16)	35" – 45½"	39"	—
Waist (models listed size 10–16)	27" – 41"	32"	—
Hips (models listed size 10–16)	38" – 49"	45"	—

Three findings come out of that census, and all three contradict something widely repeated online.

Fashion curve is a tall board. The median is 5’9½“ and 53 of 60 models clear 5’8“. The idea that plus-size modeling is a height-neutral door is false for fashion curve specifically. It is true for commercial, e-commerce, beauty and fit work, which is where most curve income actually comes from.

There is no size threshold. Listed sizes run 2 to 18 with a median of 10. Fifteen of the 60 models are listed below a US size 8 — a quarter of a curve board is, on paper, straight size. Whatever “curve” names, it is not a measurement cutoff.

Proportion, not size, is the variable. Among models listed 10–16, waist spans 27“ to 41“ — a fourteen-inch range inside a six-size band. Agencies are matching bodies to sample garments, not to a number.

What do models earn?

There is no meaningful “average model salary,” and any site quoting one to the dollar is guessing. Pay in modeling is set per job, by category and by usage rights, and the spread inside a single category is wider than the gap between categories.

The ranges below are the same models.camp compilation described above — assembled from models’ public statements, agency rate cards and posted castings, not from a survey. Where a federal figure exists for the same question, it is in the BLS table further up, and the two answer different questions: BLS measures what payrolled models are paid over a year, while these are per-job freelance rates.

• Promotional / events

  Typical rate

  $15–$50 per hour

  How often it books

  Year-round, most cities

  Notes

  Most accessible paid work; often no portfolio needed

• Commercial / e-commerce

  Typical rate

  $500–$2,000 per day

  How often it books

  Constant

  Notes

  Clusters at $750–$1,500; where most models earn most of their money

• Commercial, hourly bookings

  Typical rate

  $100–$250 per hour

  How often it books

  Constant

  Notes

  Same work, shorter call

• Fitness and parts

  Typical rate

  $75–$300 per hour

  How often it books

  Steady

  Notes

  Least age-dependent; hand models work for decades

• Editorial

  Typical rate

  $150–$400 per day, sometimes trade

  How often it books

  Seasonal

  Notes

  Taken for tearsheets, which raise your commercial rate

• Runway

  Typical rate

  $0 to five figures

  How often it books

  Twice-yearly seasons

  Notes

  Local shows may pay nothing; fashion week varies enormously

• Fit modeling

  Typical rate

  Hourly, market-specific

  How often it books

  Weekly, repeating

  Notes

  Measurement stability is the entire job

Work type	Typical rate	How often it books	Notes
Promotional / events	$15–$50 per hour	Year-round, most cities	Most accessible paid work; often no portfolio needed
Commercial / e-commerce	$500–$2,000 per day	Constant	Clusters at $750–$1,500; where most models earn most of their money
Commercial, hourly bookings	$100–$250 per hour	Constant	Same work, shorter call
Fitness and parts	$75–$300 per hour	Steady	Least age-dependent; hand models work for decades
Editorial	$150–$400 per day, sometimes trade	Seasonal	Taken for tearsheets, which raise your commercial rate
Runway	$0 to five figures	Twice-yearly seasons	Local shows may pay nothing; fashion week varies enormously
Fit modeling	Hourly, market-specific	Weekly, repeating	Measurement stability is the entire job

The number that moves your income most is not on that table. It is usage rights — where images run, in what media, in which territory, for how long. The same shoot can be worth $500 for organic social and $5,000 for a year of paid advertising. Get media, territory and term in writing before you shoot.

And the commission structure is fixed enough to state as a statistic: 20 percent from the model and 20 percent from the client, charged separately. A $1,000 booking means the client pays $1,200 and the model receives $800. That double-sided commission is normal and legal. Anything above 20 percent on the model side is not.

How much does starting cost?

This is the statistic with the largest gap between reality and marketing, so it is worth stating flatly: the legitimate cost of starting is zero. Submissions are free, open calls are free, and digitals are shot on a phone against a wall. The FTC’s guidance is blunt about the alternative — legitimate agencies make money when you make money.

• Digitals / Polaroids

  Legitimate path

  $0 — phone, blank wall, daylight

  What paid programs charge

  $500–$2,500 "mandatory portfolio package"

  Verdict

  Never required to submit

• Agency application

  Legitimate path

  $0 — open calls and forms are free

  What paid programs charge

  $50–$300 registration or application fee

  Verdict

  Always a scam

• Representation

  Legitimate path

  $0 — agency takes 20% of bookings

  What paid programs charge

  $1,000+ for "guaranteed placement"

