Graphic designer salary in the US
What graphic designers are paid in the US, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with how your own pay compares. Figures from the BLS OEWS release dated May 2025.
Median annual pay
$62,960
Middle half earn
$49,040 to $81,830
People in this job, US
197,830
Pay check
Am I underpaid?
$
Stays in your browser. No account needed.
Graphic Designers, national, annual pay, May 2025
- 10th percentile
- $39,520
- 25th percentile
- $49,040
- Median
- $62,960
- 75th percentile
- $81,830
- 90th percentile
- $104,910
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 27-1024. Percentiles across everyone employed in the occupation, not experience levels.
At a glance
What graphic designers earn across the US
- The highest-paying large metros are San Jose, CA ($97,360), San Francisco, CA ($92,050), Washington, DC ($85,420).
- At the other end are San Juan, PR ($35,830), Oklahoma City, OK ($50,300), Louisville/Jefferson County, KY ($57,340): the top metro's median is 172% higher than the lowest.
- 24 of the 49 metros listed below pay a median above the national figure.
- About 197,830 people are employed in this occupation across the US.
- Pay varies widely within the job: the 90th percentile earns 2.7 times the 10th.
Worked from BLS OEWS, May 2025. Not adjusted for the cost of living.
By metro
Graphic designer pay by metro
Median annual pay in the largest US metros where BLS published figures for this occupation, highest first, May 2025.
BLS does not count graphic designers separately: they are part of Graphic Designers, so the metro figures are the same for every title in it. Each metro page covers the whole occupation.
- San Jose, CA$97,360
- San Francisco, CA$92,050
- Washington, DC$85,420
- New York, NY$79,280
- Boston, MA$78,270
- Seattle, WA$76,720
- Baltimore, MD$75,790
- Portland, OR$75,650
- Sacramento, CA$74,680
- Denver, CO$72,500
- Los Angeles, CA$72,400
- Hartford, CT$70,870
- Providence, RI$70,450
- Chicago, IL$66,490
- Richmond, VA$66,350
- Riverside, CA$65,900
- Minneapolis, MN$65,610
- Salt Lake City, UT$65,450
- Austin, TX$65,060
- Las Vegas, NV$65,060
- Columbus, OH$64,000
- Dallas, TX$63,780
- Philadelphia, PA$63,090
- Jacksonville, FL$63,090
- Tampa, FL$62,900
- Atlanta, GA$62,680
- Orlando, FL$62,360
- Cincinnati, OH$62,260
- Miami, FL$61,870
- Milwaukee, WI$61,780
- Raleigh, NC$61,700
- St. Louis, MO$61,000
- Indianapolis, IN$60,520
- Nashville, TN$60,370
- Detroit, MI$60,210
- Virginia Beach, VA$60,150
- Buffalo, NY$60,000
- Kansas City, MO$59,990
- Charlotte, NC$59,810
- Cleveland, OH$59,780
- San Antonio, TX$59,710
- Phoenix, AZ$59,090
- Memphis, TN$59,000
- Houston, TX$58,400
- Grand Rapids, MI$57,870
- Pittsburgh, PA$57,830
- Louisville/Jefferson County, KY$57,340
- Oklahoma City, OK$50,300
- San Juan, PR$35,830
Medians from BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Skills
What employers look for in a graphic designer
The skills our graphic designer resume example leads with, written for US employers.
- Brand identity
- Typography
- Layout design
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe InDesign
- Figma
- Print production
- Packaging design
- Color management
See the full graphic designer resume example, with bullets and keywords.
Negotiating
Using these numbers
Below $49,040 puts you in the bottom quarter for graphic designers in the US. That is worth raising, with evidence of what you deliver.
The median, $62,960, is the middle of the market, not a ceiling. An offer at or near it is a fair starting point to negotiate from.
Asking for $81,830 or more puts you in the top quarter, so it needs a reason an employer will accept: a wider scope, a competing offer, or a skill that is hard to hire for.
Percentiles are not experience levels. They describe everyone doing the job, so a senior hire can sit at the median of a market full of senior people.
About the numbers
What these figures are
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys employers for its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and these figures are from the release dated May 2025. They cover wage and salary workers in Graphic Designers, a category that is often broader than a single job title. Self-employed people are not included.
They are base pay: bonuses, equity and overtime are not included, and they are not adjusted for the cost of living.
Questions
Questions about graphic designer pay in the US
Know your number? Now get the offer.
Get a free resume score in seconds, read straight from your file.