YouTube’s ‘top 1000′ channels average $23,000 in ad revenue per month

OpenSlate, which describes its services as delivering “actionable information about the value of online video to advertisers,” recently put together an infographic analyzing the top 1,000 YouTube channels.

Some of the findings are mind-blowing, like the fact that over one million YouTubers run ads on their content. To put it another way, YouTube writes checks to more than one million people monthly. That’s more than the U.S. television industry employs.

The highest-performing 1,000 make a cool six figures a year. According to OpenSlate, the average revenue for the top 1,000 channels is $23,000 a month for an average annual payout of $276,000. (Contrary to popular belief, YouTube money is not easy money. Many of the top YouTubers have been at it for years. They produce content regularly, and employ cameramen, editors, researchers, managers and writers.)

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