Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $77K, rent takes 41.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $2,044/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,500/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators typically earn — is $51K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,072/month.

Local pay is 39% above the national median — $77K here vs. $55K nationally.

Denver-Aurora-Centennial pays $77K median vs. the U.S. average of $55K — that’s +39%.

The median is $77,100 a year, that works out to about $37 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $51,200, and experienced fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators can clear $132,690. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,936/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $2,044/month, which eats 41.4% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Denver-Aurora-Centennial has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators salary is worth about $77,100 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.