How much does a Production Designer make hourly?

As of August 01, 2026, the average hourly pay of Production Designer in the United States is $28. While Salary.com is seeing that Production Designer salary in the US can go up to $35 or down to $24, but most earn between $26 and $31. Salary.com shows the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of Production Designer in the United States.

Based on HR-reported data: a national average with a geographic differential
Production Designer Salaries by Percentile
Percentile Hourly Pay Rate Location Last Updated
10th Percentile Production Designer Salary $24 US August 01, 2026
25th Percentile Production Designer Salary $26 US August 01, 2026
50th Percentile Production Designer Salary $28 US August 01, 2026
75th Percentile Production Designer Salary $31 US August 01, 2026
90th Percentile Production Designer Salary $35 US August 01, 2026
25% $26 10% $24 90% $35 75% $31 $28 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click
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What is a Production Designer ?

In film and television, a production designer (PD) is the person responsible for the overall visual look of the production. Production designers have a key creative role in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the director, cinematographer, and producer, they must select the settings and style to visually tell the story. The term production designer was coined by William Cameron Menzies while he was working on the film Gone with the Wind. Previously (and often subsequently) the people with the same responsibilities were called art directors. It is sometimes als...

Source: Wikipedia (as of 04/17/2019). Read more from Wikipedia

See user submitted job responsibilities for Production Designer.

Job Openings for Production Designer

Career Path for this job

  1. This Job:

    Production Designer

    0 - 2 years experience
    Bachelor's Degree

  2. Up a level:

    Art Designer II

    2 - 4 years experience
    Bachelor's Degree

Understand the total hourly compensation opportunity for a Production Designer, hourly wage plus other pay elements

Average Hourly Wage

Core compensation

 
 
 
26
31
28

Average Total Hourly Cash Compensation

Includes base and short-term incentives

 
 
 
30
39
34
These charts show the average hourly wage (core compensation), as well as the average total hourly cash compensation for the job of Production Designer in the United States. The average hourly rate for Production Designer ranges from $26 to $31 with the average hourly pay of $28. The total hourly cash compensation, which includes base and short-term incentives, can vary anywhere from $30 to $39 with the average total hourly cash compensation of $34.
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26
31

 

Skills associated with Production Designer: Design, Basis, Create, Timely

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