Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators · SOC 27-1013
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators Salary in the Buffalo Metro Area
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area
Figures describe the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Buffalo city limits.
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area earned a median of $55,020 per year ($26.45 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $39,430 at the 10th percentile to $71,170 at the 90th. BLS estimates 60 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators in the Buffalo metro area earn more than $55,020 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $45,840 and $65,250.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $39,430 | $45,840 | $55,020 | $65,250 | $71,170 |
| Hourly | $18.96 | $22.04 | $26.45 | $31.37 | $34.22 |
A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.
How this area compares
- Buffalo metro areathis metro area$55,020 median for Buffalo metro area; middle half earns $45,840 to $65,250
- New Yorkstate (NY)$78,870 median for New York; middle half earns $62,780 to $119,990
- United Statesnational$55,490 median for United States; middle half earns $37,560 to $83,200
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is −30% vs New York overall and −1% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Where this metro sits nationally
Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.
The Buffalo metro area has the 26th-highest published median for this occupation among the 41 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
Other metro areas in New York
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Buffalo metro areathis page$55,020 median for Buffalo metro area; middle half earns $45,840 to $65,250
- $80,070 median for Albany metro area; middle half earns $62,780 to $122,510
- $78,290 median for New York metro area; middle half earns $55,490 to $105,160
- $70,570 median for Kiryas Joel metro area; middle half earns $64,570 to $110,560
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
Keep exploring
Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:
Highest-paying metro areas for fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustratorss · Highest-paying occupations in Buffalo Metro
About this estimate
These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.
Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.
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.