Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of designer salary by state for the United States:
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Washington has the highest designer salary of $99,369
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South Dakota has the lowest designer salary of $43,912
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The national average salary for designers is $66,347
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The national hourly pay for designers is $31.9
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do designers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for designer by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for designers after this adjustment? That would be Washington.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for designer salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Designers By State
| Rank | State | Average Designer Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $99,369 | $62,000 | $158,000 |
| 2 | Hawaii | $91,918 | $68,000 | $122,000 |
| 3 | Oregon | $78,743 | $49,000 | $124,000 |
| 4 | California | $78,588 | $49,000 | $124,000 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $73,316 | $49,000 | $108,000 |
| 6 | Michigan | $72,577 | $48,000 | $108,000 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $72,503 | $49,000 | $105,000 |
| 8 | New York | $71,938 | $48,000 | $105,000 |
| 9 | West Virginia | $69,982 | $46,000 | $104,000 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | $69,048 | $46,000 | $102,000 |
| 11 | Virginia | $68,696 | $45,000 | $102,000 |
| 12 | Illinois | $67,158 | $44,000 | $100,000 |
| 13 | Ohio | $66,438 | $44,000 | $99,000 |
| 14 | Colorado | $66,047 | $44,000 | $98,000 |
| 15 | Maryland | $65,838 | $44,000 | $97,000 |
| 16 | Alaska | $65,827 | $47,000 | $91,000 |
| 17 | New Hampshire | $65,770 | $45,000 | $95,000 |
| 18 | Rhode Island | $65,749 | $45,000 | $95,000 |
| 19 | Connecticut | $64,816 | $44,000 | $94,000 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | $64,756 | $43,000 | $96,000 |
| 21 | Delaware | $64,250 | $43,000 | $95,000 |
| 22 | Indiana | $63,474 | $42,000 | $95,000 |
| 23 | Iowa | $63,136 | $42,000 | $94,000 |
| 24 | North Carolina | $62,679 | $41,000 | $94,000 |
| 25 | Minnesota | $62,553 | $41,000 | $93,000 |
| 26 | Idaho | $61,600 | $39,000 | $96,000 |
| 27 | Texas | $61,594 | $40,000 | $93,000 |
| 28 | Georgia | $61,142 | $40,000 | $92,000 |
| 29 | Kentucky | $60,447 | $40,000 | $90,000 |
| 30 | Utah | $60,426 | $39,000 | $92,000 |
| 31 | Nevada | $60,410 | $38,000 | $94,000 |
| 32 | Arizona | $60,131 | $39,000 | $92,000 |
| 33 | Arkansas | $59,520 | $39,000 | $89,000 |
| 34 | Tennessee | $59,511 | $39,000 | $89,000 |
| 35 | Vermont | $58,861 | $40,000 | $84,000 |
| 36 | South Carolina | $58,652 | $38,000 | $88,000 |
| 37 | Alabama | $58,516 | $38,000 | $88,000 |
| 38 | Wyoming | $58,326 | $38,000 | $87,000 |
| 39 | Missouri | $56,905 | $38,000 | $85,000 |
| 40 | Louisiana | $56,175 | $36,000 | $85,000 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $56,062 | $37,000 | $83,000 |
| 42 | Kansas | $55,979 | $37,000 | $83,000 |
| 43 | Maine | $55,050 | $38,000 | $79,000 |
| 44 | North Dakota | $54,839 | $36,000 | $82,000 |
| 45 | Mississippi | $54,564 | $36,000 | $82,000 |
| 46 | Florida | $53,951 | $35,000 | $82,000 |
| 47 | New Mexico | $50,993 | $33,000 | $77,000 |
| 48 | Oklahoma | $48,017 | $32,000 | $71,000 |
| 49 | Montana | $47,772 | $31,000 | $73,000 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $43,912 | $29,000 | $65,000 |
Methodology: Designer Salary By State
To better understand designer pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for designers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for designers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for designers.
Designer Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for designers?
The highest-paid state for designers is Washington with an average salary of $99,369 per year.
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What city pays designers the most?
Seattle, WA pays designers the most with an average salary of $100,293 per year.
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What is the worst state for designers?
The worst state for designers is South Dakota with an average salary of $43,912 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
