Oil painters in Delaware earned an average hourly wage of $64.08 or about $133,280 per year.
Oil painters use oil paints to create portraits, landscapes and other paintings for display in galleries and for sale to a wide range of buyers. These fine artists typically receive training in an art or design school or are sometimes self-taught. The Bureau of Labor Statistics includes oil painters in the broader category of "fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators," so salaries for oil painters may be slightly different than those reported here.
National Averages
There were approximately 8,900 fine artists employed in 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These workers had a national average wage of about $24.34 per hour or about $50,630 per year. Fine artists in the middle 50 percent of earners made about $21.23 per hour or $44,160 per year, while those in the upper 25th percentile of earners made about $30.86 per hour or $64,180 per year.
Most Common Sectors
The "independent artists, writers and performers" sector of the industry employed the highest number of fine artists in 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The estimated 2,850 artists employed in the sector earned an average wage of about $22.16 an hour or $46,080 a year. Fine artists employed in the second-most common sector, "motion picture and video industries," had an average wage of about $38 an hour or $79,040 per year.
Highest-Paying Sectors
Fine artists and oil painters employed in the "scientific research and development services" sector earned the highest average wages of all sectors in 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The estimated 60 artists employed in the sector had average hourly wages of $38.48 or about $80,040 per year. The "motion picture and video industries" sector had the second-highest paying salaries, while fine artists employed in the "architectural, engineering and related services" sector had the third-highest average salaries, making about $33.85 per hour or $70,410 per year.
Geographic Differences
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that fine artists in Delaware, California, Connecticut, Michigan and Indiana had the highest average wages out of artists in all states in 2009. Artists and painters in Delaware, the state with the highest average wages, earned an average hourly wage of $64.08 or about $133,280 per year. This was significantly higher than the state with the second-highest average wages, California, where fine artists earned an average of $33.12 per hour or $68,900 per year.
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