The Datum Report

Occupation 3411 · Associate professional occupations

Artists

Artists create artistic works using appropriate techniques, materials and media; design artwork and illustrations; and restore damaged pieces of art.

How people enter it

No specific academic qualifications are required although a variety of vocational qualifications, degrees and postgraduate courses are available. Entry can be based upon portfolio work.

What the work involves

Also called

Animator (hand drawn) · Artist · Illustrator · Portrait painter · Sculptor

What it pays

MeasureHoursBasisPeriodValueSource
3411 : Artists None None 2026-03 55,500.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3411 : Artists None None 2026-03 58,300.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3411 : Artists None None 2026-03 63,700.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3411 : Artists None None 2026-03 800.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3411 : Artists None None 2026-03 5,400.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3411 : Artists None None 2026-03 64,500.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3411 : Artists None None 2026-03 2,800.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)

Every regional figure

ONS does not publish occupational pay below region. Cells the survey could not support are shown as withheld, with its reason — adding a region split to a specific occupation leaves roughly a tenth of cells publishable.

RegionMeasureHoursValuePeriod
East 3411 : Artists None 4,500.00 2026-03
East Midlands 3411 : Artists None 4,700.00 2026-03
London 3411 : Artists None 8,800.00 2026-03
North East 3411 : Artists None 2,200.00 2026-03
North West 3411 : Artists None 9,000.00 2026-03
Northern Ireland 3411 : Artists None 800.00 2026-03
Scotland 3411 : Artists None 5,400.00 2026-03
South East 3411 : Artists None 8,500.00 2026-03
South West 3411 : Artists None 7,600.00 2026-03
Wales 3411 : Artists None 2,800.00 2026-03
West Midlands 3411 : Artists None 7,700.00 2026-03
Yorkshire and The Humber 3411 : Artists None 2,500.00 2026-03

Common questions

Does pay for artists vary by region?

ONS publishes regional pay for this occupation where the survey sample supports it — 12 of 12 cells on this page. The rest are withheld by ONS, and are shown as withheld with the reason, rather than left out.

Where do these pay figures come from?

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, published by the Office for National Statistics. Figures are shown exactly as ONS publishes them — we do not adjust, model or fill them in, and every number on this page carries the series and period it came from.

Classified alongside this

Actors, entertainers and presenters · Arts officers, producers and directors · Authors, writers and translators · Dancers and choreographers · Musicians · Photographers, audio-visual and broadcasting equipment operators