upper level job

Hourly Wage for Art Designer II Salary in the United States

How much does an Art Designer II make hourly?

As of September 01, 2026, the average hourly rate for an Art Designer II in the United States is $33, which translates to an annual salary of about $69,560.

However, the hourly wage can vary significantly based on several factors. Here’s a detailed look at the typical pay range per hour:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $40 per hour
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $29 to $37 per hour
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $25 per hour

Key Factors That Influence Art Designer II Salaries

An Art Designer II's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, education and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Art Designer II Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of an Art Designer II's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Art Designer I (0-2 years): $56,456
  • Art Designer II (2-4 years): $69,560
  • Art Manager (4-5 years): $111,121
  • Art Director (5+ years): $151,722
Job Role Years of Experience Average Salary
Art Designer I0-2 years$56,456
Art Designer II2-4 years$69,560
Art Manager4-5 years$111,121
Art Director5+ years$151,722

Top Paying Cities for Art Designer IIs

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $87,736
  • San Francisco: $86,775
  • Oakland: $84,947

What Skills Can Increase an Art Designer II's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Communication Skills (Mentioned in 6% Job Postings): Communication skills are your ability to share or understand information, ideas, and feelings successfully.
  • InDesign (Mentioned in 4% Job Postings): nDesign is a desktop publishing software application for creating flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, and books. Projects created using InDesign can be shared in both digital and print formats.
  • Animation (Mentioned in 2% Job Postings): Animation is a method in which pictures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most animations are made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Computer animation can be very detailed 3D animation, while 2D computer animation can be used for stylistic reasons, low bandwidth or faster real-time renderings. Other common animation methods apply a stop motion technique to two and three-dimensional objects like paper cutouts, puppets or clay figures. Commonly the effect of animation is achieved by a rapid succession of sequential images that minimally differ from each other. The illusion—as in motion pictures in general—is thought to rely on the phi phenomenon and beta movement, but the exact causes are still uncertain. Analog mechanical animation media that rely on the rapid display of sequential images include the phénakisticope, zoetrope, flip book, praxinoscope and film. Television and video are popular electronic animation media that originally were analog and now operate digitally. For display on the computer, techniques like animated GIF and Flash animation were developed.
Skills Demand Percentage
Communication Skills 6%
InDesign 4%
Animation 2%

What skills can make your compensation higher?

Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on an Art Designer II's salary.

  • UX Design: Can increase your salary by up to 14%.
  • Creative Thinking: Can increase your salary by up to 12%.
  • Digital Design: Can increase your salary by up to 12%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
UX Design $79,298
14%
Creative Thinking $77,907
12%
Digital Design $77,907
12%

Art Designer II Salary by Company Size: Startups vs. Enterprise

Art Designer II salary potential scales significantly with company size. Data shows that Enterprise companies (5,000+ employees) pay the highest average salary at around $77,736. While startup companies pay approximate $65,757.

Art Designer II Salary by Company Size

Company Size Employees Average Salary
Startup 1~50 $65,757
Growth Stage 51~500 $69,545
Established 501~5000 $75,064
Enterprise 5000+ $77,736

Art Designer II Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Art Designer II roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 80% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Healthcare and MFG Nondurable sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 40% above the average. In contrast, Art Designer positions in Hospitality & Leisure or Pharmaceuticals typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Art Designer II as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industries for an Art Designer II

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Healthcare$97,384$47.040%
MFG Nondurable$93,906$45.035%
Business Services$90,428$43.030%
Energy & Utilities$86,950$42.025%
Aerospace & Defense$83,472$40.020%

How Education impacts an Art Designer II's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Art Designer II enter the field with a Bachelor's Degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for an Art Designer II with a Bachelor's Degree is between $70,019 and $75,570.

Art Designer II Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Art Designer II
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 4.3%
High School 12.8%
Associates 13.4%
Bachelors 59.3%
Masters 9.6%
Doctorate 0.7%

Art Designer II Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how an Art Designer II's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on September 01, 2026
$60,115
Average $69,560/year
$76,730
$5,010
Average $5,797/month
$6,394
$1,156
Average $1,338/week
$1,476
$29
Average $33/hour
$37
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $76,730 $6,394 $1,476 $37
Average $69,560 $5,797 $1,338 $33
25th Percentile $60,115 $5,010 $1,156 $29

Most common benefits for Art Designer II

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for Art Designer II

Here are companies hiring for Art Designer II and their salaries, click below for more details.

Find Your Next Art Designer II Job

Ready to take the next step in your career? Browse thousands of current Art Designer II job openings on our job board. Use the search bar below to find your perfect match.

For Employees

Analyze the market and your qualifications to negotiate your salary with confidence.

Get a Salary Increase

Search thousands of open positions to find your next opportunity.

Search Job Openings

For Employers

Individualize employee pay based on unique job requirements and personal qualifications.

Adjust Employee Salary

Get the latest market price for benchmark jobs and jobs in your industry.

Price My Industry Jobs

FAQ about Art Designer II

1. What are the responsibilities of Art Designer II?

Develops and creates sketches and other visualizations and produces finished art work for creative projects. Collaborates with creative teams to understand the intended audience, branding requirements, and positioning of concepts. Translates requirements into required media and formats. Applies the concepts of perspective, color theory, anatomy, and composition and utilizes art assets and software tools to produce art work. May work on a variety of projects in marketing, advertising, game design, and cinematics. Typically requires a bachelor's degree in art, graphic design or equivalent. Typically reports to a supervisor or manager. Occasionally directed in several aspects of the work. Gaining exposure to some of the complex tasks within the job function. Typically requires 2 -4 years of related experience.

2. What are the skills of Art Designer II

Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.

1.)

Communication Skills: Communication skills are your ability to share or understand information, ideas, and feelings successfully.

2.)

InDesign: nDesign is a desktop publishing software application for creating flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, and books. Projects created using InDesign can be shared in both digital and print formats.

3.)

Animation: Animation is a method in which pictures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most animations are made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Computer animation can be very detailed 3D animation, while 2D computer animation can be used for stylistic reasons, low bandwidth or faster real-time renderings. Other common animation methods apply a stop motion technique to two and three-dimensional objects like paper cutouts, puppets or clay figures. Commonly the effect of animation is achieved by a rapid succession of sequential images that minimally differ from each other. The illusion—as in motion pictures in general—is thought to rely on the phi phenomenon and beta movement, but the exact causes are still uncertain. Analog mechanical animation media that rely on the rapid display of sequential images include the phénakisticope, zoetrope, flip book, praxinoscope and film. Television and video are popular electronic animation media that originally were analog and now operate digitally. For display on the computer, techniques like animated GIF and Flash animation were developed.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third-party data sources. We also provide multiple percentiles of salary information for your reference, click here to know Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial to Getting Pay Equity Right. With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target.

Are you an HR manager or compensation specialist?

Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers:

  • Detailed skills and competency reports for specific positions
  • Job and employee pricing reports
  • Compensation data tools, salary structures, surveys and benchmarks.
Learn about CompAnalyst
lower level job