How Much Does a Film Editor Make in 2025?

How Much Does a Film Editor Make in 2025?

Film editors are responsible for editing videos from raw footage into final cuts, such as a feature film, movies, or television episode, to realize the director's vision.

They arrange scenes, takes, and materials to form an effective narrative, creating motion graphics, completing color corrections, putting special effects, and mixing audio and sound effects. As required by producers or clients, they encode final videos into the desired length and format.

Film editors are proficient in using film production and video editing software, such adobe premiere, final cut pro, and other specialized tools and editing techniques.

Below is an overview of the salary for film editors, including pay ranges, averages, and factors that affect their wages.

What is the Film Editor Salary?

As of July 8, 2025, the average salary of film editors in the United States is $60,300 per year and $29 per hour, with rates ranging from $21 to $34.

2025 Film Editor Average Salary: $60,300 per year ($29 per hour)

Meanwhile, the average weekly and monthly salaries for film editors are $1,160 and $5,025, respectively.

What is the Pay Range for a Film Editor?

According to Salary.com report, the salary range for film editors starts at $43,679 and can reach as high as $70,999 per year, with most earning between $51,600 and $65,900. The pay range is affected by factors like education, level of experience, and location.

Film Editor Salary Range: $43,679 to $70,999 per year ($21 to $34 per hour)

Percentile By Hour By Week By Month By Year
10th Percentile $21 $840 $3,640 $43,679
25th Percentile $25 $992 $4,300 $51,600
50th Percentile (Median) $29 $1,160 $5,025 $60,300
75th Percentile $32 $1,267 $5,492 $65,900
90th Percentile $34 $1,365 $5,917 $70,999

Film Editor Salary Factors

Experience level, place of work, and skills are important factors that can affect the pay for most film editors. Here are the effects of these factors:

Years of Experience

The pay for the workers in the film industry, such as film editors, increases as the experience level advances. An entry-level film editor earns $57,673. A senior film editor gets paid $60,725, while an expert level with over 8 years of experience gets paid $63,278 on average.

Levels Years of Experience Average Salary per Year
Entry Level Film Editor <1 $57,673
Intermediate Level Film Editor 1–2 $57,912
Senior Level Film Editor 2–4 $60,725
Specialist Level Film Editor 5–8 $63,107
Expert Level Film Editor 8+ $63,278

Place of Work

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, film editors working in motion picture and video industries earn up to 26% more than those working in professional, scientific, and technical services in 2024.

Place of Work Median Annual Salary
Motion Picture and Video Industries $76,950
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services $61,140

Skill Set

Film editors with more acquired skills get higher pay. Data from Salary.com's Real-time Job Posting Salary Data Report suggests that content development skills can give the highest pay increase of 7.36%, followed by copyediting skills with 6.78%.

Some important skills with higher salary increase also include writing styles guides, project coordination, content management system, and content marketing.

Skill Demand Salary Increase
Content Development 6.12% +7.36%
Copyediting 1.81% +6.78%
Writing Style Guides 18.25% +6.72%
Project Coordination 1.71% +6.55%
Content Management System 21.66% +6.42%
Content Marketing 1.71% +6.39%

Film Editor Salary by City and State

The salary of film editors varies for each state and city in United States. This is because geographic location affects pay through the local economy, cost of living, and industry presence.

Highest Paying States for Film Editor

Based on Salary.com’s salary data, the District of Columbia offers the highest average pay for film editors in the United States, at $66,800 per year.

  • District of Columbia: $66,800 (or $32 per hour)
  • California: $66,500 (or $32 per hour)
  • Massachusetts: $65,600 (or $32 per hour)
  • New Jersey: $65,400 (or $31 per hour)
  • Washington: $65,400 (or $31 per hour)

Film Editor Salary by State

State Average Annual Salary
Alaska$65,300
Alabama$55,400
Arkansas$54,500
Arizona$58,800
California$66,500
Colorado$61,500
Connecticut$64,500
District of Columbia$66,800
Delaware$61,100
Florida$57,100
Georgia$58,200
Hawaii$63,000
Iowa$57,700
Idaho$56,300
Illinois$61,500
Indiana$57,900
Kansas$57,400
Kentucky$56,800
Louisiana$57,400
Massachusetts$65,600
Maryland$62,200
Maine$58,800
Michigan$59,400
Minnesota$61,700
Missouri$57,300
Mississippi$53,800
Montana$57,000
North Carolina$57,300
North Dakota$59,600
Nebraska$56,800
New Hampshire$61,000
New Jersey$65,400
New Mexico$55,900
Nevada$59,700
New York$64,100
Ohio$58,700
Oklahoma$55,800
Oregon$61,300
Pennsylvania$60,000
Rhode Island$62,500
South Carolina$56,500
South Dakota$54,800
Tennessee$56,400
Texas$58,800
Utah$57,800
Virginia$60,700
Vermont$59,200
Washington$65,400
Wisconsin$59,300
West Virginia$54,300
Wyoming$57,800

Highest Paying Cities for Film Editor

Salary.com also reported that the city of San Jose, California is the highest-paying city for film editors with $76,100 per year or $37 per hour.

  • San Jose, California: $76,100 (or $37 per hour)
  • San Francisco, California: $75,300 (or $36 per hour)
  • Oakland, California: $73,700 (or $35 per hour)
  • New York, New York: $69,900 (or $34 per hour)
  • Queens Village, New York: $69,400 (or $33 per hour)

Ways to Increase Your Salary as a Film Editor

A career path in film editing usually requires a bachelor's degree in fields related to film, broadcasting, or arts and communications. Attending a film school immerses editors in visual effects, cinematography, screenwriting, visual story-telling, and general film theory.

Here is a rundown of significant ways they can raise their pay:

  • Enhancing more skills. According to BLS, some of the important qualities a film editor must possess are communication skills, computer skills, creative decision-making, detail-oriented, hand-eye coordination, physical stamina, and visual skills.
  • Getting certification. Film editors can demonstrate their competence in different kinds of editing software through certifications offered by software vendors.
  • Gaining more experience. Working long hours is typical for film editors, as it helps them solidify their experience and build their networks. When enough experience is earned in editing jobs, film editors can express their creativity and leadership more through supervising their own projects, increasing their earning potential.
  • Accessing high-paying industries. For film and video editors, these are some of the highest paying workplaces:
    1. Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services
    2. Agents and managers for public figures
    3. Employment services
    4. Motion picture and video industries
    5. Software publishers

Average National Salaries by Source

As of July 8, 2025, the following are the reported salaries for film editors from five top salary-reporting sites, averaging $72,110.80 (unweighted) across these sources.

SALARY.COM AVG. SALARY

$60,300/year

TALENT.COM AVG. SALARY

$82,590 /year

GLASSDOOR AVG. SALARY

$79,136 /year

COMPARABLY AVG. SALARY

$72,620 /year

ZIPRECRUITER AVG. SALARY

$65,728 /year

Jul 08, 2025

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