Start with the answer
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators pay in Michigan and Oregon
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators is $38,650 per year in Michigan. It is $98,540 per year in Oregon. Michigan is 60.8% below Oregon on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 27-1013 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 220 wage and salary jobs in Michigan and Not published in Oregon. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings