Craft and fine artists
Salary, job outlook, AI risk & career information
Craft and fine artists in the United States earn a median salary of $55,490 per year — about $27 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Roughly 52K people work in this occupation nationwide, with projected employment growth of 0%.
AI & Automation Risk
This occupation is a hybrid of physical craftsmanship and digital creation. While craft artists (potters, glassblowers) and sculptors have low exposure due to the physical nature of their work, digital artists and illustrators face very high exposure as AI can now generate high-quality imagery and complex designs from text prompts. The overall score reflects this split, as AI significantly impacts the commercial and digital segments of the field while leaving traditional physical mediums largely intact.
Salary by City — What You Actually Take Home
Real purchasing power = salary adjusted for cost of living. Higher = more money in your pocket.
| City | Local Salary | Cost of Living | Real Purchasing Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CABEST VALUE | $126,470 | Above avg (115.6) | $109,391 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $98,540 | Above avg (105.4) | $93,473 |
| Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | $72,400 | Below avg (84.8) | $85,412 |
| Naples-Marco Island, FL | $83,670 | Above avg (103.2) | $81,076 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $80,070 | Average (99.6) | $80,419 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $82,580 | Above avg (111.1) | $74,307 |
| Santa Fe, NM | $72,610 | Average (98.8) | $73,516 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $77,100 | Above avg (105.8) | $72,886 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $78,290 | Above avg (112.6) | $69,552 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $68,970 | Above avg (103.3) | $66,756 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $65,010 | Average (100.1) | $64,972 |
| Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | $70,570 | Above avg (109.4) | $64,493 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $62,860 | Average (98.1) | $64,100 |
| Richmond, VA | $62,000 | Average (97.9) | $63,357 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $65,520 | Above avg (104.5) | $62,706 |