Expert Multimedia Artist salary in San Jose, CA

Based on 32 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level IV in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Santa Clara.

Also listed as: Technical Artist, Concept Artist

Median salary$197,205
Middle 50%$189.3k–$212k
vs. all levels here+12%comparison median $176,717
Filings32FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $176,717 and $299,518.
PercentileSalary
10th$176,717
25th$189,275
50th (median)$197,205
75th$212,000
90th$248,500

Salary by year

Median salary

$110k $165k $220k FY2020: median $123,600 (23 filings) FY2021: median $160,000 (20 filings) FY2022: median $172,000 (21 filings) FY2023: median $184,814 (20 filings) FY2024: median $190,000 (17 filings) FY2025: median $195,500 (21 filings) FY2026: median $202,500 (11 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 23 filings FY20 FY2021: 20 filings FY21 FY2022: 21 filings FY22 FY2023: 20 filings FY23 FY2024: 17 filings FY24 FY2025: 21 filings FY25 FY2026: 11 filings FY26 23
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$123,600$106,538$197,91023
FY2021$160,000$120,122$197,50020
FY2022$172,000$139,000$187,82821
FY2023$184,814$163,288$218,50020
FY2024$190,000$170,700$210,00017
FY2025$195,500$176,717$207,80021
FY2026$202,500$197,205$221,00011

Cost of living

San Jose's median expert Multimedia Artist salary of $197,205 is worth about $178,600 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; San Jose = 110.4).

Compared with all workers here

All Multimedia Artists and Animators in the San Jose, CA area earned a median of $156,950 in May 2025 (510 employed). The H-1B median here is $197,205, 26% higher.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Apple$196,35320
ByteDancetoo few6
TikToktoo few4

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I too few 5
Mid-level · Level II $150,550 12
Senior · Level III too few 7
Expert · Level IV $197,205 32

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Mid-level · Level II$137,904$150,55012
Expert · Level IV$176,717$197,20532

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.