アニメーター salaryaverage ¥4.98M · percentiles · top pay · projected pay in 10 years

Japan IT & Software Confidence ★★★☆☆

Average annual pay
¥4.98M
≈ $31,653
Top pay (est.)
¥8.39M
Top 10% ¥7.25M
Pay in 5 years
¥5.45Mest.
2031
Pay in 10 years
¥5.96Mest.
¥5.13M–¥6.92M
Outlook score
39/100
★★☆☆☆ Below average
AI replacement risk
58%
Moderate
Labor demand
Low
Openings-to-applicants 0.86x

アニメーター salary

The average annual pay for アニメーター in Japan is ¥4.98M (≈ $31,653; Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2025), national). The estimated median is ¥4.63M, the typical range is ¥3.46M–¥8.39M and the top 10% earn about ¥7.25M.

Average pay
¥4.98M
≈ $31,653
Median (est.)
¥4.63M
≈ $29,444
Low end (est.)
¥3.46M
Entry level, early 20s
Top 10% (est.)
¥7.25M
≈ $46,105
Top pay (est.)
¥8.39M
≈ $53,355
Hourly wage
¥2,317
2.0× the national minimum wage (¥1,177)
Advertised monthly wage
¥271,000
vs. last year +¥8,000

How does your pay compare with people your age?

Your numbers are not sent or stored. The distribution is estimated from Japan's national wage statistics, including pay differences by age.

Pay by ageest.

20s
¥3.84M
30s
¥4.54M
40s
¥5.14M
50s
¥5.68M

Estimated from the average pay and average age (41.6) using the age-wage curve of the Basic Survey on Wage Structure.

Pay by experienceest.

Entry level
¥3.73M
1–3 yrs
¥4.15M
3–5 yrs
¥4.56M
5–10 yrs
¥5.10M
10+ yrs
¥5.72M

Pay by employment typeest.

Full-time employee ¥4.98MPart-time ¥2.09MFreelance / self-employed ¥5.23MContract / temp ¥3.88M

The average hourly wage of ¥2,317 is 2.0× Japan's national average minimum wage of ¥1,177 (fiscal 2026). Minimum wage by prefecture →

Japanese pay is shown in yen (¥5.57M = 5.57 million yen ≈ 557万円). Dollar figures use the current rate of 157.25 yen per dollar and are for reference only; purchasing power differs.

Pay over time

YearAverage payEmploymentOpenings ratio
2021¥4.63M——
2022¥4.62M——
2023¥4.62M—0.92x
2024¥4.42M—0.89x
2025¥4.98M—0.86x

How median, percentiles and the pay range are defined →

Projected pay for アニメーター (3, 5 and 10 years)est.

Today ¥4.98M → in 3 years ¥5.25M → in 5 years ¥5.45M → in 10 years ¥5.96M (10-year range ¥5.13M–¥6.92M). The model assumes pay growth of +1.8% per year.

¥4.98M
Now
2026
¥5.25M
In 3 yrs
2029
¥4.85M–¥5.72M
¥5.45M
In 5 yrs
2031
¥4.91M–¥6.07M
¥5.96M
In 10 yrs
2036
¥5.13M–¥6.92M

What drives the annual growth rate

Base wage growth +1.8%Labor demand -0.17%Wage momentum +0.43%AI impact -0.24%Total +1.8% / yr

Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (the job-openings-to-applicants ratio), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →

The same job in the United States

アニメーター
Japan
Special Effects Artists and Animators
United States
Median / average pay¥4.98M
≈ $31,653
$102,030
Pay in 10 years (est.)¥5.96M$130,800
Outlook score3955
AI replacement risk58% Moderate59% Moderate
Workers—20K

Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.

Pay and employment figures are national statistics. Projected pay, outlook scores and AI replacement risk are estimates from the Shigoto Zukan model, not guarantees. To request a correction, use the contact form. How to read the data
Sources: Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2025), Population Census and Hello Work employment statistics as published on the MHLW job tag site (retrieved Nov 1, 2026); Occupational Information Database (JILPT). Pay ranges, projections and scores are Shigoto Zukan estimates.