Strippers In Williston, North Dakota Raking In $2,000 Per Night In Tips

An oil boomtown in the middle of North Dakota is proving that the laws of supply and demand apply to everything -- even stripper salaries.

As thousands of men move to Williston, North Dakota seeking high-paying jobs working for oil companies, area strippers have seen their salaries skyrocket, CNNMoney reports. Strippers claim that they can make $2,000 to $3,000 per night in tips -- more than in typical strip club hot spots like Las Vegas -- dancing for the oil rig workers, many of whom moved to the town without their families.

(Read the entire story at CNNMoney.)

Word of their success has spread and now applications are pouring in to the town's strip clubs from women working as far away as Hawaii and Germany, according to CNNMoney. North Dakota has weathered the recession particularly well, with an unemployment rate of only 3.5 percent as of September, in comparison to the national rate of 9.1 percent.

Though the stripper economy in Williston may seem particularly extreme, women are flocking to jobs dancing in strip clubs and posing in adult magazines elsewhere as well. Employers in the adult entertainment industry told the Associated Press in 2009 that they were seeing an influx in job applicants thanks to the down economy.

Still, the down economy hasn't hurt the strip club industry in many locations. On some nights in British Columbia, strippers pull in less than half of what they used to make thanks in large part to the economic downturn and the rise of internet porn, according to The Vancouver Sun. In Tampa some strip club owners reported in 2008 that their business dropped 25 percent as potential patrons had less money to spend in a down economy.

In more extreme cases, the recession has pushed some into prostitution, especially in Portugal, where many women have struggled to feed their families, according to IPS. The Independent reported at the height of the recession that in Germany, where prostitution is legal, brothels attempted to overcome the financial downturn by offering free promotions and cutting prices.

Watch CNN's video here:

Comments

[apt06]

02:05 PM on 12/20/2011

I don't go to strip bars. What good is a woman if u can't have her to yourself, in your own arms, in the privacy of your own place. Everything else is a waste of time.

[sloreader]

10:16 AM on 12/20/2011

Double dip recession allright.

[hottishan]

03:35 PM on 12/09/2011

"This is not true… The dancer who said this is a liar , it's our running joke, lol "jeez think this will be the 2000 dollar night…"

[MFS001]

11:38 PM on 10/30/2011

I came across this, from the dancer perspective:

http://clubcandynews.com/2011/10/31/strippers-making-2000-a-night-in-oil-boomtown/

Nothing new, just interesting.

[surfinnonreality]

12:47 PM on 10/28/2011

I wish I could claim this was original but I read it in a Robert Heinlein book. Oddly enough it was called Time Enough for Love.

Hire the morally handicapped. They are more fun.

[lbrentnj]

03:12 PM on 10/27/2011

These women should have kept this to themselves - the IRS is going to LOVE them. You can bet none of them claim all or even half of their tips on their 1040.

[cuivreriver11]

02:40 PM on 10/27/2011

To Realistic who states there is no similar option for unemployed men.... If women were being paid an equal wage for doing the same jobs as men, perhaps they could afford to support themselves and their children. Meanwhile, if the daddies, who are spending their leisure time and their "wads of cash" on booze and strippers, started paying their child support and taking part in the parenting, perhaps these women would not have to resort to taking their clothes off to keep a roof overhead. So the new sleaze capital of North Dakota has become the best place to find a job? Gives new meaning to creating a "stimulus" package. Was this part of Obama's jobs plan?

[seisanstnc]

03:31 AM on 10/28/2011

Hey cuivreriver11, this myth you espouse has been thoroughly debunked and disproven. Women earn less because they are inclined to work at jobs that offer flexibility with minimal risk. How many of those hot North Dakota strippers are willing to work on oil rigs or in coal mines? Or get a degree in chemical engineering? Much easier to get naked in front of guys who DO. It is about lifestyle choices, and women tend to choose family over money. Unmarried women actually earn more than unmarried men. It is all spelled out in "Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind The Pay Gap" by former member of NOW, Dr. Warren Farrell. So I'll hold the tears for the "oppressed strippers."

