Special Effects Artists and Animators · SOC 27-1014

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Special Effects Artists and Animatorss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for special effects artists and animators. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (7 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 41 metro areas

Special Effects Artists and Animators: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$156,950	510	0.4
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$136,770	1,440	0.6
3	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$134,120	1,030	0.5
4	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$124,590	4,650	0.7
5	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$122,880	70	0.1
6	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$118,750	100	0.1
7	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	$109,320	Not published	Not published
8	Reno, NV	$105,240	90	0.3
9	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$101,730	170	0.2
10	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$96,760	1,560	0.2
11	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$96,670	150	0.1
12	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$95,420	40	0.0
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$92,760	290	0.1
14	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$92,340	Not published	Not published
15	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$91,290	140	0.1
16	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$91,150	960	0.7
17	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$90,050	90	0.1
18	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$87,300	260	0.2
19	Ann Arbor, MI	$83,530	50	0.2
20	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$83,200	550	0.1
21	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$82,570	Not published	Not published
22	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$80,640	Not published	Not published
23	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$80,040	Not published	Not published
24	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$79,390	Not published	Not published
25	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$79,360	100	0.1

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Special Effects Artists and Animators overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.