Average designer salary
$66,347
$31.9 hourly rate
Entry-level designer salary
$45,000 yearly salary
Updated March 14, 2024
How much does a designer make?
The average designer salary in the United States is $66,347. Designer salaries typically range between $45,000 and $97,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for designers is $31.9 per hour. Designer salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Designers earn the highest average salary in Washington.
On This Page
Where can a Designer earn more?
Compare salary by location
Vs
130k
110k
90k
70k
50k
30k
Washington$100,293
Bentonville, AR$59,763
Compare salary by company
161k
141k
121k
101k
81k
Meta$133,918
Parsons$110,957
Designer salary by experience level
A designer with 0-2 years of experience earns an average entry-level salary of $41,455. A mid-career designer with 3-6 years of experience makes $66,347 a year on average. A senior level designer with 7-12 years of experience enjoys an average annual salary of $90,605.
| Experience Level | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level designer | $41,500 | $19.93 |
| Mid-level designer | $58,100 | $27.94 |
| Senior-level designer | $90,600 | $43.56 |
Designer salary estimates from across the web
Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert and Comparably, the average salary for a designer typically falls between $66,026 and $131,189.
Average designer salary by state
The highest-paying states for designers are Washington, Hawaii, and Oregon. The lowest average designer salary states are Mississippi, Florida, and New Mexico.
- State View
- County View
Average Salary:
Highest paying states for designers
| Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $99,369 | $47.77 |
| 2 | Oregon | $78,743 | $37.86 |
| 3 | Michigan | $72,577 | $34.89 |
| 4 | California | $78,588 | $37.78 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $72,503 | $34.86 |
| 6 | Hawaii | $91,918 | $44.19 |
| 7 | New York | $71,938 | $34.59 |
| 8 | District of Columbia | $76,268 | $36.67 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | $69,048 | $33.20 |
| 10 | New Jersey | $73,316 | $35.25 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | $65,749 | $31.61 |
| 12 | New Hampshire | $65,770 | $31.62 |
| 13 | Virginia | $68,696 | $33.03 |
| 14 | Illinois | $67,158 | $32.29 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | $64,756 | $31.13 |
| 16 | Ohio | $66,438 | $31.94 |
| 17 | West Virginia | $69,982 | $33.65 |
| 18 | Colorado | $66,047 | $31.75 |
| 19 | Iowa | $63,136 | $30.35 |
| 20 | North Carolina | $62,679 | $30.13 |
| 21 | Connecticut | $64,816 | $31.16 |
| 22 | Georgia | $61,142 | $29.40 |
| 23 | Indiana | $63,474 | $30.52 |
| 24 | Utah | $60,426 | $29.05 |
| 25 | Maryland | $65,838 | $31.65 |
| 26 | Delaware | $64,250 | $30.89 |
| 27 | Texas | $61,594 | $29.61 |
| 28 | Minnesota | $62,553 | $30.07 |
| 29 | Alaska | $65,827 | $31.65 |
| 30 | Idaho | $61,600 | $29.62 |
| 31 | Wyoming | $58,326 | $28.04 |
| 32 | Tennessee | $59,511 | $28.61 |
| 33 | Arizona | $60,131 | $28.91 |
| 34 | Kentucky | $60,447 | $29.06 |
| 35 | Nevada | $60,410 | $29.04 |
| 36 | Vermont | $58,861 | $28.30 |
| 37 | Arkansas | $59,520 | $28.62 |
| 38 | Alabama | $58,516 | $28.13 |
| 39 | Maine | $55,050 | $26.47 |
| 40 | South Carolina | $58,652 | $28.20 |
| 41 | Missouri | $56,905 | $27.36 |
| 42 | Kansas | $55,979 | $26.91 |
| 43 | Nebraska | $56,062 | $26.95 |
| 44 | Florida | $53,951 | $25.94 |
| 45 | North Dakota | $54,839 | $26.36 |
| 46 | Louisiana | $56,175 | $27.01 |
| 47 | Montana | $47,772 | $22.97 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $54,564 | $26.23 |
| 49 | New Mexico | $50,993 | $24.52 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $48,017 | $23.09 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $43,912 | $21.11 |
Top designer jobs near you
Highest paying cities for designers
The highest-paying cities for designers are Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA, and Beaverton, OR.
