Salaries / Special Effects Artists And Animators
Special Effects Artists And Animators H-1B salaries
Auto-summary H-1B filings: DOL disclosure data SOC 27-1014
Employers filed 221 certified H-1B applications for special effects artists and animators (July 2025 to June 2026), from 94 employers.
Nationally, the middle half of offers were $95,000 to $159,500, with a median of $127,500.
By city
Metro areas with at least 25 filings. Areas with 100 or more have their own page.
| Metro area | Filings | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 75 | $107,500 | $130,500 | $152,500 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 31 | $151,000 | $197,000 | $202,500 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 30 | $85,000 | $112,500 | $151,000 |
Wage levels
| Level | Share of filings (US) |
|---|---|
| Level I (entry) | 18% |
| Level II (qualified) | 35% |
| Level III (experienced) | 21% |
| Level IV (fully competent) | 26% |
Top sponsors nationally
| Employer | H-1B filings | Median offer | Green card filings (PERM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Corporation | 17 | $176,500 | 12 |
| Apple Inc. | 16 | $183,000 | 2 |
| Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. | 14 | $120,000 | 14 |
| Electronic Arts Inc. | 12 | $147,500 | 5 |
| Snap Inc. | 12 | $152,500 | 21 |
| TT Commerce & Global Services LLC | 11 | $190,000 | — |
| Activision Publishing Inc | 10 | $121,000 | 13 |
| Electronic Arts - Tiburon, a Florida Corporation | 7 | $110,000 | 2 |
| LNW Gaming, Inc. | 6 | $100,000 | — |
| Framestore, Inc | 5 | $97,000 | — |
| Tencent America LLC | 5 | $161,500 | 4 |
| Rockstar San Diego, Inc. | 4 | $95,500 | 5 |
| Naughty Dog a limited liability company | 3 | $110,000 | 4 |
| 2K Games, Inc. | 3 | $158,000 | — |
| SciPlay Games, LLC | 3 | $75,500 | — |
| ProbablyMonsters Inc. | 3 | $89,500 | — |
| Certain Affinity, Inc. | 3 | $100,000 | — |
| Zynga, Inc. | 2 | $115,000 | 2 |
| Rockstar New England, Inc. | 2 | $106,500 | 3 |
| Visual Concepts Entertainment | 2 | $85,000 | 3 |
Common titles filed under this occupation: Product Design, Senior Technical Artist, Technical Artist, Human Interface Designer, Interactive Engineer, Animator, Motion Designer, Senior Character Artist, Development Manager, Product Designer.
Offers from certified Labor Condition Applications (Certified H-1B LCAs decided July 2025 to June 2026); base pay only, annualized. Source: DOL disclosure data. Not legal or financial advice.