How Much Do Drug Dealers Earn?

Usually less than minimum wage, it seems.

Not many illegal drug gangs publish their accounts.  However, a maverick economist (Steven Levitt) was lucky enough to get some detailed financial records for a Chicago gang dealing crack cocaine in the 1980s (described in his book Freakonomics).

Most gang members were street-corner dealers, who gained very little profit for their time.  They had about the same take-home pay as somebody on minimum wage.  And had to put up with the hazards of violence from rival drug gangs, volatile clients and a strict discipline regime within the gang.  The low pay is why most of them still lived with their mothers.

Occasionally a street-corner dealer would get promoted to a deputy, with some management duties, earning 2-3 times as much as minimum wage.

Only very rarely might a deputy get promoted to be Gang Boss, who earned a moderately well-paid salary, comparable to a senior university lecturer or upper-management in a medium-sized company.

The Gang Boss reported (and paid dues to) a Board of Directors who oversaw crack distribution in the Chicago area.  We don't know what these individuals earned, but probably they had other criminal interests supplementing their incomes.  And almost certainly there were more individuals in the supply chain further up, the people who really make a fortune out of drug-dealing.

..do you tell people how much you make? Its a job...and they make money. Become one and find out or stop askin questions

Depends The more you promote your merchandise the more you sell = more profit
it also depends how much you pay for the drugs
lets say you buy 1 pound of High quality marijuana for 3,500$
and to make profit you sell it by ounces at 300 $ each
you can probably get a to a total of 5000$ if you are lucky
(and not set back by police,thieves or self consumption)
but don't think its that easy to get rid of the drugs , you need to have good/many customers

Lets just put it this way , its not worth it
when i was a kid i thought, wow i want to sell drugs
its not half as cool as it sounds
too much risk
Ive been in the drug game and know the ups and downs
final conclusion - its not worth it - its like working for someone else because at the end of the line when you go to jail or get killed some one else or the government end up wasting the money you earned by risking you life and liberty so long.

I think the alcohol dealers make more.