Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

27-1014 Special Effects Artists and Animators

Create special effects or animations using film, video, computers, or other electronic tools and media for use in products, such as computer games, movies, music videos, and commercials.


National estimates for Special Effects Artists and Animators
Industry profile for Special Effects Artists and Animators
Geographic profile for Special Effects Artists and Animators

National estimates for Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
29,940 5.8 % $ 52.71 $ 109,630 1.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 27.45 $ 34.41 $ 47.63 $ 64.13 $ 81.53
Annual Wage (2) $ 57,090 $ 71,570 $ 99,060 $ 133,400 $ 169,580


Industry profile for Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Special Effects Artists and Animators are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Special Effects Artists and Animators, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Motion Picture and Video Industries 12,280 3.04 $ 59.87 $ 124,520
Software Publishers 4,360 0.67 $ 59.37 $ 123,480
Computer Systems Design and Related Services 3,910 0.15 $ 42.09 $ 87,550
Specialized Design Services 740 0.48 $ 42.08 $ 87,520
Amusement Parks and Arcades 670 0.30 $ 33.01 $ 68,650

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Motion Picture and Video Industries 12,280 3.04 $ 59.87 $ 124,520
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers 510 0.79 $ 53.00 $ 110,240
Software Publishers 4,360 0.67 $ 59.37 $ 123,480
Specialized Design Services 740 0.48 $ 42.08 $ 87,520
Amusement Parks and Arcades 670 0.30 $ 33.01 $ 68,650

Top paying industries for Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing 30 0.01 $ 71.87 $ 149,480
Telecommunications (8) (8) $ 61.59 $ 128,120
Motion Picture and Video Industries 12,280 3.04 $ 59.87 $ 124,520
Software Publishers 4,360 0.67 $ 59.37 $ 123,480
Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services 220 0.05 $ 59.32 $ 123,380


Geographic profile for Special Effects Artists and Animators:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Special Effects Artists and Animators are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Special Effects Artists and Animators, see the Create Customized Tables function.



Map of employment of special effects artists and animators by state, May 2023


States with the highest employment level in Special Effects Artists and Animators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 13,470 0.75 3.81 $ 64.24 $ 133,610
Washington 2,490 0.71 3.61 $ 55.72 $ 115,890
New York 1,950 0.21 1.05 $ 55.61 $ 115,670
Texas 1,870 0.14 0.70 $ 42.70 $ 88,810
Florida 1,690 0.18 0.90 $ 34.70 $ 72,180


Map of location quotient of special effects artists and animators by state, May 2023


States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Special Effects Artists and Animators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 13,470 0.75 3.81 $ 64.24 $ 133,610
Washington 2,490 0.71 3.61 $ 55.72 $ 115,890
Georgia 1,570 0.33 1.67 $ 36.95 $ 76,850
Oklahoma 450 0.27 1.36 $ 28.44 $ 59,150
Nevada 390 0.26 1.33 $ 44.27 $ 92,080


Map of annual mean wages of special effects artists and animators by state, May 2023


Top paying states for Special Effects Artists and Animators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 13,470 0.75 3.81 $ 64.24 $ 133,610
Washington 2,490 0.71 3.61 $ 55.72 $ 115,890
New York 1,950 0.21 1.05 $ 55.61 $ 115,670
Maryland 390 0.15 0.74 $ 45.51 $ 94,650
Oregon 360 0.19 0.95 $ 45.12 $ 93,840



Map of employment of special effects artists and animators by area, May 2023


Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 10,340 1.67 8.48 $ 64.91 $ 135,010
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 2,230 1.07 5.44 $ 56.49 $ 117,500
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 2,080 0.22 1.11 $ 58.91 $ 122,530
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 1,950 0.80 4.08 $ 63.92 $ 132,960
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 1,290 0.46 2.32 $ 37.65 $ 78,310
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 930 0.68 3.44 $ 33.73 $ 70,150
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 650 0.16 0.83 $ 39.88 $ 82,950
Austin-Round Rock, TX 480 0.39 1.96 $ 44.08 $ 91,680
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 440 0.39 1.96 $ 73.00 $ 151,840
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 370 0.13 0.68 $ 42.74 $ 88,900


Map of location quotient of special effects artists and animators by area, May 2023


Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 10,340 1.67 8.48 $ 64.91 $ 135,010
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 2,230 1.07 5.44 $ 56.49 $ 117,500
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 1,950 0.80 4.08 $ 63.92 $ 132,960
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 930 0.68 3.44 $ 33.73 $ 70,150
Morgantown, WV 30 0.51 2.58 $ 26.82 $ 55,780
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 1,290 0.46 2.32 $ 37.65 $ 78,310
Austin-Round Rock, TX 480 0.39 1.96 $ 44.08 $ 91,680
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 440 0.39 1.96 $ 73.00 $ 151,840
Reno, NV 70 0.29 1.47 $ 45.56 $ 94,760
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 290 0.27 1.37 $ 43.87 $ 91,250


Map of annual mean wages of special effects artists and animators by area, May 2023


Top paying metropolitan areas for Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 440 0.39 1.96 $ 73.00 $ 151,840
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 10,340 1.67 8.48 $ 64.91 $ 135,010
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 1,950 0.80 4.08 $ 63.92 $ 132,960
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 2,080 0.22 1.11 $ 58.91 $ 122,530
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 2,230 1.07 5.44 $ 56.49 $ 117,500
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 130 0.12 0.61 $ 49.10 $ 102,120
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 170 0.11 0.56 $ 47.79 $ 99,410
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 50 0.05 0.24 $ 47.55 $ 98,900
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 70 0.04 0.21 $ 45.90 $ 95,460
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 250 0.08 0.41 $ 45.73 $ 95,120


About May 2023 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2023 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2023 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2023 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 3, 2024