[tan2123]

01:00 PM on 11/01/2011

you have "one" book, some women do the exact same job, sometimes better, and still get a lower pay- this is fact. There is certainly a 'boy's club', still, with most execs and upper management http://usgovinfo.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=usgovinfo&cdn=newsissues&tm=5&f=10&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.gao.gov/new.items/d0435.pdf , and many other publications.

Strippers are often lured into that work, some suffered childhood abuse, many have children to support, but obviously there are a variety of reasons a man/woman chooses that profession. For some young girls struggling with school it is an easier alternative. Either way, this has zero to do with Obama. It certainly didn't start with Obama.

[bdunlap52]

12:16 PM on 10/28/2011

If women wanted to get out in the oil fields and get the job done, they could earn the same. Nothing is stopping them.

[surfinnonreality]

12:15 PM on 10/27/2011

I wonder how many of those women will soon fall into the 1% group?

[Michael Clanchy]

01:27 PM on 10/27/2011

If you do the math, even $2,000 a night five days a week probably isn't going to get you into the top 1%. And I don't even know that they work that often.

[DaniFoxy]

11:59 AM on 10/27/2011

I'd get naked for that kind of cash.

[yoxie]

09:57 PM on 10/27/2011

We're still waiting for your story about your experience with a woman Darling :-)

[Tara Hunkoff]

10:11 PM on 10/27/2011

When I think back...well, let's just say one should pay close attention to the market.

[DaniFoxy]

08:09 AM on 10/28/2011

Which one? ;-)

[RealistBC]

11:58 AM on 10/27/2011

Once the American economy is completely collapsed, this is how American women will support themselves. There is no similar option for unemployed American men.

[p456]

10:58 AM on 10/27/2011

The worlds oldest profession live and well.

[Alexander Galimov]

08:57 AM on 10/27/2011

Being able to tell your kids what you do for a living: priceless

[tackcalb]

06:22 AM on 10/27/2011

So, there *IS* a large pool of money that could be taxed to pay for everything from universal healthcare to paying off the national debt. Tax these establishments to the hilt.

Meanwhile, people who harvest our crops do not receive a minimum wage (paid by the bucket). Because, well, food isn't as important as stripping.(?!*) Or, the lowly certified nursing assistant, cleaning grannies diaper and spoonfeeding her, is making a pittance in honorable, backbreaking work -- taking care of ailing human beings in the twilight of life.

Wonder how many of the guys forking out these tips are behind in their child support payments?

[Rita Khanna]

08:23 AM on 10/27/2011

The nurse can moonlight as a stripper if she wants

[bdunlap52]

12:17 PM on 10/28/2011

Ah yes, the liberal answer....."They're successful! TAX THEM!!!!"

[tan2123]

01:10 PM on 11/01/2011

oh, did you want to go out and build roads, do policing etc, for free? maybe everyone could just take a turn, right? Maybe you can get your kitchen knife and defend the country.

[jvegasjim]

08:21 PM on 10/26/2011

I guess women should forget going to college...strip naked and ride the baloney pony to fame and fortune

[katooom]

06:14 AM on 10/27/2011

Yep, has worked that way for years and years, college or not.

[DaniFoxy]

12:00 PM on 10/27/2011

Remember what you are saying though... these women are getting paid this much because men are paying them...

[woody8r1]

08:00 PM on 10/26/2011

It's just dancing. The prostitutes in D.C. are making the real money and it is coming out of your azzes. That is what should be reported, but this keeps the sheeple distracted.

[Tell us]

07:46 AM on 10/27/2011

"[S]heeple": really funny. That's the first time I've seen/heard that term.

[tan2123]

01:16 PM on 11/01/2011

huh? why would it have to be the first time you've seen heard it??

[jtthomas240]

11:22 AM on 10/27/2011

Yeah, this is the only thing anyone in the news is talking about. No way it's a mid-page report on a blogging site on a slow news day.