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While full-time social media creators make anything from a few hundred bucks to beastly nine-figure sums per year, an aristocratic class of Uber-influencers with a stable ‘main job’ is always ready to step in for a quick hundred-thou deal.
Better known as “celebrities,” these famed figures of stage, screen and stadium have made “selling out” (sorry, monetizing) cool with the apparent casualness with which they post branded updates from their daily lives.
The earnings of celebrities on Instagram each year hinge on factors like follower count, influence, business savvy, and how often they use that #ad tag.
To determine which celebrities are raking in the most in each state across sports, acting, and music, Bored Panda analyzed over 90,000 Instagram posts from 850 celebrities and estimated their annual earnings.
Table of Contents
- Key Findings
- Which American Celebrities Earn the Most From Instagram Each Year?
- The Top Instagram Earner from Every State
- The American Sports Stars That Earn the Most from Instagram Per Year
- Which American Actor Earns the Most Yearly From Instagram?
- The American Musicians That Earn the Most From Instagram Per Year
- Pocket Money for Millionaires
- Methodology
Key Findings
- Actor Kevin Hart is the top-earning celebrity on Instagram, with estimated annual earnings of $28,119,986.
- Kylie Jenner is California’s top-earning Instagram celebrity, with estimated annual earnings of $16,816,086.
- Basketball player Steph Curry is the top-earning sportsperson on Instagram (estimated $7,502,807/year).
- Jennifer Lopez is Instagram’s highest-earning musician (estimated $9,130,949/year).
Which American Celebrities Earn the Most From Instagram Each Year?
Kevin Hart tops the list as America’s highest-paid Instagram star, earning an estimated $28,119,986 last year from 26 ads. With around 180 million followers, Hart uses Instagram to promote his brands, such as Gran Coramino tequila, VitaHustle, and Hart House vegan restaurant. In contrast, Mark Wahlberg earned $15,510,686 from 88 sponsored posts, despite having only 29.4 million followers—about 16% of Hart’s follower count. Notably, the Jenner/Kardashians, with more followers than Hart, post far fewer ads but still rank high among America’s top Instagram earners.
The map of the United States below shows the top Instagram earner from every U.S. state.
The Top Instagram Earner from Every State
You don’t have to hail from a large state to be a big earner. California and New York, known for their showbiz industries, boast Kylie Jenner ($16,816,086) and Jennifer Lopez ($9,130,949) as their top Instagram earners, respectively. Among 12 states with million-dollar Instagram celebrities, South Carolina stands out with “Outer Banks” and “Glass Onion” actor Madelyn Cline, a global brand ambassador for Revlon, who got her start in a Chuck E. Cheese TV commercial.
The American Sports Stars That Earn the Most from Instagram Per Year
Three generations of basketball stars dominate the top-earning American athletes on Instagram. While LeBron James has more followers than Steph Curry and Shaquille O’Neal combined, Curry leads in earnings with an estimated $7,502,807 from Instagram ads last year, posting 3½ times as many ads as James. Other top NBA earners include Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, and Chris Paul.
Which American Actor Earns the Most Yearly From Instagram?
Kevin Hart, posting once a fortnight on average—2.5 times more frequently than other top actors—leads as the highest-earning American actor on Instagram. Hart, along with Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, surpasses a long list of lower, yet still seven-figure, earners. Johnson’s $9.5 million earnings from just four sponsored posts are notable, especially as he uses his massive following to promote his brands and movies.
The American Musicians That Earn the Most From Instagram Per Year
Jennifer Lopez supplements her music income with an estimated $9,130,949 annually from just six ads to her 253.7 million Instagram followers. Her sponsored posts include spots for Intimissimi and Virgin Voyages, along with promotions for her drink and cosmetics lines. Cardi B, with 85 million fewer followers, earned an estimated $6 million from the same number of sponsored posts, while Beyonce earned nearly $2 million from a single sponsored ad for Verizon.
Pocket Money for Millionaires
The blending of stars and the products they promote predates Instagram. Rihanna, for example, rose to fame through strategic partnerships with brands like Totes and Nike before the advent of social media. Now, celebrities can seamlessly integrate sponsored content into their daily posts, allowing them to boost their incomes significantly.
Methodology
The Bored Panda team identified the most notable and most followed celebrities in each state, compiling a list of 850 U.S. celebrities. To calculate each celebrity’s estimated yearly earnings, they multiplied the number of disclosed ads in the past 12 months (April 2023 to March 2024) by the estimated amount each celebrity can charge per sponsored post.
The Bored Panda team determined the cost per sponsored post using data from Hopper HQ’s annual Instagram Rich list and calculated the cost per follower for those not covered by the report. Analyzing over 90,000 Instagram posts from April 2023 to March 2024, the team identified 2,687 sponsored posts across 419 celebrities, isolating them by focusing on “paid partnership” tags and ad-related hashtags.
Using a Random Forest Regression model, the team estimated the cost per follower by dividing the cost per post by the number of followers, factoring in the account category and location. This data analysis was completed in April 2024.
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