  Verdict

  No one can guarantee bookings

• Portfolio images

  Legitimate path

  $0 via tests, or $150–$400 a session later

  What paid programs charge

  $1,500–$5,000 upfront, before any booking

  Verdict

  Only after an agency directs it

• Comp cards

  Legitimate path

  $50–$150 per 100, once signed

  What paid programs charge

  Bundled into a $2,000 package pre-signing

  Verdict

  A post-signing expense

• Training / classes

  Legitimate path

  $0 required

  What paid programs charge

  $1,995–$4,800 modeling-school program

  Verdict

  Never a signing requirement

• Travel to an open call

  Legitimate path

  $0–$100 transit

  What paid programs charge

  Prepaid "scouting event" tickets

  Verdict

  Real open calls are free to attend

Item	Legitimate path	What paid programs charge	Verdict
Digitals / Polaroids	$0 — phone, blank wall, daylight	$500–$2,500 "mandatory portfolio package"	Never required to submit
Agency application	$0 — open calls and forms are free	$50–$300 registration or application fee	Always a scam
Representation	$0 — agency takes 20% of bookings	$1,000+ for "guaranteed placement"	No one can guarantee bookings
Portfolio images	$0 via tests, or $150–$400 a session later	$1,500–$5,000 upfront, before any booking	Only after an agency directs it
Comp cards	$50–$150 per 100, once signed	Bundled into a $2,000 package pre-signing	A post-signing expense
Training / classes	$0 required	$1,995–$4,800 modeling-school program	Never a signing requirement
Travel to an open call	$0–$100 transit	Prepaid "scouting event" tickets	Real open calls are free to attend

The school-program range comes from documents rather than price lists, because neither major franchise publishes prices. Barbizon: $1,995 in a BBB complaint filed August 2025, $2,395 alleged in a 2010 Illinois class action, and $4,800 described in one consumer review. John Casablancas: enrollments clustering around $2,000–$2,200 across the complaints we read. Both are franchised course networks, and the economics explain the sales pressure — per its 2019 franchise disclosure document, opening a John Casablancas center required a total investment of $146,845 to $404,895. A center owner arrives with a six-figure hole to fill, and it is not filled by commissions on student bookings. It is filled by enrollments.

None of that is illegal, and a course is not automatically a fraud. But the pattern is a statistic in itself: the legitimate expenses in modeling arrive after representation and scale with work you already have. The expensive ones arrive before representation and are pitched as prerequisites.

Size inclusivity numbers

The size-inclusivity picture splits cleanly into two economies moving in opposite directions, and conflating them is how both the optimistic and the pessimistic version of this story get written.

Season	Looks counted	Size 14+ share	Source
Fall 2022 (peak)	Not stated	2.4%	The Fashion Spot
Spring/Summer 2025	Not stated	0.8%	Vogue Business
Autumn/Winter 2025	8,703	0.3%	Vogue Business
Spring/Summer 2026	9,038	0.9%	Vogue Business
Autumn/Winter 2026	7,817	0.3%	Vogue Business

Autumn/winter 2026 is the lowest share Vogue Business has recorded since it began tracking: 99.7 percent of 7,817 looks across 182 shows were straight-size. In absolute terms that is roughly two dozen size-14+ looks in an entire global season.

Now the other side. Research by Deborah Christel and Susan Dunn, using CDC waist measurements from more than 5,500 women, placed the average American woman between a misses size 16 and 18. A 2024 survey of over 42,000 US women cited by eMarketer found 54.4 percent wear size 14 or above.

Put the two together and you get the single most quotable gap in this industry:

A majority of American women wear size 14 or above. Size 14 and above accounted for 0.3 percent of runway looks last season.

That gap is not a moral scoreboard; it is a market signal, and it is why the commercial half of the industry keeps hiring curve models while the runway half does not. Extended sizing is standard merchandise at most large US apparel retailers, and every garment in an extended range needs a body to photograph it on — thousands of e-commerce images per brand, per season. Market-size estimates for plus-size apparel range from $114 billion to $350 billion globally depending on how the analyst draws the category, which is a wide enough spread that we would not cite any single figure as fact. The direction is consistent; the precision is not.

The practical reading for anyone planning a career: build the plan around catalog and e-commerce, and let fashion week happen to you if it happens.

How we collect and check these numbers

Our rules are short and we apply them to ourselves as strictly as to anyone else.

• Every figure carries a source and a date. If we cannot name where a number came from, we do not publish it.
• Original research is labelled as such, with the sample size, the collection date and the method stated inline — as with the 60-profile curve-board census above.
• Complaint and filing figures are labelled as allegations, never as established prices or findings of fact.
• We do not publish net-worth estimates for named models, because no verifiable source exists for them.
• We separate what a source measured from what people want it to mean. BLS wage data is real and authoritative for the slice it covers — models on an employer payroll — and says nothing about freelance day rates. We label the slice rather than quietly generalising it.
• We say “nobody knows” when nobody knows. There is no full census of working models in the United States and no defensible single figure for the global market size of modeling. Ranges are honest; invented precision is not.

Citing this page

The curve-board census is ours and is published under a Creative Commons Attribution licence, so you are free to reproduce the figures anywhere, including in commercial work, provided you attribute them. The form we would use:

models.camp, Wilhelmina New York curve board — measurement census, 30 July 2026 (n = 60). https://models.camp/modeling-industry-statistics/

Everything else on this page belongs to the organisation that produced it — the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Vogue Business, TIME, eMarketer, the FTC. Please cite those directly rather than citing us for their work; we have linked each one in the sources list below precisely so that you can. If you find an error in any figure here, tell us and we will correct it and note the correction rather than quietly editing the number.

Updated July 2026 · reviewed annually. Runway share figures update each season as Vogue Business publishes; the curve-board census is re-run when we refresh it, and the date on this page always reflects the most recent check.