What Are The Best States With The Best Pay For Animators and Multimedia Artists? (2024)

Animators create animation and visual effects for films, video games, television, mobile devices, and other forms of media using illustrations and software programs. Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere, Autodesk3ds Max, and Autodesk Maya are just a few leading software programs for animators. Animators also create graphics and develop storyboards, drawings and illustrations. They create, plan, and script animated narrative sequences, and assist with background design and production coordination.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) combines multimedia artists and animators into one career group. According to the Bureau, “multimedia artists and animators often work in a specific medium. Some focus on creating animated movies or video games. Others create visual effects for movies and television shows. Creating computer-generated images (CGI) may include taking images of an actor’s movements, which are then animated into three-dimensional characters. Other animators design scenery or backgrounds for locations.”

According to the BLS, animators and multimedia artists work in the following industries:

• Motion Picture and Video
• Computer Systems Design and Related Services
• Software Publishers
• Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services
• Specialized Design Services

The BLS also mentions that 57 percent of animators were self-employed in 2012. This is the most current figure for self-employed animators. These professionals, not just the self-employed, often work from home. Others work onsite at film, animation or video game production studios, cartoon networks, advertising agencies, web design and graphic design firms, mobile technology companies, and more.

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According to the most current Bureau of Labor Statistics report (March 25, 2015), the mean annual wage for multimedia artists and animators is $69,410. The lowest paid multimedia artists and animators earn $35,510 per year and the highest paid earn $112,030 per year. At $81,760, multimedia artists and animators working in the “Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers” industry earn the highest mean annual wage.

It is important to keep in mind that besides industry, salaries for multimedia artist and animators vary company, experience, and even geographic location. For example, California-based multimedia artists and animators average $82,170 per year—the nations’ highest average salary for this profession, while Arkansas-based artists average $36,390—the lowest.

The highest paying states for multimedia artists and animators are as follows:

1. California - $82,170 per year
2. Washington- $75,740
3. Massachusetts - $73,470
4. New York - $70,660
5. Idaho - $69,450
6. District of Columbia - $69,140
7. Illinois - $68,830
8. Alabama - $67,260
9. Maryland - $65,790
10. New Jersey - $64,100
11. Colorado - $63,440

The lowest paying states are:

1. Kansas - $47,710 per year
2. Wisconsin - $45,980
3. Indiana - $45,970
4. Oklahoma - $42,830
5. Mississippi - $39,390
6. Nebraska - $38,870
7. South Dakota - $37,980
8. Arkansas - $36,390

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Awesome Animation Fact: In 1957, ORTRAN, a computer language, was developed, which in turn permitted designers to utilize the graphic capabilities of the computer. That same year, Hanna-Barbera (creators of Yogi Bear, The Jetsons, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, Flinstones, and more) was formed as well as The Association Internationale du Film d'Animation (ASIFA), France. –Bowling Green State University (BGSU)