SOC 27-1014 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Special Effects Artists and Animators — Colorado
Colorado · 1 metro areas compared
The median wage for Special Effects Artists and Animators in Colorado is $91,290 per year, 10.5% below the national median of $102,030.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to grow more slowly than average
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- +1.6%
- Openings per year
- 5,000
- Typical entry-level education
- Bachelor's degree
Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.
61.5% of people in this occupation work for themselves.
Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Colorado.
Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.
Salary overview
The median wage for Special Effects Artists and Animators in Colorado is $91,290 per year, 10.5% below the national median of $102,030. Pay ranges from under $57,350 at the tenth percentile to more than $124,990 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $77,570 to $105,120.
The area has 210 jobs in this occupation, which works out to 0.1 of every thousand jobs. Among the 31 states with published data for this occupation, Colorado ranks 5th by median wage. Denver leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $91,290. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 166th of 738 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $57,350 | −43.8% |
| 25th | $77,570 | −24.0% |
| Median (50th) | $91,290 | −10.5% |
| 75th | $105,120 | +3.0% |
| 90th | $124,990 | +22.5% |
| Mean | $93,080 | −8.8% |
Highest-paying metro areas in Colorado
| # | Metro area | Median | Jobs | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver | $91,290 | 140 |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Colorado run 3.1% above the national average, so the median of $91,290 buys what $88,545 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 13.2% below the national median in real terms.
Published median
$91,290as reported by BLSLocal price level
103.1US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$88,545US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $91,290 a year, 10.5% below the national median.
- Published pay spans $57,350 to $124,990 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 210 jobs in this occupation.
- It ranks 5th of 31 states for this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is Denver, at $91,290.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Special Effects Artists and Animators in Colorado?
The median annual wage is $91,290, or $43.89 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.
Is that higher than the national average?
The national median for this occupation is $102,030, so pay in Colorado is 10.5% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.
What do the top earners make?
The top tenth of this occupation in Colorado earns more than $124,990 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $57,350 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.
Which area nearby pays the most?
The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Denver, at $91,290 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 210 jobs in this occupation in Colorado. Self-employed workers are not included.
Source and methodology
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.
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