Designer Salary in the United States

How much does a Designer make in the United States?

As of August 01, 2026, the average salary for a Designer in the United States is $61,912 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $30.

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

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $73,431
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $54,528 to $67,942
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $47,806
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View as table View as graph 25% $54,528 10% $47,806 90% $73,431 75% $67,942 $61,912 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

Designer Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary
Monthly
Pay
Weekly
Pay
Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $67,942 $5,662 $1,307 $33
Average $61,912 $5,159 $1,191 $30
25th Percentile $54,528 $4,544 $1,049 $26
Check out Designer Job Openings in the United States
Autocad Designer

Insight Global - Columbus, OH

Instructional Designer

George J. Igel & Co., Inc. - Columbus, OH

Senior Designer

CESO, Inc. - Columbus, OH

UX Designer

ComResource - Columbus, OH

Search More Designer Jobs in the United States

Key Factors That Influence Designer Salaries

A Designer'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 Designer Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Designer'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): $61,469
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $72,021
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $87,437
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $107,979
  • Expert (over 8 years): $126,939
Levels Salary
Designer Level Designer$61,469
Graphic D... Level Designer$72,021
Graphic D... Level Designer$87,437
Graphic D... Level Designer$107,979
Graphic D... Level Designer$126,939
$61,469 0 yr
$72,021 < 2 yrs
$87,437 2-4 yrs
$107,979 5-8 yrs
$126,939 > 8 yrs
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What Am I Worth?

Top Paying Cities for Designers

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: $78,090
  • San Francisco: $77,235
  • Oakland: $75,607

What Skills Can Increase a Designer's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Presentation (Mentioned in 4.45% Job Postings): Presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product.
  • Typography (Mentioned in 2.77% Job Postings): Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing (leading), and letter-spacing (tracking), and adjusting the space between pairs of letters (kerning). The term typography is also applied to the style, arrangement, and appearance of the letters, numbers, and symbols created by the process. Type design is a closely related craft, sometimes considered part of typography; most typographers do not design typefaces, and some type designers do not consider themselves typographers. Typography also may be used as a decorative device, unrelated to communication of information. Typography is the work of typesetters (also known as compositors), typographers, graphic designers, art directors, manga artists, comic book artists, graffiti artists, and, now, anyone who arranges words, letters, numbers, and symbols for publication, display, or distribution, from clerical workers and newsletter writers to anyone self-publishing materials. Until the Digital Age, typography was a specialized occupation. Digitization opened up typography to new generations of previously unrelated designers and lay users. As the capability to create typography has become ubiquitous, the application of principles and best practices developed over generations of skilled workers and professionals has diminished. So at a time when scientific techniques can support the proven traditions (e.g., greater legibility with the use of serifs, upper and lower case, contrast, etc.) through understanding the limitations of human vision, typography as often encountered may fail to achieve its principal objective: effective communication.
  • Animation (Mentioned in 2.01% 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.
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Presentation 4.45%
Typography 2.77%
Animation 2.01%
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 Designer's salary.
  • UI: Can increase your salary by up to 10%.
  • Collaboration: Can increase your salary by up to 6%.
  • Storytelling: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
UI
$68,104
10%
Collaboration
$65,627
6%
Storytelling
$64,389
4%
Digital Marketing
$64,389
4%
Animation
$64,389
4%
Insight
$64,389
4%
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Designer Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Designer roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 40% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Aerospace & Defense and Business Services sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 20% above the average. In contrast, Designer positions in Biotechnology or Transportation typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Designer as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industry for a Designer

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Aerospace & Defense$74,295$36.020%

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

Understanding how a Designer'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 August 01, 2026

Salary Trends for Designer

Salaries for a Designer can change over time, reflecting shifts in market demand and the overall economy. The median salary decreased from $59,685 in 2023 to around $58,997 in 2025, reflecting changes in demand, location, experience, and the wider economy. For a detailed analysis of Designer salary trends, .

Average Annual Salary of Designer Over Time

2022
$???
2023
$59,685
2024
$59,464
2025
$58,997
2026
$???
2027
$???
Year Average Annual Salary
2022
View More
2023 $59,685
2024 $59,464
2025 $58,997
2026
View More
2027
View More

Most common benefits for Designer

Social Security
401(k)
Disability
Healthcare
Pension
Time Off (days)
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Common company salaries for Designer

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

Find Your Next Designer Job

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

United States
  • DLZ Corporation

    Columbus, OH

    DLZ Corporation | Columbus, OH

    Job Description. Job Description. Overview. Shape the Future with DLZ. At DLZ Corporation, we don’t just design infrastructure—we create solutions that imp... more

    7 Days Ago

  • Connect Housing Blocks

    Columbus, OH

    Connect Housing Blocks | Columbus, OH

    As seen on TV. Connect Housing Blocks is building the future of modular construction in Columbus.Check out our story on NBC4 Columbus:https://www.nbc4i.com... more

    4 Days Ago

  • Cabinet IQ of Columbus

    Columbus, OH

    Cabinet IQ of Columbus | Columbus, OH

    Job Description. Job Description. Benefits. Paid time off. Bonus based on performance. Company parties. Competitive salary. Free food & snacks. Profit shar... more

    6 Days Ago

  • Randstad Usa

    Columbus, OH

    Randstad Usa | Columbus, OH

    A leading staffing company is seeking an Instructional Designer to create and evaluate educational courses.The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's degre... more

    3 Days Ago

  • Crimson Design Group

    Columbus, OH

    Crimson Design Group | Columbus, OH

    Job Description. Job Description. Salary: $65-70K BOE. Crimson Design Group is an award-winning design firm based in Columbus, Ohio. With expertise spannin... more

    3 Days Ago

  • Hazen and Sawyer

    Columbus, OH

    Hazen and Sawyer | Columbus, OH

    Job Description. Job Description. Hazen and Sawyer is seeking a Senior CAD/BIM Designer to support staff engineers in designing and producing contract docu... more

    4 Days Ago

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FAQ about Designer

1. What industry pays the highest salary for Designer?

The Aerospace & Defense industry offers the highest average compensation for Designer roles, with salaries approximately 20% 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.)

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