# How much money do street level drug dealers make? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687 "2005-08-26T03:39:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/1 "2005-08-26T03:39:45Z")
I know this is a very broad question so I will try to limit it just a little. Most drug dealers get into the business because of money or they need to support their own habit. How much money do they actually make? I am interested in dealers that sell to end users rather than the people that traffic it. Lets assume the dealer does it full-time with no other means of support. The dealer sells one or more addictive drugs so he or she has a base of steady customers. What is a good range of how much they would pull in? Break it out by drug and type of client if you need too. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/2 "2005-08-26T03:55:20Z")
Very little, actually. It’s a very low-paying job. [Here’s](http://www.freakonomics.com/pdf/DrugGangFinances.pdf) an analysis of the economics of a typical drug gang. (Perhaps not so typical, since the gang leader in this case is the one who collected the data.) ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/3 "2005-08-26T04:00:34Z")
Freakonomics only covers inner city gang affiliated crack street dealers. Which, as Dewey says, does not pay well. But I imagine that the standard college dorm drug dealer would do significantly better, with a much lower chance of being shot. They have to have at least 100% markup. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/4 "2005-08-26T04:10:48Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > Very little, actually. It’s a very low-paying job. [Here’s](http://www.freakonomics.com/pdf/DrugGangFinances.pdf) an analysis of the economics of a typical drug gang. (Perhaps not so typical, since the gang leader in this case is the one who collected the data.) WARNING: THE ABOVE LINK IS A .pdf file. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/5 "2005-08-26T04:24:44Z")
Yes. Sorry for not mentioning that. I was amused that it was such an academic analysis of an illicit business. ---
**Author:** ![Marley25](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@Marley25](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley25)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/6 "2005-08-26T05:17:47Z")
They can make more dealing drugs than any other job available to them. Some of them do alright, if my anecdotal experience is any guide. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/7 "2005-08-26T06:21:54Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > Very little, actually. It’s a very low-paying job. [Here’s](http://www.freakonomics.com/pdf/DrugGangFinances.pdf) an analysis of the economics of a typical drug gang. (Perhaps not so typical, since the gang leader in this case is the one who collected the data.) Thanks Dewey. That was probably the most interesting reading i’ve done this month. ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/8 "2005-08-26T07:29:54Z")
When I saw the OP I immediately thought of this analysis and said “Not as much as you’d think!” I’d recommend the entire book as well. The street-level drug-dealer who still lives with his mom is just part of it. ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/9 "2005-08-26T08:48:46Z")
A former roommate’s friend used to deal pot, on the side. This was at a US university campus. He once told me that he took home about couple grand a month. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/10 "2005-08-26T11:35:31Z")
From what I know, it varies widely. I’ve known persons who dealt crack on “The Block” in Baltimore. They’d buy nickels of powered coke, cook them up and sell them as quarters on the block. They would make $20.00 for each sale. Consider that they’d sell 50 to 70 caps, they were making over $1000.00 a day. Then you have the guys dealing for a larger dealer. They make a small profit, which much of the time becomes a deficit due to using their own product. ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/11 "2005-08-26T11:58:38Z")
> [@Who\_me?](#): > > From what I know, it varies widely. I’ve known persons who dealt crack on “The Block” in Baltimore. They’d buy nickels of powered coke, cook them up and sell them as quarters on the block. They would make $20.00 for each sale. Consider that they’d sell 50 to 70 caps, they were making over $1000.00 a day. > > Then you have the guys dealing for a larger dealer. They make a small profit, which much of the time becomes a deficit due to using their own product. I wonder if there are some dealers who do not sample their products. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/12 "2005-08-26T13:41:28Z")
> [@Who\_me?](#): > > From what I know, it varies widely. I’ve known persons who dealt crack on “The Block” in Baltimore. They’d buy nickels of powered coke, cook them up and sell them as quarters on the block. They would make $20.00 for each sale. Consider that they’d sell 50 to 70 caps, they were making over $1000.00 a day. Is that net or gross? ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/13 "2005-08-26T13:51:12Z")
There was a student or professor from the University of Chicago who recently (last decade I believe) joined a gang (at fairly decent risk to himself, obviously) to research this very issue. I am trying to remember his findings from rough memory, as I can not find the article or research at this moment. My recollection is that, as you might expect, only the very high level leader(s) made any real money, and that was still in the under seven figure range ($500,000 a year is the number I recall). For the lower level street dealers, the wage actually worked out to be very small (comparable with or even considerably less than a blue collar working wage). I also recall there being a 1/4 chance per year of being murdered for those lower level street dealers. ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/14 "2005-08-26T13:53:33Z")
Oh boy. I just took a quick look at that pdf, and that may be it, but I also thought there was an actual University of Chicago related figure who joined the gang “undercover,” and neither of the authors names ring a bell. Maybe I just haven’t read the article closely enough yet. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/15 "2005-08-26T14:21:49Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Is that net or gross? That would be net. Selling quarters ($25) - price paid as nickels ($5) profit = $20 per sale. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/16 "2005-08-26T14:29:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That would be net. > > Selling quarters ($25) - price paid as nickels ($5) profit = $20 per sale. Exactly, they even used the same caps the nickels came in to package the quarters. Their only expenses besides that were lighters and baking soda and the occasional rip off. Both people are now in jail however so the money went away… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/17 "2005-08-26T14:31:59Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > A former roommate’s friend used to deal pot, on the side. This was at a US university campus. He once told me that he took home about couple grand a month. On the other hand, I knew a guy in college who lost a fortune when he got a huge amount of shit and then the market bottomed out. ---
**Author:** ![drgnrdr07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71e660/32.png) [@drgnrdr07](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drgnrdr07)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/18 "2005-08-26T14:41:01Z")
I used to have a friend that would deal meth at raves. Just from those few hours a week that he would deal he used to make $400 - $500. I have no idea how much he would have made if he did it full time. Luckily, he has come to his senses and knocked it off. ---
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/19 "2005-08-26T14:44:32Z")
When I was clerking for the DOJ in DC, I worked a lot of street level crime cases. An overwhelming majority of them were drug offenses. We made a distinction (as well as the author of the book, _Freakanomics_, already quoted) between an actual dealer on the street and a producer. The college campus dealer (who we also dealt with) is also a producer, as well as anyone who invests significant capital and resource into his product. The person turning nickel caps into quarter caps could also likely receive the same punishment, but any good defense attorney will have those dropped in a plea agreement. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687/20 "2005-08-26T15:32:12Z")
> [@SlyFrog](#): > > Oh boy. I just took a quick look at that pdf, and that may be it, but I also thought there was an actual University of Chicago related figure who joined the gang “undercover,” and neither of the authors names ring a bell. Maybe I just haven’t read the article closely enough yet. it was indeed Sudhir Venkatesh that you are referring to. [Cite.](http://www.blacktable.com/gallagher050415.htm) > [@](#): > > “Well, we could start the chapter on crack dealing with a profile of Sudhir” – Sudhir Venkatesh, the sociologist who lived for six years with a Chicago crack gang – “and then we could talk about how a crack gang is essentially a tournament.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-do-street-level-drug-dealers-make/318687.md?page=2)