Highest-paying Cities for Multimedia Artists and Animators

The top 100 highest paying cities for multimedia artists and animators (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of multimedia artists and animators in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $132,800, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California is the highest paying city for multimedia artists and animators. It is followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California (average annual salary $130,000). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of multimedia artists and animators in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Multimedia Artists and Animators

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$132,800	$81,760	670
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$130,000	$64,980	14,410
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$126,030	$81,200	2,480
4	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$114,510	$63,050	30
5	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$113,300	$67,810	70
6	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$108,340	$68,980	460
7	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$108,200	$41,020	70
8	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$107,680	$61,380	50
9	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$98,520	$73,580	90
10	Reno-Sparks, Nevada	$98,030	$63,140	80
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$92,870	$62,150	3,140
12	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$92,280	$58,200	310
13	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$90,980	$55,160	100
14	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$90,510	$54,550	1,540
15	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$89,060	$53,860	1,310
16	Lake County-Kenosha County, Wisconsin	$87,210	$43,300	40
17	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$86,930	$35,230	50
18	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$84,890	$43,060	300
19	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Missouri	$84,620	$29,390	40
20	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$83,320	$69,920	70
21	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$83,250	$50,820	310
22	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$82,920	$43,560	40
23	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$82,590	$43,680	1,740
24	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$82,570	$46,260	690
25	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$81,310	$57,610	50
26	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$81,110	$42,580	6,180
27	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$80,920	$49,820	80
28	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$80,510	$52,670	90
29	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$80,190	$52,450	220
30	North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida	$79,910	$43,600	40
31	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$79,810	$41,330	6,400
32	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$79,410	$55,890	40
33	Camden, New Jersey	$78,830	$36,410	30
34	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$78,740	$49,660	410
35	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$78,470	$51,140	40
36	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$77,550	$63,540	720
37	St Louis, Missouri	$74,710	$47,110	40
38	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$74,710	$59,280	60
39	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$74,550	$57,580	130
40	Boise City-Nampa, Idaho	$74,350	$43,960	30
41	Boulder, Colorado	$74,100	$50,110	80
42	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$74,090	$43,740	60
43	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$73,720	$58,510	100
44	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$73,680	$45,160	480
45	Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina	$73,560	$42,470	160
46	Richmond, Virginia	$71,930	$49,170	30
47	Framingham, Massachusetts	$70,850	$52,520	80
48	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$70,600	$44,080	30
49	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$70,460	$46,390	200
50	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$70,400	$44,850	690
51	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$70,070	$44,370	90
52	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$70,040	$42,670	100
53	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$69,990	$57,530	910
54	Charlottesville, Virginia	$69,940	$52,830	90
55	Spokane, Washington	$69,810	$54,770	40
56	Rockford, Illinois	$69,750	$46,880	n/a
57	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$69,650	$51,210	30
58	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$69,400	$46,090	140
59	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$69,310	$48,000	360
60	Wilmington, New Jersey	$68,610	$49,240	30
61	Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana	$68,550	$34,500	n/a
62	Worcester, Massachusetts	$68,500	$39,040	40
63	Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado	$68,410	$42,780	n/a
64	Ann Arbor, Michigan	$67,800	$55,000	60
65	Eugene-Springfield, Oregon	$67,790	$21,940	70
66	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$66,800	$40,510	80
67	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$66,530	$43,310	40
68	Nashua, New Hampshire	$66,360	$36,560	n/a
69	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$66,260	$40,470	2,170
70	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$66,170	$40,390	100
71	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$65,480	$38,920	40
72	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$65,290	$43,910	40
73	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$65,110	$44,980	90
74	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$65,040	$44,490	810
75	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$64,950	$47,570	790
76	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$64,590	$16,610	40
77	Huntsville, Alabama	$62,990	$62,940	40
78	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$62,160	$39,530	n/a
79	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$62,130	$35,260	130
80	Jackson, Mississippi	$62,020	$35,000	30
81	Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Florida	$61,280	$45,860	100
82	Ogden-Clearfield, Utah	$61,070	$38,050	40
83	Sierra Vista-Douglas, Arizona	$60,930	$45,740	n/a
84	Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan	$60,790	$39,450	170
85	Tucson, Arizona	$60,180	$39,420	30
86	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Florida	$59,980	$41,920	50
87	Salt Lake City, Utah	$59,090	$31,480	140
88	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$59,050	$47,910	830
89	Jacksonville, Florida	$58,380	$39,770	70
90	Springfield, Massachusetts	$57,850	$35,080	30
91	Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama	$57,790	$30,170	60
92	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	$57,210	$33,810	30
93	Honolulu, Hawaii	$57,130	$29,240	50
94	Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$57,050	$33,960	40
95	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$56,980	$28,370	760
96	Savannah, Georgia	$56,750	$44,450	80
97	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$56,730	$34,900	30
98	Madison, Wisconsin	$56,630	$30,150	80
99	Columbus, Ohio	$56,420	$43,760	410
100	Dayton, Ohio	$56,410	$40,080	40

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for multimedia artists and animators.