Best Cities for Special Effects Artists and Animatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where special effects artists and animatorss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.28	$156,950	$130,574	24%
2	WashingtonState	1.22	$133,480	$124,399	17%
3	CaliforniaState	1.16	$130,540	$117,922	21%
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.15	$134,120	$117,340	20%
5	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.05	$124,590	$106,944	22%
6	NevadaState	0.95	$97,350	$97,156	18%
7	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.94	$92,340	$96,388	20%
8	MichiganState	0.92	$86,630	$93,857	15%
9	North CarolinaState	0.92	$88,350	$93,591	18%
10	TennesseeState	0.89	$83,080	$90,798	18%
11	ArizonaState	0.87	$89,650	$88,850	20%
12	UtahState	0.86	$88,210	$88,034	20%
13	ColoradoState	0.85	$91,290	$86,613	24%
14	GeorgiaState	0.85	$81,390	$87,141	21%
15	New YorkState	0.84	$96,770	$86,018	23%
16	FloridaState	0.83	$85,870	$84,601	24%
17	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.83	$90,050	$85,113	22%
18	IllinoisState	0.82	$81,180	$83,347	19%
19	IndianaState	0.81	$75,250	$83,149	17%
20	TexasState	0.81	$78,930	$82,563	21%
21	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.81	$92,760	$82,234	26%
22	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.80	$79,390	$81,677	24%
23	Rhode IslandState	0.78	$80,040	$79,642	23%
24	MarylandState	0.77	$85,830	$78,599	23%
25	VirginiaState	0.77	$81,510	$78,754	23%
26	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.77	$76,110	$78,626	25%
27	OklahomaState	0.74	$66,980	$75,684	17%
28	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.74	$69,820	$75,237	22%
29	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.74	$74,140	$75,269	28%
30	MassachusettsState	0.73	$80,640	$74,323	34%
31	OhioState	0.73	$67,000	$74,115	19%
32	PennsylvaniaState	0.73	$71,760	$73,979	22%
33	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.73	$76,770	$74,174	25%
34	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.73	$69,300	$74,919	20%
35	MissouriState	0.72	$65,470	$73,894	19%
36	West VirginiaState	0.71	$60,940	$72,375	17%
37	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.70	$80,640	$71,048	38%
38	WisconsinState	0.69	$64,890	$70,303	20%
39	KansasState	0.68	$62,720	$69,689	20%
40	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.67	$74,520	$68,682	33%
41	MinnesotaState	0.65	$64,990	$66,316	24%
42	New MexicoState	0.58	$54,000	$58,696	23%
43	KentuckyState	0.56	$50,970	$57,593	23%
44	NebraskaState	0.54	$50,830	$55,552	25%
45	IowaState	0.52	$47,530	$53,285	24%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).