| Rank | City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle, WA | $100,293 | $48.22 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $87,012 | $41.83 |
| 3 | Beaverton, OR | $78,360 | $37.67 |
| 4 | Washington, DC | $76,275 | $36.67 |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $72,469 | $34.84 |
| 6 | New York, NY | $71,993 | $34.61 |
| 7 | Philadelphia, PA | $69,186 | $33.26 |
| 8 | Chicago, IL | $67,341 | $32.38 |
| 9 | Columbus, OH | $66,275 | $31.86 |
| 10 | Baltimore, MD | $66,000 | $31.73 |
| 11 | Denver, CO | $65,994 | $31.73 |
| 12 | New Haven, CT | $64,916 | $31.21 |
| 13 | Greenville, NC | $63,542 | $30.55 |
| 14 | Indianapolis, IN | $63,396 | $30.48 |
| 15 | Minneapolis, MN | $62,538 | $30.07 |
| 16 | San Antonio, TX | $62,137 | $29.87 |
| 17 | Alpharetta, GA | $61,744 | $29.68 |
| 18 | Salt Lake City, UT | $60,281 | $28.98 |
| 19 | Phoenix, AZ | $60,218 | $28.95 |
| 20 | Bentonville, AR | $59,763 | $28.73 |
Designers are the most in-demand in these five cities:
Designer salary details
A designer's salary ranges from $45,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $97,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a designer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $97,000 | $8,083 | $47 |
| 75th Percentile | $81,000 | $6,750 | $39 |
| Average | $66,347 | $5,529 | $32 |
| 25th Percentile | $54,000 | $4,500 | $26 |
| 10th Percentile | $45,000 | $3,750 | $22 |
Highest paying designer jobs
The highest paying types of designers are lead designer, senior designer, and product designer.
| Job Title | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphic Designer/Production | $48,619 | $4,052 | $23.37 | 95,831 |
| Graphic Designer, Marketing | $48,763 | $4,064 | $23.44 | 115,113 |
| Graphic Designer Internship | $35,800 | $2,983 | $17.21 | 93,292 |
| Motion Graphics Designer | $62,558 | $5,213 | $30.08 | 44,960 |
| User Experience Designer | $91,159 | $7,597 | $43.83 | 52,582 |
| Interactive Designer | $97,929 | $8,161 | $47.08 | 48,136 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for Designers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Abby Guido
Assistant Professor, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University
Designers can be well-compensated for their work. Some design areas are more lucrative than others, which tend to be the jobs in digital design. These jobs include user-experience design, experiential design, interactive design, motion design, and all AR and VR design positions.
Top companies hiring designers now:
Which companies pay designers the most?
Designer salaries at Meta and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average designer salary at companies like Microsoft and PayPal are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $133,918 | $64.38 |
| 2 | $131,910 | $63.42 | |
| 3 | Microsoft | $130,454 | $62.72 |
| 4 | PayPal | $123,862 | $59.55 |
| 5 | Airbnb | $121,657 | $58.49 |
| 6 | Varian Medical Systems | $120,429 | $57.90 |
| 7 | Practice Fusion | $120,303 | $57.84 |
| 8 | Apple | $117,807 | $56.64 |
| 9 | eBay | $117,648 | $56.56 |
| 10 | Dropbox | $117,460 | $56.47 |
| 11 | $115,656 | $55.60 | |
| 12 | American Tower | $115,300 | $55.43 |
| 13 | Thumbtack | $114,741 | $55.16 |
| 14 | MUFG EMEA | $114,455 | $55.03 |
| 15 | Yahoo | $114,285 | $54.94 |
| 16 | Edelman Financial Engines | $113,391 | $54.51 |
| 17 | Squarespace | $112,831 | $54.25 |
| 18 | SAP | $112,276 | $53.98 |
| 19 | Circle Internet Financial | $111,907 | $53.80 |
| 20 | Parsons | $110,957 | $53.34 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
$68,000$67,000$66,000$65,000$64,000$63,000
MaleFemale
Designer salary by industry
The average designer salary varies across industries:
- The average designer salary in the technology industry is $87,754, the highest of any industry.
