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Design manager salary
Average design manager salary
$102,637
Average Design Manager Salary
The average salary for a Design Manager in the United States stands at $102,637 per year, which equates to approximately $49 per hour. This figure is influenced by multiple factors, including geographic location, experience level, and the specific industry sector.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level Design Managers typically start at a lower salary range, with earnings increasing significantly with experience. For instance, those with five to ten years can expect salaries upwards of $120,000, while seasoned professionals in senior roles can earn over $150,000.
Highest Paying States
States like California, New York, and Washington offer the highest salaries for Design Managers, often exceeding the national average due to the cost of living and demand for skilled positions. For example, in California, the average salary may reach $120,000 or more.
Conclusion
Understanding these factors can help aspiring Design Managers make informed career choices and negotiate better salaries. Explore job listings to find opportunities that best match your skills and desired salary.
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Where can a Design Manager earn more?
Design manager salaries by experience level
Design manager salary estimates from across the web
Average design manager salary by state
The average design manager salary in California, Arizona, and Washington are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average design manager salary states are Mississippi, Florida, and South Dakota.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for design managers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $129,024 | $62.03 |
| 2 | Washington | $116,596 | $56.06 |
| 3 | Arizona | $117,883 | $56.67 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $114,038 | $54.83 |
| 5 | Oregon | $106,349 | $51.13 |
| 6 | Texas | $106,131 | $51.02 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $104,715 | $50.34 |
| 8 | Michigan | $100,678 | $48.40 |
| 9 | Nevada | $106,536 | $51.22 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | $101,186 | $48.65 |
| 11 | District of Columbia | $105,942 | $50.93 |
| 12 | Rhode Island | $99,029 | $47.61 |
| 13 | Idaho | $102,039 | $49.06 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | $96,569 | $46.43 |
| 15 | Louisiana | $107,218 | $51.55 |
| 16 | New York | $98,521 | $47.37 |
| 17 | New Jersey | $104,273 | $50.13 |
| 18 | Connecticut | $95,326 | $45.83 |
| 19 | Montana | $95,871 | $46.09 |
| 20 | Ohio | $94,024 | $45.20 |
| 21 | Illinois | $95,065 | $45.70 |
| 22 | Delaware | $93,750 | $45.07 |
| 23 | North Carolina | $92,439 | $44.44 |
| 24 | Virginia | $93,447 | $44.93 |
| 25 | Maryland | $95,735 | $46.03 |
| 26 | Alaska | $94,677 | $45.52 |
| 27 | Maine | $91,268 | $43.88 |
| 28 | Utah | $87,431 | $42.03 |
| 29 | Alabama | $91,877 | $44.17 |
| 30 | Minnesota | $89,766 | $43.16 |
| 31 | South Carolina | $91,552 | $44.02 |
| 32 | Georgia | $89,808 | $43.18 |
| 33 | West Virginia | $89,203 | $42.89 |
| 34 | Vermont | $85,527 | $41.12 |
| 35 | North Dakota | $86,027 | $41.36 |
| 36 | Kentucky | $88,361 | $42.48 |
| 37 | Indiana | $86,207 | $41.45 |
| 38 | Iowa | $85,094 | $40.91 |
| 39 | Tennessee | $85,509 | $41.11 |
| 40 | Colorado | $81,374 | $39.12 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $84,830 | $40.78 |
| 42 | New Mexico | $83,277 | $40.04 |
| 43 | Wyoming | $76,676 | $36.86 |
| 44 | Kansas | $78,548 | $37.76 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | $82,444 | $39.64 |
| 46 | Missouri | $82,971 | $39.89 |
| 47 | Hawaii | $75,780 | $36.43 |
| 48 | South Dakota | $77,402 | $37.21 |
| 49 | Florida | $77,517 | $37.27 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $77,055 | $37.05 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $77,859 | $37.43 |
Highest paying cities for design managers
The highest-paying cities for design managers are San Francisco, CA, Phoenix, AZ, and Seattle, WA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $138,165 | $66.43 |
| 2 | Phoenix, AZ | $118,552 | $57.00 |
