What animation studios actually pay.
Self-reported Union vs non-union animators
+$45,790/yr
That's how much more union animators report earning on average ($129,040/yr, n=20) than non-union animators ($83,249/yr, n=99).
Self-reported US entries, mostly 2022–2023. Unverified; small union sample.
Pick your role
- BG Painterfloor $64.94/hr
- Animatorfloor $64.94/hr
- Character Designerfloor $64.94/hr
- Director~$130,000/yr
- Editorfrom $66.40/hr
- Layoutfloor $64.94/hr
- Lighting~$100,000/yr
- Production Assistantfrom $25.00/hr
- Production Coordinatorfrom $27.35/hr
- Production Managerfrom $42.00/hr
- Storyboard Artistfloor $65.55/hr
- Visdev Artist~$126,850/yr
Or pick a studio
- Bento Box$32.97/hr
- Cartoon Network$30.00/hr
- DreamWorks$32.83/hr
- Netflix$33.00/hr
- Nickelodeon$27.35/hr
- Sony Animation$62.58/hr
- Titmouse$32.50/hr
- Disney Animation$32.00/hr
- WB Animation$30.00/hr
Good to know
- Official minimum is the legal floor from a union contract. Posted range is printed in a live job ad. Self-reported is what people say they earn.
- We never mix the three. Anything with fewer than 3 data points is marked low sample.
- Who pays best? Read the analysis · How we get the numbers
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