27 Series · SOC 27-1014
Special Effects Artists and Animators Salary
National pay, percentile range, growth outlook, and state-by-state detail from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey (May 2025).
- $102,030
- Median / year
- $177,110
- Top 10% earn
- +1.6%
- Growth '23–'33
- 19,970
- US workers
Special Effects Artists and Animators earn a median of $102,030 per year.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey, the median annual wage is $102,030, based on the most recent survey of employers. Reported pay ranges from $58,600 (10th percentile) to $177,110 (90th percentile) nationally, across roughly 19,970 US workers. Washington pays the most ($133,480), since pay varies by state and metro area.
The pay verdict
Special Effects Artists and Animators earn a median of $102,030, putting them among the better-paid US occupations and higher than 85% of the 825 occupations with a published BLS median. Within Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media, it ranks #2 of 36 by median pay. Employment is projected to grow 1.6% by 2033.
- $102,030
- Median annual wage
- Top 15%
- of 825 US occupations with published wages
- #2 of 36
- in Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
- 3.0×
- 90th-to-10th pay spread
Highest-paying state: Washington at $133,480. Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
Special Effects Artists and Animators (SOC 27-1014) pays a national median of $102,030 per year according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey released in May 2025. Full-range compensation stretches from $58,600 at the 10th percentile to $177,110 at the 90th, with a mean of $112,870 indicating a right-skew where top earners pull the average above the midpoint. An estimated 19,970 Americans work in this occupation across 31 reporting states and 41 metro areas.
BLS Employment Projections forecast a +1.6% change in employment from 2024 to 2034, which the agency classifies as slower than average relative to the 5% all-occupations baseline. About 5,000 openings are projected per year, combining new positions with replacement needs from retirements and occupation-switchers. Typical entry-level preparation is Bachelor's degree. The BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) and Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) produce a workplace-safety grade of A for this role, with a fatality rate of 0.6 per 100,000 and injury rate of 0.5 per 100.
Geographic variation matters as much as the headline median. Washington pays the highest state median at $133,480, which is +31% above the national figure. The top metro is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $156,950 - metro premiums typically reflect higher cost of living, industry concentration, or specialized employer demand. When using this page for negotiation or career planning, pair the national median with the state and metro rows below, remember that BLS wages exclude benefits, bonuses, and overtime, and revisit after each May OEWS release since percentiles shift with cost-of-living cycles and industry demand. See our methodology for exactly how these figures are sourced, computed, and verified.
Median Salary
$102,030
per year
Median Hourly
$49.06/hr
per hour
Mean Salary
$112,870
average
Employment
19,970
jobs nationwide
How does this pay compare nationally?
Where Special Effects Artists and Animators pay sits nationally
Median annual wage vs. 825 detailed BLS occupations with a published median
$102,030 Top 15% higher than 85% of 825 US occupations
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS · May 2025
Does this job pay well and grow?
Each dot is a 27-series occupation, placed by projected 2024–2034 growth and median pay. The highlighted dot is Special Effects Artists and Animators; the upper-right quadrant is the sweet spot (high pay + fast growth).
Among 24 27-series occupations with growth data, Special Effects Artists and Animators sits on the slower-growing side at +1.6% growth and $102,030 median pay.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS (wages, May 2025) and Employment Projections (2024–2034).
Job Outlook (2024–2034)
Projected Growth
+1.6%
Slower than average
Annual Openings
5,000
per year (projected)
Typical Education
Bachelor's degree
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034
Workplace Safety
All safety ratings →Very Safe
Safety Grade (BLS 2023)
Fatality Rate
0.6/100K
Injury Rate
0.5/100
Danger Index
2.3/100
Source: BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) & Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), 2023
Career Intelligence
Skills, knowledge, and tasks most important for Special Effects Artists and Animators roles, ranked by importance. Source: O*NET.
Top Skills
Knowledge Areas
Key Tasks
- ▸ Design complex graphics and animation, using independent judgment, creativity, and computer equipment.
- ▸ Create basic designs, drawings, and illustrations for product labels, cartons, direct mail, or television.
- ▸ Participate in design and production of multimedia campaigns, handling budgeting and scheduling, and assisting with such responsibilities as production coordination, background design, and progress tracking.
- ▸ Implement and maintain configuration control systems.
- ▸ Script, plan, and create animated narrative sequences under tight deadlines, using computer software and hand drawing techniques.
- ▸ Create two-dimensional and three-dimensional images depicting objects in motion or illustrating a process, using computer animation or modeling programs.
- ▸ Develop briefings, brochures, multimedia presentations, web pages, promotional products, technical illustrations, and computer artwork for use in products, technical manuals, literature, newsletters, and slide shows.
- ▸ Make objects or characters appear lifelike by manipulating light, color, texture, shadow, and transparency, or manipulating static images to give the illusion of motion.
- ▸ Apply story development, directing, cinematography, and editing to animation to create storyboards that show the flow of the animation and map out key scenes and characters.
- ▸ Assemble, typeset, scan, and produce digital camera-ready art or film negatives and printer's proofs.
Source: O*NET Online, National Center for O*NET Development. Data represents typical importance ratings for this occupation.
