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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2022

27-1013 Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators

Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques.


National estimates for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
Industry profile for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
Geographic profile for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators

National estimates for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
12,080 13.4 % $ 33.59 $ 69,870 7.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 13.67 $ 18.63 $ 27.67 $ 40.11 $ 59.94
Annual Wage (2) $ 28,440 $ 38,760 $ 57,560 $ 83,440 $ 124,670


Industry profile for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers 3,670 5.95 $ 34.73 $ 72,230
Personal Care Services 880 0.12 $ 59.39 $ 123,540
Motion Picture and Video Industries 780 0.19 $ 39.38 $ 81,910
Software Publishers 550 0.09 $ 44.19 $ 91,920
Other Miscellaneous Retailers 540 0.11 $ 23.93 $ 49,770

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers 3,670 5.95 $ 34.73 $ 72,230
Performing Arts Companies 280 0.23 $ 26.67 $ 55,470
Specialized Design Services 340 0.22 $ 33.16 $ 68,970
Amusement Parks and Arcades 440 0.22 $ 17.84 $ 37,120
Motion Picture and Video Industries 780 0.19 $ 39.38 $ 81,910

Top paying industries for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Personal Care Services 880 0.12 $ 59.39 $ 123,540
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers 250 0.08 $ 45.01 $ 93,610
Employment Services 150 (7) $ 44.88 $ 93,350
Software Publishers 550 0.09 $ 44.19 $ 91,920
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 40 0.01 $ 40.71 $ 84,690


Geographic profile for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators, see the Create Customized Tables function.



Map of employment of fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators by state, May 2022


States with the highest employment level in Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 1,770 0.19 2.38 $ 62.48 $ 129,950
Texas 1,320 0.10 1.25 $ 23.21 $ 48,270
Florida 1,200 0.13 1.59 $ 22.71 $ 47,250
Washington 580 0.17 2.07 $ 39.28 $ 81,700
Ohio 440 0.08 1.01 $ 21.05 $ 43,780


Map of location quotient of fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators by state, May 2022


States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New Hampshire 160 0.24 2.92 (8) (8)
New York 1,770 0.19 2.38 $ 62.48 $ 129,950
Montana 90 0.19 2.36 (8) (8)
North Dakota 70 0.18 2.19 (8) (8)
New Mexico 140 0.17 2.10 $ 26.03 $ 54,150


Map of annual mean wages of fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators by state, May 2022


Top paying states for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 1,770 0.19 2.38 $ 62.48 $ 129,950
Washington 580 0.17 2.07 $ 39.28 $ 81,700
California (8) (8) (8) $ 38.26 $ 79,570
Illinois 260 0.04 0.55 $ 36.08 $ 75,050
New Jersey 150 0.04 0.45 $ 36.03 $ 74,940



Map of employment of fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 1,710 0.19 2.28 $ 62.79 $ 130,610
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 720 0.27 3.36 $ 21.64 $ 45,000
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 520 0.26 3.12 $ 40.05 $ 83,300
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 380 0.10 1.22 $ 24.02 $ 49,960
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 310 0.11 1.39 $ 33.21 $ 69,070
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 290 0.12 1.48 (8) (8)
Austin-Round Rock, TX 270 0.23 2.83 $ 30.02 $ 62,450
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 270 0.21 2.54 $ 22.66 $ 47,130
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 250 0.08 1.01 $ 21.22 $ 44,130
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 220 0.05 0.61 $ 34.75 $ 72,280


Map of location quotient of fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Santa Fe, NM 50 0.80 9.75 (8) (8)
Fargo, ND-MN 50 0.35 4.26 (8) (8)
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 720 0.27 3.36 $ 21.64 $ 45,000
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 520 0.26 3.12 $ 40.05 $ 83,300
Asheville, NC 50 0.25 3.12 $ 27.99 $ 58,210
Austin-Round Rock, TX 270 0.23 2.83 $ 30.02 $ 62,450
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 270 0.21 2.54 $ 22.66 $ 47,130
Albuquerque, NM 80 0.20 2.41 $ 19.73 $ 41,040
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 1,710 0.19 2.28 $ 62.79 $ 130,610
Madison, WI 70 0.19 2.27 $ 29.95 $ 62,300


Map of annual mean wages of fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators by area, May 2022


Top paying metropolitan areas for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 1,710 0.19 2.28 $ 62.79 $ 130,610
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 520 0.26 3.12 $ 40.05 $ 83,300
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (8) (8) (8) $ 36.20 $ 75,290
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 120 0.08 1.02 $ 35.40 $ 73,630
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 60 0.14 1.65 $ 34.96 $ 72,720
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 220 0.05 0.61 $ 34.75 $ 72,280
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 150 0.06 0.69 $ 33.60 $ 69,880
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 310 0.11 1.39 $ 33.21 $ 69,070
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 100 0.09 1.09 $ 32.43 $ 67,450
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 60 0.02 0.23 $ 30.86 $ 64,190

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
West Montana nonmetropolitan area 40 0.48 5.83 $ 18.70 $ 38,900
Hill Country Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 40 0.19 2.36 $ 20.97 $ 43,610

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
West Montana nonmetropolitan area 40 0.48 5.83 $ 18.70 $ 38,900
Hill Country Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 40 0.19 2.36 $ 20.97 $ 43,610

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Hill Country Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 40 0.19 2.36 $ 20.97 $ 43,610
West Montana nonmetropolitan area 40 0.48 5.83 $ 18.70 $ 38,900


About May 2022 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.

(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.

(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 2022 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 25, 2023