Salary AI Book a Demo

Design Research Manager Salary in the United States

How much does a Design Research Manager make in the United States?

As of October 01, 2026, the average salary for a Design Research Manager in the United States is $143,811 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $69.

However, a Design Research Manager's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $168,418
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $131,459 to $156,691
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $120,213
Salary Factors Salary-Boosting Skills Salary by Experience Related Job Salaries Top Paying Cities Explore Related Jobs

Key Factors That Influence Design Research Manager Salaries

A Design Research Manager'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 and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Design Research Manager Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Design Research Manager'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:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $133,242
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $156,079
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $142,864
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $178,794
  • Expert (over 8 years): $217,651
Levels Salary
Product D... Level Design Research Manager$133,242
Product D... Level Design Research Manager$156,079
Design Re... Level Design Research Manager$142,864
Product D... Level Design Research Manager$178,794
Product D... Level Design Research Manager$217,651
View as Graph

How Do Design Research Manager Salaries Vary from State to State?

Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Design Research Managers. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
  • District of Columbia: $159,228.
  • California: $158,624.
  • Massachusetts: $156,510.

Top Paying Cities for Design Research Managers

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: $181,389
  • San Francisco: $179,403
  • Oakland: $175,622

What Skills Can Increase a Design Research Manager's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Leadership (Mentioned in 5.4% Job Postings): Knowledge of and ability to employ effective strategies that motivate and guide other members within our business to achieve optimum results.
  • Product Management (Mentioned in 2.21% Job Postings): Product management is an organisational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning, forecasting, and production, or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle. Similarly, product lifecycle management (PLM) integrates people, data, processes and business systems. It provides product information for companies and their extended supply chain enterprise. The role may consist of product development and product marketing, which are different (yet complementary) efforts, with the objective of maximizing sales revenues, market share, and profit margins. Product management also involves elimination decisions. Product elimination begins with the identification of elimination candidates, proceeds with the consideration of remedial actions, continues with a projection of the impact on the business as a whole if a candidate product is eventually eliminated, and concludes with the implementation stage, where management determines the elimination strategy for an item. The product manager is often responsible for analyzing market conditions and defining features or functions of a product and for overseeing the production of the product. The role of product management spans many activities from strategic to tactical and varies based on the organizational structure of the company. To maximize the impact and benefits to an organization, Product management must be an independent function separate on its own.
  • B2B (Mentioned in 1.52% Job Postings): B2B (business-to-business), a type of electronic commerce (e-commerce), is the exchange of products, services or information between businesses, rather than between businesses and consumers (B2C).
Skills Demand Percentage
Leadership 5.4%
Product Management 2.21%
B2B 1.52%
See More Skills

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 a Design Research Manager's salary.

  • Empathy: Can increase your salary by up to 11%.
  • Product Strategy: Can increase your salary by up to 10%.
  • Product Engineering: Can increase your salary by up to 10%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Empathy $159,630
11%
Product Strategy $158,192
10%
Product Engineering $158,192
10%
Get Latest Data

Design Research Manager Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Design Research Manager roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 55% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Financial Services and Internet sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 25% above the average. In contrast, Design Research Manager positions in Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit or Hospitality & Leisure typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Design Research Manager as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industries for a Design Research Manager

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Financial Services$179,764$86.025%
Internet$172,573$83.020%
Software & Networking$172,573$83.020%
Energy & Utilities$165,383$80.015%
Pharmaceuticals$165,383$80.015%

Design Research Manager Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Design Research Manager'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 October 01, 2026
$131,459
Average $143,811/year
$156,691
$10,955
Average $11,984/month
$13,058
$2,528
Average $2,766/week
$3,013
$63
Average $69/hour
$75
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $156,691 $13,058 $3,013 $75
Average $143,811 $11,984 $2,766 $69
25th Percentile $131,459 $10,955 $2,528 $63

Most common benefits for Design Research Manager

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

Common company salaries for Design Research Manager

Here are companies hiring for Design Research Manager and their salaries, click below for more details.

Find Your Next Design Research Manager Job

Ready to take the next step in your career? Browse thousands of current Design Research Manager 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 Design Research Manager

1. What industry pays the highest salary for Design Research Manager?

The Financial Services industry offers the highest average compensation for Design Research Manager roles, with salaries approximately 25% above the market median.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint 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