Salary Range
Annual Salary Distribution
Hourly Rate Distribution
10th Percentile
$58,600
25th Percentile
$75,490
Median
$102,030
75th Percentile
$139,130
90th Percentile
$177,110
Salary by State
Highest Paying States
View all 31 states →
| # | State | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $133,480 | +31% above national |
| 2 | California | $130,540 | +28% above national |
| 3 | Nevada | $97,350 | 5% below national |
| 4 | New York | $96,770 | 5% below national |
| 5 | Colorado | $91,290 | 11% below national |
| 6 | Arizona | $89,650 | 12% below national |
| 7 | North Carolina | $88,350 | 13% below national |
| 8 | Utah | $88,210 | 14% below national |
| 9 | Michigan | $86,630 | 15% below national |
| 10 | Florida | $85,870 | 16% below national |
| 11 | Maryland | $85,830 | 16% below national |
| 12 | Tennessee | $83,080 | 19% below national |
| 13 | Virginia | $81,510 | 20% below national |
| 14 | Georgia | $81,390 | 20% below national |
| 15 | Illinois | $81,180 | 20% below national |
| 16 | Massachusetts | $80,640 | 21% below national |
| 17 | Rhode Island | $80,040 | 22% below national |
| 18 | Texas | $78,930 | 23% below national |
| 19 | Indiana | $75,250 | 26% below national |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | $71,760 | 30% below national |
| 21 | Ohio | $67,000 | 34% below national |
| 22 | Oklahoma | $66,980 | 34% below national |
| 23 | Missouri | $65,470 | 36% below national |
| 24 | Minnesota | $64,990 | 36% below national |
| 25 | Wisconsin | $64,890 | 36% below national |
| 26 | Kansas | $62,720 | 39% below national |
| 27 | West Virginia | $60,940 | 40% below national |
| 28 | New Mexico | $54,000 | 47% below national |
| 29 | Kentucky | $50,970 | 50% below national |
| 30 | Nebraska | $50,830 | 50% below national |
| 31 | Iowa | $47,530 | 53% below national |
Salary by Metro Area
Highest Paying Metros
View all 41 metro areas →
| # | Metro Area | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $156,950 | +54% above national |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $136,770 | +34% above national |
| 3 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $134,120 | +31% above national |
| 4 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $124,590 | +22% above national |
| 5 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $122,880 | +20% above national |
| 6 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $118,750 | +16% above national |
| 7 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $109,320 | +7% above national |
| 8 | Reno, NV | $105,240 | +3% above national |
| 9 | Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $101,730 | same as national |
| 10 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $96,760 | 5% below national |
| 11 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $96,670 | 5% below national |
| 12 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $95,420 | 6% below national |
| 13 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $92,760 | 9% below national |
| 14 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $92,340 | 9% below national |
| 15 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $91,290 | 11% below national |
| 16 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $91,150 | 11% below national |
| 17 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $90,050 | 12% below national |
| 18 | Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | $87,300 | 14% below national |
| 19 | Ann Arbor, MI | $83,530 | 18% below national |
| 20 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $83,200 | 18% below national |
| 21 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $82,570 | 19% below national |
| 22 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $80,640 | 21% below national |
| 23 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $80,040 | 22% below national |
| 24 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $79,390 | 22% below national |
| 25 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | $79,360 | 22% below national |
| 26 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | $78,430 | 23% below national |
| 27 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $77,690 | 24% below national |
| 28 | Huntsville, AL | $77,640 | 24% below national |
| 29 | Worcester, MA | $76,970 | 25% below national |
| 30 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $76,770 | 25% below national |
| 31 | Richmond, VA | $76,380 | 25% below national |
| 32 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $76,110 | 25% below national |
| 33 | St. Louis, MO-IL | $75,820 | 26% below national |
| 34 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $74,520 | 27% below national |
| 35 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $74,140 | 27% below national |
| 36 | Kansas City, MO-KS | $69,820 | 32% below national |
| 37 | Pittsburgh, PA | $69,300 | 32% below national |
| 38 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $67,710 | 34% below national |
| 39 | Albuquerque, NM | $54,000 | 47% below national |
| 40 | Omaha, NE-IA | $53,280 | 48% below national |
| 41 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $50,960 | 50% below national |
Similar Occupations in the Same Category
Other roles in SOC major group 27 (arts design entertainment sports and media) with comparable pay and career paths.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is Special Effects Artists and Animators a good career? ▼
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What to do with this data
How to use Special Effects Artists and Animators pay figures in a real decision
- For an experienced offer, anchor on the 75th percentile (about $139,130/year), not the median. The median marks the middle worker; the upper quartile is the realistic target with strong experience. Salary calculator
- Location moves pay significantly: Washington leads at $133,480/year for this role. Weigh state pay against local cost of living before relocating or negotiating remote. Pay by state
- Compare this occupation against similar roles before you decide, so you are reading the pay band in context rather than in isolation. Compare jobs
These are BLS survey estimates for the occupation, not a salary offer or a prediction for any individual. Your pay depends on experience, employer, exact role, and location.
Every figure on WageDex is rendered directly from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, no number is typed in by an editor. This occupation's figures are computed directly from the BLS OEWS and Employment Projections datasets, nothing is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2025.
This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or career advice. Actual pay for a specific role, employer, or offer may differ from these national/state figures, consult a qualified career counselor, recruiter, or financial advisor before making decisions based on this data.