Average animation major salary

Updated September 14, 2023

$62,105

$36,00010%

$62,105Median

$104,00090%

What is the average animation major salary in the US?

Animation major graduates in America make, on average, $62,105 a year or $29.86 per hour.There is a huge gap between the top 10 percent earners and the bottom 10 percent earners -- about $68,000. The top 10 percent earn over $104,000, while the bottom 10 percent make less than $36,000 annually.technology companies and professional companies have the most job opportunities for animation major graduates.The top 5 states when it comes to salaries for animation major graduates are California, Nevada, Washington, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Best paying cities

$81,627

$75,169

$74,649

Average animation salary by company

Animation major graduates report their job security as good. But just as in every field, some employers pay higher wages than others.technology companies and professional companies tend to have the highest concentration of employment for animation major graduates.Meta and Google are the highest paying companies.Companies like School of Visual Concepts and Immersion also report very competitive wages for animation major graduates.

Average salary by company

Rank	Company	Zippia score	Average animation salary
1	1.Meta	4.8	$131,437
2	2.Google	4.8	$122,190
3	3.School of Visual Concepts	4.3	$106,564
4	4.Immersion	4.5	$104,600
5	5.WayForward	3.0	$97,223
6	6.College for Creative Studies	4.3	$95,574
7	7.Conviva	4.8	$91,688
8	8.Champlain College	3.8	$91,225
9	9.Vicarious	4.1	$88,807
10	10.PlayStation	4.8	$84,852
11	11.Academy of Art University	4.1	$83,624
12	12.Raven Software	3.4	$83,453
13	13.Sony Pictures Imageworks	4.1	$82,290
14	14.Rockstar Games	4.5	$82,105
15	15.2k	4.0	$81,800
16	16.Bungie	3.9	$81,779
17	17.Electronic Arts	4.8	$81,439
18	18.Ringling College of Art and Design	4.2	$81,404
19	19.ArenaNet	4.0	$81,172
20	20.Digital Domain	4.7	$81,164

Average animation major salary by city

Animation major graduates in the US make an average salary of $62,105 per year or $29.86 per hour.San Francisco, CA reports the highest salaries for animation major graduates at $81,627 per year.The average entry-level salary in San Francisco, CA is $44,000.Other cities that offer high paying job opportunities for animation majors are Washington, DC, Des Moines, WA, Las Vegas, NV, New York, NY, Baltimore, MD, and Portland, OR.The top 5 states with the highest reported salaries for animation major graduates are California, Nevada, Washington, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.The lowest earning states are Montana, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina.

Average salary by location

Rank	City	Average animation salary	Salary range
1	San Francisco, CA	$81,627	$40k $111k
2	Washington, DC	$75,169	$40k $111k
3	Des Moines, WA	$74,649	$40k $111k
4	Las Vegas, NV	$73,908	$40k $111k
5	New York, NY	$70,122	$40k $111k
6	Baltimore, MD	$66,558	$40k $111k
7	Portland, OR	$64,680	$40k $111k
8	Arlington, VA	$64,504	$40k $111k
9	Philadelphia, PA	$60,735	$40k $111k
10	Portland, ME	$60,183	$40k $111k
11	Detroit, MI	$60,110	$40k $111k
12	Boston, MA	$59,760	$40k $111k
13	Chicago, IL	$58,257	$40k $111k
14	Phoenix, AZ	$57,696	$40k $111k
15	Raleigh, NC	$57,225	$40k $111k
16	Salt Lake City, UT	$56,238	$40k $111k
17	Denver, CO	$55,271	$40k $111k
18	Richmond, IN	$54,400	$40k $111k
19	Des Moines, IA	$54,191	$40k $111k
20	Kansas City, KS	$53,995	$40k $111k

Average animation major salary by state

The darker areas on the map show where animation majors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average salary

