Josh Peck says he made about $15K an episode on 'Drake & Josh'

Josh Peck is opening up about what he earned during his time on Nickelodeon's hit sitcom "Drake & Josh."

The 39-year-old said on the June 24 episode of the "Financial Tea with Mrs. Dow Jones" podcast that he made a "median rate" of about $15,000 per episode on the series.

Before his breakout role alongside Drake Bell, the pair appeared together on Nickelodeon's "The Amanda Show," where Peck said they earned about $3,000 an episode.

"Drake & Josh" aired from 2004 to 2007, producing 60 installments, including two television movies, "Drake & Josh Go Hollywood" and "Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh." Peck was just 17 when the series premiered.

"So, over four years, we wound up making about $900,000, but I think we probably, between agent, manager, and taxes, we cleared half of that," Peck said. "People always assume it's more."

Peck added that he doesn't receive residuals from the show, saying the actors had little leverage because there were few outlets for children's programming.

"It was a different time, and I think it was… there was only one sort of place to do it, right?" Peck said. "I think we all accepted that it wasn't that we could go to five other networks or YouTube… it was sort of take it or leave it."

'I had a little bit of a runway, but I had to get to work'

By the time his run on the series ended, Peck said financial insecurity was already weighing on him, citing his upbringing raised by a single mom in a household that "vacillated between being lower middle class and being broke."

"I had a little bit of a runway, but I had to get to work," he said.

His next major role was in the 2004 drama "Mean Creek," and he later voiced Eddie in the "Ice Age" films from 2006 to 2016.

"If you have it ingrained in you that you never want to be broke again, you will run like your pants are on fire for as long as you can," Peck said.

Today, Peck cohosts the "Good Guys" podcast with comedian Ben Soffer.

Peck's salary revelation comes as other former child stars have spoken about the financial realities of the industry. Earlier this month, "Who's the Boss?" actor Danny Pintauro said he also doesn't receive residual income and is currently working as an Amazon delivery driver.

"I've been trying to explain to the general public just how bad it is because they just don't understand," Pintauro said. "It's been eye-opening to a lot of people to realize how awful things are."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Josh Peck says he made about $15K an episode on 'Drake & Josh'

Reporting by Charlie Carballo, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 7:57 PM.