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The differences between commercial artists and graphic designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a commercial artist, becoming a graphic designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a commercial artist has an average salary of $60,449, which is higher than the $49,450 average annual salary of a graphic designer.
The top three skills for a commercial artist include art projects, photography and adobe photoshop. The most important skills for a graphic designer are adobe creative suite, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.
| Commercial Artist | Graphic Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $60,449 | $49,450 |
| Hourly rate | $29.06 | $23.77 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 30,066 | 45,625 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
Commercial artists and graphic designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Commercial Artist | Graphic Designer | |
| Average salary | $60,449 | $49,450 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $100,000 | Between $34,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a commercial artist and a graphic designer in terms of educational background:
| Commercial Artist | Graphic Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Duke University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between commercial artists' and graphic designers' demographics:
| Commercial Artist | Graphic Designer | |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.4% Female, 41.6% | Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 13% |