Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators earn an average annual salary of $156,295, making it one of the higher-paying occupations. While facing some shifts, the field is adapting to changes in the job market. Professionals in this field are primarily employed in industries such as Cross-industry and Cross-industry, Private Ownership only.
Key Statistics
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators workforce.
Employment Over Time
1,760 Workforce in 2023
The Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$156,295 Average Wage
In 2023, Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators earned an average of $156,295.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Salary distribution for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Employment Growth Projections
3.6% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
7,980 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 19.5%
9,535 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 42.7%
This occupation is projected to grow at 3.6% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Wage Trends by Industry
39.3% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: -9.2% growth (Current: $174,817)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 1,580 employees, $162,849 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 1,280 employees, $174,817 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 130 employees, $125,708 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 90 employees, $113,940 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 80 employees, $86,728 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Diversity
Demographic information on Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators in 2023 was 1,760 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators in 2023 were Business Administration, Visual Arts, Fine Arts.
Common majors for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators workers.
Education level distribution for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Skills
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators need many skills, but most especially Active Learning, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Judgment and Decision Making, Speaking.
Required skills for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators include Design, Computers and Electronics, English Language, Production and Processing, Fine Arts.
Knowledge areas required for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators include Originality, Fluency of Ideas, Visualization, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Visual Color Discrimination.
Required abilities for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Daily Activities
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators spend their time on activities such as Thinking Creatively, Getting Information, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships.
Most important work activities for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
About
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
The average yearly wage for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators was $156,295 in 2023.
SOC Code
27-1013 - Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
Insights and Analysis
High earnings profile: Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators reports an average salary of $156,295, placing it among stronger-paying occupations.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 1,760 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 3.6%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.