Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

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)
20,430	9.9 %	$ 41.45	$ 86,220	7.0 %

Percentile wage estimates for Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 22.12	$ 29.47	$ 37.88	$ 49.36	$ 63.16
Annual Wage (2)	$ 46,000	$ 61,300	$ 78,790	$ 102,660	$ 131,370

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	6,580	2.09	$ 42.53	$ 88,470
Software Publishers	2,930	0.56	$ 46.47	$ 96,660
Computer Systems Design and Related Services	2,660	0.12	$ 38.71	$ 80,510
Specialized Design Services	1,270	0.94	$ 42.13	$ 87,640
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services	1,210	0.28	$ 43.57	$ 90,620

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	6,580	2.09	$ 42.53	$ 88,470
Specialized Design Services	1,270	0.94	$ 42.13	$ 87,640
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers	290	0.63	$ 33.59	$ 69,860
Software Publishers	2,930	0.56	$ 46.47	$ 96,660
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services	1,210	0.28	$ 43.57	$ 90,620

Top paying industries for Special Effects Artists and Animators:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Other Information Services	840	0.23	$ 52.72	$ 109,650
Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	(8)	(8)	$ 51.27	$ 106,650
Employment Services	230	0.01	$ 49.13	$ 102,200
Scientific Research and Development Services	150	0.02	$ 49.09	$ 102,120
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services	(8)	(8)	$ 48.51	$ 100,900

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 2021

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	7,800	0.47	3.25	$ 47.84	$ 99,510
Washington	2,210	0.69	4.75	$ 46.57	$ 96,860
Georgia	1,800	0.41	2.84	$ 34.62	$ 72,020
New York	1,200	0.14	0.95	$ 46.49	$ 96,690
Florida	1,110	0.13	0.89	$ 30.38	$ 63,190

Map of location quotient of special effects artists and animators by state, May 2021

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)
Washington	2,210	0.69	4.75	$ 46.57	$ 96,860
California	7,800	0.47	3.25	$ 47.84	$ 99,510
Georgia	1,800	0.41	2.84	$ 34.62	$ 72,020
Nevada	240	0.18	1.26	$ 40.87	$ 85,010
Connecticut	290	0.18	1.25	$ 57.77	$ 120,150

Map of annual mean wages of special effects artists and animators by state, May 2021

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)
Connecticut	290	0.18	1.25	$ 57.77	$ 120,150
California	7,800	0.47	3.25	$ 47.84	$ 99,510
Washington	2,210	0.69	4.75	$ 46.57	$ 96,860
New York	1,200	0.14	0.95	$ 46.49	$ 96,690
District of Columbia	40	0.06	0.38	$ 46.10	$ 95,890

Map of employment of special effects artists and animators by area, May 2021

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	4,880	0.85	5.89	$ 45.67	$ 94,990
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	1,950	1.02	7.03	$ 47.06	$ 97,880
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	1,450	0.56	3.87	$ 35.65	$ 74,140
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	1,340	0.15	1.06	$ 45.73	$ 95,110
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	1,310	0.58	4.02	$ 57.23	$ 119,040
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	600	0.56	3.88	$ 54.29	$ 112,930
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	330	0.28	1.95	$ 32.22	$ 67,030
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	320	0.13	0.90	$ 29.70	$ 61,770
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	310	0.09	0.59	$ 31.73	$ 65,990
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	260	0.18	1.27	$ 42.47	$ 88,340

Map of location quotient of special effects artists and animators by area, May 2021

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)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	1,950	1.02	7.03	$ 47.06	$ 97,880
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	4,880	0.85	5.89	$ 45.67	$ 94,990
Charlottesville, VA	90	0.82	5.64	$ 30.25	$ 62,930
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	1,310	0.58	4.02	$ 57.23	$ 119,040
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT	220	0.58	3.98	(8)	(8)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	600	0.56	3.88	$ 54.29	$ 112,930
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	1,450	0.56	3.87	$ 35.65	$ 74,140
Savannah, GA	80	0.45	3.07	$ 31.82	$ 66,190
Reno, NV	80	0.33	2.27	$ 42.76	$ 88,940
Ann Arbor, MI	60	0.29	2.01	$ 33.60	$ 69,890

Map of annual mean wages of special effects artists and animators by area, May 2021

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 Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	1,310	0.58	4.02	$ 57.23	$ 119,040
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	600	0.56	3.88	$ 54.29	$ 112,930
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	230	0.20	1.40	$ 48.12	$ 100,100
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	1,950	1.02	7.03	$ 47.06	$ 97,880
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	1,340	0.15	1.06	$ 45.73	$ 95,110
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	4,880	0.85	5.89	$ 45.67	$ 94,990
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	240	0.08	0.56	$ 43.66	$ 90,810
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	70	0.05	0.34	$ 42.95	$ 89,340
Reno, NV	80	0.33	2.27	$ 42.76	$ 88,940
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	260	0.18	1.27	$ 42.47	$ 88,340

About May 2021 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 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022