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Salary · Graphic Designer · United States

Graphic Designer salary: $62,960 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$62,960median ($30.27/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for graphic designers in the United States was $62,960 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $39,520 and the top 10% earned more than $104,910. That median is 1.2 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was District of Columbia ($87,920).

10th percentile
$39,520
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$49,040
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$81,830
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$104,910
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Graphic Designer salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 51 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. District of Columbia$87,920
  2. Rhode Island$78,220
  3. New York$77,340
  4. Massachusetts$76,710
  5. California$75,130
Most people employed
  1. California27,390
  2. New York14,530
  3. Texas13,670
  4. Florida12,660
  5. Illinois8,960
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
District of Columbia$87,920$62,240–$136,6601,150
Rhode Island$78,220$49,330–$107,580750
New York$77,340$43,680–$131,25014,530
Massachusetts$76,710$47,830–$108,9704,450
California$75,130$46,190–$129,56027,390
Maryland$75,120$44,810–$109,6303,050
New Jersey$73,790$47,490–$122,9405,670
Washington$72,710$47,780–$115,2103,960
Connecticut$72,700$47,420–$106,8301,930
Virginia$72,310$39,020–$121,6804,740
Colorado$66,330$47,030–$118,5604,200
Oregon$66,040$45,260–$170,6804,140
Vermont$65,690$42,640–$123,500410
Minnesota$63,860$42,690–$96,9605,570
Nevada$62,890$39,470–$88,8901,570
Alaska$62,570$39,380–$103,440180
Illinois$62,560$36,060–$98,7508,960
Utah$62,310$39,170–$96,8102,720
Florida$61,660$39,810–$101,86012,660
Pennsylvania$60,730$39,430–$102,0908,150
New Hampshire$60,490$47,030–$95,680790
Georgia$60,250$34,860–$100,1105,920
Texas$60,150$36,340–$92,91013,670
Delaware$60,130$41,040–$92,920360
Ohio$60,080$39,050–$99,3707,280
Maine$60,030$39,160–$79,000560
Wisconsin$59,900$42,680–$85,0504,130
Arizona$58,510$43,780–$88,5903,560
North Carolina$58,450$37,680–$95,3805,660
Hawaii$58,070$31,890–$91,080520
Michigan$57,350$38,770–$86,3206,070
Tennessee$57,270$37,910–$92,5403,880
South Carolina$57,170$37,190–$90,0001,930
Montana$56,890$37,790–$104,780610
Missouri$56,750$36,950–$83,2704,500
New Mexico$56,730$35,400–$75,680850
Nebraska$56,700$37,440–$78,8401,670
North Dakota$56,470$37,610–$75,700460
Indiana$55,480$38,520–$98,0203,450
Kansas$53,630$37,440–$86,2601,730
Oklahoma$53,630$27,310–$80,9802,040
Kentucky$52,960$32,620–$81,6902,060
Alabama$51,070$33,050–$89,1301,760
Idaho$50,350$32,900–$82,140920
Iowa$50,310$36,970–$75,5102,100
Louisiana$49,910$35,910–$76,3001,750
South Dakota$48,390$36,290–$66,620470
Arkansas$46,220$31,570–$79,7301,390
Mississippi$45,640$32,260–$75,480830
Wyoming$45,150$32,820–$82,990240
West Virginia$40,350$29,530–$61,640520
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$97,360
  2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$92,050
  3. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$85,420
  4. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT$81,800
  5. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$79,280
  6. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$78,500
  7. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$78,270
  8. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$76,720
  9. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$75,790
  10. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$75,750
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Creative Director$114,850
  2. UX Designer$104,000
  3. Video Game Designer$104,000
  4. Animator$102,030
  5. Fashion Designer$80,960
  6. Graphic Designer$62,960
  7. Photographer$44,660
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
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