Find a Job You Really Want In
Animators are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as animators in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since animators are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where animators have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for animators.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s animators:
So there you have it — Multimedia Artists And Animators is the best of the best when it comes to being an animator.
How did Multimedia Artists And Animators end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for animators and for more on the top ten states.
If youâre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- 20 Best Companies To Work For In Houston
- These Are The 10 Best Small Companies To Work For In McKinney
- Top 11 Best Start-Ups to Work For in Austin, TX
How we determined the best states to be an animator
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for animators in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well animators get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2016:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for animators in California is $82,680 and the average salary in Illinois is $63,830, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for animators in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for animators.
1. Texas
Total Jobs: 1,720
Average Annual Salary: $70,990
Average Entry Level Salary: $41,850
Average Experienced Salary: $106,360
Location Quotient: 0.69
2. Washington
Total Jobs: 1,800
Average Annual Salary: $76,130
Average Entry Level Salary: $42,290
Average Experienced Salary: $112,070
Location Quotient: 2.76
3. Louisiana
Total Jobs: 240
Average Annual Salary: $74,700
Average Entry Level Salary: $37,090
Average Experienced Salary: $121,210
Location Quotient: 0.58
4. Virginia
Total Jobs: 430
Average Annual Salary: $71,370
Average Entry Level Salary: $45,720
Average Experienced Salary: $110,170
Location Quotient: 0.54
5. Utah
Total Jobs: 210
Average Annual Salary: $67,060
Average Entry Level Salary: $33,100
Average Experienced Salary: $103,650
Location Quotient: 0.72
6. North Carolina
Total Jobs: 580
Average Annual Salary: $64,350
Average Entry Level Salary: $34,480
Average Experienced Salary: $108,070
Location Quotient: 0.65
7. Oregon
Total Jobs: 1,070
Average Annual Salary: $72,530
Average Entry Level Salary: $38,520
Average Experienced Salary: $130,890
Location Quotient: 2.82
8. Missouri
Total Jobs: 360
Average Annual Salary: $58,380
Average Entry Level Salary: $33,730
Average Experienced Salary: $87,960
Location Quotient: 0.61
9. Georgia
Total Jobs: 1,430
Average Annual Salary: $55,260
Average Entry Level Salary: $37,390
Average Experienced Salary: $78,680
Location Quotient: 1.6
10. Alabama
Total Jobs: 130
Average Annual Salary: $65,090
Average Entry Level Salary: $41,640
Average Experienced Salary: $95,810
Location Quotient: 0.32
There You Have It – The Best States To Be An Animator
If you’re looking to start out your career as an animator these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be an animator in America:
For more reading, check out:
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Austin
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Dallas
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Fort Worth
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Houston
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In San Antonio
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Texas
- These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Texas
Detailed List Of The Best States For animators
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | $70,990 |
| 2 | Washington | $76,130 |
| 3 | Louisiana | $74,700 |
| 4 | Virginia | $71,370 |
| 5 | Utah | $67,060 |
| 6 | North Carolina | $64,350 |
| 7 | Oregon | $72,530 |
| 8 | Missouri | $58,380 |
| 9 | Georgia | $55,260 |
| 10 | Alabama | $65,090 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $78,870 |
| 12 | Nevada | $62,680 |
| 13 | Illinois | $63,830 |
| 14 | Kentucky | $64,120 |
| 15 | New Mexico | $62,860 |
| 16 | California | $82,680 |
| 17 | Minnesota | $60,060 |
| 18 | Michigan | $56,880 |
| 19 | New Jersey | $73,410 |
| 20 | Massachusetts | $77,370 |
| 21 | Florida | $56,200 |
| 22 | Colorado | $61,150 |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | $61,520 |
| 24 | Ohio | $55,880 |
| 25 | Tennessee | $53,030 |
| 26 | New York | $73,310 |
| 27 | Arizona | $56,410 |
| 28 | Kansas | $52,170 |
| 29 | Indiana | $52,810 |
| 30 | New Hampshire | $64,440 |
| 31 | Wisconsin | $53,340 |
| 32 | Iowa | $51,800 |
| 33 | Oklahoma | $51,160 |
| 34 | Nebraska | $48,250 |
| 35 | Maryland | $62,860 |
| 36 | Montana | $46,560 |
| 37 | South Carolina | $45,080 |
| 38 | Arkansas | $44,680 |
| 39 | South Dakota | $38,570 |
| 40 | Maine | $51,100 |
| 41 | Hawaii | $62,740 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