- The average designer salary in the finance industry is $77,606.
- Designers in the professional industry earn an average salary of $65,070, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for designers
| Rank | Industry | Average Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $87,754 | $42.19 |
| 2 | Finance | $77,606 | $37.31 |
| 3 | Manufacturing | $72,109 | $34.67 |
| 4 | Retail | $70,584 | $33.93 |
| 5 | Media | $66,290 | $31.87 |
| 6 | Professional | $65,070 | $31.28 |
High Paying Designer Jobs
Designer salary trends
The average designer salary has risen by $11,646 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average designer earned $54,701 annually, but today, they earn $66,347 a year. That works out to a 12% change in pay for designers over the last decade.
Compare designer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average designer salary over time
Compare designer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Designer salary by year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $66,300 | $31.90 | +2.4% |
| 2023 | $64,800 | $31.14 | +3.3% |
| 2022 | $62,600 | $30.10 | +3.3% |
| 2021 | $60,500 | $29.10 | +2.2% |
| 2020 | $59,200 | $28.47 | +1.6% |
Show more
Recently added designer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date Added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tata Consultancy Services Limited | Designer | Irving, TX | 12/01/2023 | $86,861 |
| Microsoft Corporation | Designer | Redmond, WA | 10/03/2023 | $147,250 |
| Perkins & Will, Inc. | Designer III | Seattle, WA | 10/03/2023 | $79,082 |
| Landdesign, Inc. | Designer | Alexandria, VA | 10/03/2023 | $50,274 |
| Landdesign, Inc. | Designer | Dallas, TX | 10/03/2023 | $90,000 |
| Tata Consultancy Services Limited | Designer | Indianapolis, IN | 10/03/2023 | $78,915 |
| Atelier Ten USA, LLC | Designer | New York, NY | 10/03/2023 | $70,000 |
| Architecture for Education, Inc. | Designer | Pasadena, CA | 10/03/2023 | $65,000 |
| Deborah Wecselman Design, Inc. | Designer | Miami, FL | 10/03/2023 | $60,000 |
| Efficiency Lab for Architecture PLLC | Designer | New York, NY | 10/02/2023 | $65,000 |
Show more
Designer salary FAQs
What state pays Designers the most?
How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a Designer?
Have more questions?
See all answers to common arts, entertainment, sports, and media questions.Search for designer jobs
Designer Related Salaries
- Assistant Designer Salary
- Associate Designer Salary
- Graphic Designer Salary
- Graphic Designer Internship Salary
- Graphic Designer, Marketing Salary
- Graphic Designer/Production Salary
- Industrial Designer Salary
- Interactive Designer Salary
- Interior Designer Salary
- Junior Designer Salary
- Lead Designer Salary
- Motion Graphics Designer Salary
- Product Designer Salary
- Production Designer Salary
- Project Designer Salary
Designer Related Careers
Designer Related Jobs
What Similar Roles Do
- What Does an Assistant Designer Do
- What Does an Associate Designer Do
- What Does a Graphic Designer Do
- What Does a Graphic Designer Internship Do
- What Does a Graphic Designer, Marketing Do
- What Does a Graphic Designer/Production Do
- What Does an Industrial Designer Do
- What Does an Interactive Designer Do
- What Does an Interior Designer Do
- What Does a Junior Designer Do
- What Does a Lead Designer Do
- What Does a Motion Graphics Designer Do
- What Does a Product Designer Do
- What Does a Production Designer Do
- What Does a Project Designer Do
Updated March 14, 2024
