SOC 27-1014 · Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations · May 2025

How much do Special Effects Artists and Animators make in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Special Effects Artists and Animators in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is $134,120. The 10th percentile is $65,380 and the 90th percentile is $210,350. Employment is 1,030.

Median annual wage

$134,120

10th percentile
$65,380
25th percentile
$103,030
Median
$134,120
75th percentile
$178,970
90th percentile
$210,350
Mean
$143,790

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

A scientist working at a laboratory bench
A scientist in a laboratory. Photograph by Mark Shwartz, Stanford ENERGY. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5

Percentile spread

For Special Effects Artists and Animators, the published 10th percentile is $65,380 and the 90th percentile is $210,350. The difference is $144,970, which is 108.1% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $103,030 to the 75th at $178,970, covers $75,940.

The mean annual wage is $143,790, which sits above the median of $134,120. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA median is 31.5% higher than the national median of $102,030 for Special Effects Artists and Animators. In 2024 national prices the local median is $120,684, which is 18.3% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 0.5% higher than the Washington median of $133,480.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is 111.133, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $134,120 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Special Effects Artists and Animators at $120,684 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

No other metropolitan area within 200 miles has a published annual median for Special Effects Artists and Animators in the May 2025 tables. A wage from farther away is not filled in. When a wage is not published.

Employment share

Special Effects Artists and Animators accounts for 0.05% of wage-and-salary employment in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (1,030 of 2,086,210). Nationally the occupation is 0.01% of employment (19,970 of 155,495,730). The local share is 3.84 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.

Highest-paying jobs in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · Special Effects Artists and Animators by metro · How to read these percentiles · Median and mean · When a wage is not published · How the figures are made · Compare this wage after prices

Questions this page answers

How much do Special Effects Artists and Animators make in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Special Effects Artists and Animators in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is $134,120. The 10th percentile is $65,380 and the 90th percentile is $210,350. Employment is 1,030.

How does that compare with the national median for Special Effects Artists and Animators?

The local median is 31.5% higher than the national median of $102,030.

What is Special Effects Artists and Animators pay in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA after local prices?

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is 111.133, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $134,120 is $120,684. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.