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Special Effects Artist Salary in the United States

How much does a Special Effects Artist make in the United States? The salary range for a Special Effects Artist job is from $32,852 to $39,861 per year in the United States. Click on the filter to check out Special Effects Artist job salaries by hourly, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly, and yearly.

Average base salary
updated at April 01, 2025
$36,286
Per Year
The average salary for a Special Effects Artist is $36,286
per Year in the United States.
Individually reported data submitted by users of our website

HOW SHOULD YOU USE THIS DATA?

Employees: Use this as a guide for salary expectations, but be aware that responsibilities can change across companies for the same job title, so there may be differences between this data, other free site and our subscription products bought by employers.

Employers: This data could be used as reference point in your market pricing, but not the only source, due to differences across jobs locations, and sizes of companies.Consider additional sources like our Employer reported data.

Base Salary
$32,852
$36,286
Medium
$39,861

Highest Paying Cities for Special Effects Artist in the United States

Special Effects Artist salaries in the United States will pay differently by cities. Below following are the eight cities with the highest income for Special Effects Artist jobs in the United States. The city with the highest salary is San Jose. Click on the Special Effects Artist salary in cities you are interested in to view detailed job salary information.

States with Higher Salaries for Special Effects Artist

The five states where Special Effects Artist jobs get higher salaries in the United States are: District of Columbia, California, Massachusetts, Washington, and New Jersey. Compared with the average salary of a Special Effects Artist in the United States, the state of District of Columbia with the highest job income for this job. The second and third states are California and Massachusetts respectively. The high or low salary paid to Special Effects Artist by the US has a greater relationship with the demand for jobs and the cost of living.

How Much Do Similar Professions Get Paid in the United States?

There are some different titles for Special Effects Artist jobs, and the job title of Special Effects Artist will vary in different companies. The job title has a lot to do with the department and responsibilities, and the same job title will vary in different departments. The following list is the salary of jobs similar to Special Effects Artist, start to view Special Effects Artist-related jobs you are interested in.
Special Effects Makeup Artist
Average salary
United States
$59,628
per Year
Effects Artist
Average salary
United States
$103,286
per Year
Special Effects Designer
Average salary
United States
$69,953
per Year
Special Effects Technician
Average salary
United States
$55,427
per Year
Visual Effects Artist
Average salary
United States
$62,312
per Year
3D Production Artist - Retail Visualization Special
Average salary
United States
$59,721
per Year

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What Does a Special Effects Artist Do?

; the latter is used to characterize post-production and optical work, while "special effects" refers more often to on-set and mechanical effects.

December 21, 2021

Practical special effects are optical enhancements — extreme weather simulations, explosions, miniature model displays and creature makeup, for example — that are physically created on set and filmed in-camera during production.

December 19, 2021

Special effects artists are employed by special effects companies, scene shops, and theater companies.

December 17, 2021

(whose climax, a sword battle with seven animated skeletons, is considered a landmark in special effects).

December 17, 2021

Some special-effects experts, such as Stewart, get their feet wet in the industry as production assistants.

December 17, 2021

Most Common Benefits for Special Effects Artist

Social Security
Healthcare
401(k)
Pension
Disability
Time Off (days)

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about salaries for a Special Effects Artist
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; the latter is used to characterize post-production and optical work, while "special effects" refers more often to on-set and mechanical effects.
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Explore our personal salary report to know the Special Effects Artist market value in the United States. And find out if any places are having a higher Special Effects Artist salary.
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The highest Special Effects Artist salary is $39,861, while the lowest is $32,852 in the United States.
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