Animation major average salary by state

State	Average animation major salary	Average hourly rate
California	$75,202	$36.15
Nevada	$74,536	$35.83
Washington	$74,094	$35.62
Rhode Island	$72,185	$34.70
Connecticut	$70,905	$34.09
New York	$70,097	$33.70
Delaware	$68,741	$33.05
New Hampshire	$68,250	$32.81
Maryland	$66,299	$31.87
New Jersey	$65,254	$31.37
Oregon	$65,141	$31.32
Virginia	$62,948	$30.26
Pennsylvania	$60,301	$28.99
Massachusetts	$59,883	$28.79
West Virginia	$59,843	$28.77
Michigan	$59,769	$28.74
Maine	$59,465	$28.59
Idaho	$59,425	$28.57
Alaska	$58,582	$28.16
Illinois	$58,013	$27.89
Arizona	$57,452	$27.62
Utah	$56,520	$27.17
North Dakota	$56,363	$27.10
North Carolina	$56,159	$27.00
Vermont	$55,536	$26.70
New Mexico	$55,430	$26.65
Colorado	$55,317	$26.59
Iowa	$54,672	$26.28
Wisconsin	$54,143	$26.03
Kansas	$54,110	$26.01
Indiana	$53,954	$25.94
Texas	$52,655	$25.31
Tennessee	$52,154	$25.07
Kentucky	$51,708	$24.86
Ohio	$51,128	$24.58
Arkansas	$51,031	$24.53
Minnesota	$51,004	$24.52
Wyoming	$50,339	$24.20
Hawaii	$49,176	$23.64
Florida	$49,155	$23.63
Georgia	$47,564	$22.87
Missouri	$47,260	$22.72
Nebraska	$47,164	$22.68
Oklahoma	$46,588	$22.40
Montana	$46,544	$22.38
Mississippi	$45,615	$21.93
Alabama	$45,493	$21.87
Louisiana	$44,355	$21.32
South Carolina	$43,297	$20.82
South Dakota	$41,450	$19.93

Highest paying jobs for animation majors

Rank	Job title	Average salary	Open jobs
1	Internist	$223,415	31,659
2	Senior Designer	$102,058	47,503
3	Product Designer	$102,032	98,465
4	Software Engineer	$100,259	339,938
5	Interactive Designer	$97,929	48,136
6	Level Designer	$96,455	45,696
7	User Experience Designer	$91,159	52,582
8	Storyboard Artist	$90,053	3,757
9	Visual Designer	$86,494	46,815
10	Concept Artist	$85,713	3,596
11	Senior Artist	$83,393	3,665
12	Lead Artist	$83,041	4,799
13	User Interaction Designer	$82,651	54,146
14	Visual Artist	$81,872	7,209
15	Animator	$76,852	551
16	3D Modeler	$75,946	1,245
17	3D Artist	$74,720	3,978
18	Senior Graphic Designer	$73,921	46,310
19	Analyst	$73,007	253,138
20	Digital Designer	$72,987	61,109

Average animation major salary by industry

Animation major salaries can vary depending on the industry.Our analysis shows that technology companies, media companies, and professional companies pay higher-than-average wages for animation major graduates.technology companies pay animation major graduates the highest wages, averaging $67,997 per year. Media companies and professional companies pay well too, at $62,744 and $60,419, respectively.The types of companies that pay animation majors the least are in the retail industry, where the average annual salary is $47,926.

Average salary by industry

Rank	Industry	Average animation major salary	Range
1	Technology	$67,997	$34k $89k
2	Media	$62,744	$34k $89k
3	Professional	$60,419	$34k $89k
4	Manufacturing	$54,657	$34k $89k
5	Finance	$54,058	$34k $89k
6	Education	$51,802	$34k $89k
7	Retail	$47,926	$34k $89k

Salary history for animation major graduates

This data shows the national average salary between 2011-2020 among Animation major graduates.

Animation major salary by experience level

Average salary by experience level salaries by experience level

The salary for an animation major graduate can range from $35,819 to $77,648 depending on the amount of work experience that the person has. Data on how experience level affects salary is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as part of their National Compensation Survey, which is based on factors such as knowledge, complexity, contacts, and environment.

Experience level	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
Entry-level average salary by experience level	$35,800	$17.22
Mid-level average salary by experience level	$50,100	$24.11
Senior-level average salary by experience level	$77,600	$37.33

Salaries for related majors

Rank	Major	Average salary	Range
1	Communications Technology	$68,783	$35k $88k
2	Graphic Communications	$54,134	$35k $88k
3	Audiovisual Communications Technologies	$49,835	$35k $88k