| 3 | Seattle, WA | $117,742 | $56.61 |
| 4 | Austin, TX | $107,420 | $51.64 |
| 5 | Portland, OR | $106,734 | $51.31 |
| 6 | Washington, DC | $105,986 | $50.95 |
| 7 | Boston, MA | $104,718 | $50.35 |
| 8 | Jersey City, NJ | $104,271 | $50.13 |
| 9 | Philadelphia, PA | $101,726 | $48.91 |
| 10 | New York, NY | $98,789 | $47.49 |
| 11 | Baltimore, MD | $95,903 | $46.11 |
| 12 | Madison, WI | $95,875 | $46.09 |
| 13 | Chicago, IL | $95,435 | $45.88 |
| 14 | McLean, VA | $94,463 | $45.41 |
| 15 | Columbus, OH | $94,034 | $45.21 |
| 16 | Raleigh, NC | $93,239 | $44.83 |
| 17 | Columbia, SC | $92,055 | $44.26 |
| 18 | Montgomery, AL | $91,519 | $44.00 |
| 19 | Atlanta, GA | $89,901 | $43.22 |
| 20 | Saint Paul, MN | $89,831 | $43.19 |
Design manager salary details
A design manager's salary ranges from $69,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $150,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a design manager's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $150,000 | $12,500 | $72 |
| 75th Percentile | $125,000 | $10,417 | $60 |
| Average | $102,637 | $8,553 | $49 |
| 25th Percentile | $83,000 | $6,917 | $40 |
| 10th Percentile | $69,000 | $5,750 | $33 |
Highest paying design manager jobs
The highest paying types of design managers are engineering director, senior engineering manager, and vice president of engineering.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Supervisor | $97,535 | $8,128 | $46.89 | 57,046 |
| Engineering Director | $162,252 | $13,521 | $78.01 | 63,868 |
| Research And Development Director | $137,944 | $11,495 | $66.32 | 102,901 |
| Vice President Of Engineering | $150,651 | $12,554 | $72.43 | 92,133 |
| Manufacturing Engineering Manager | $112,535 | $9,378 | $54.10 | 83,671 |
| Research And Development Manager | $117,507 | $9,792 | $56.49 | 125,447 |
Top companies hiring design managers now:
Which companies pay design managers the most?
Design manager salaries at Meta and Airbnb are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average design manager salary at companies like Google and NVIDIA are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $200,744 | $96.51 |
| 2 | Airbnb | $193,103 | $92.84 |
| 3 | $192,726 | $92.66 | |
| 4 | NVIDIA | $192,294 | $92.45 |
| 5 | Apple | $182,598 | $87.79 |
| 6 | eBay | $175,988 | $84.61 |
| 7 | Stitch Fix | $174,495 | $83.89 |
| 8 | Citi | $173,582 | $83.45 |
| 9 | Atlassian | $171,737 | $82.57 |
| 10 | SoFi | $167,017 | $80.30 |
| 11 | Microsoft | $163,330 | $78.52 |
| 12 | Koch Industries | $162,247 | $78.00 |
| 13 | Zoox | $161,339 | $77.57 |
| 14 | Okta | $159,177 | $76.53 |
| 15 | Rivian | $157,781 | $75.86 |
| 16 | Xilinx | $156,967 | $75.46 |
| 17 | KLA | $156,371 | $75.18 |
| 18 | Wellington Management | $156,196 | $75.09 |
| 19 | Texas Instruments | $155,597 | $74.81 |
| 20 | Payscale | $155,361 | $74.69 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Design Manager salary by industry
The average design manager salary varies across industries:
- The average design manager salary in the technology industry is $121,279, the highest of any industry.
- The average design manager salary in the finance industry is $118,458.
- Design managers in the health care industry earn an average salary of $82,017, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for design managers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $121,279 | $58.31 |
| 2 | Hospitality | $118,458 | $56.95 |
| 3 | Manufacturing | $116,545 | $56.03 |
| 4 | Retail | $107,303 | $51.59 |
| 5 | Professional | $99,047 | $47.62 |
| 6 | Health Care | $82,017 | $39.43 |
High paying design manager jobs
Design manager salary trends
The average design manager salary has risen by $18,766 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average design manager earned $83,871 annually, but today, they earn $102,637 a year. That works out to a 11% change in pay for design managers over the last decade.
Compare design manager salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average design manager salary over time
Compare design manager salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Design manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $103,000 | $49.34 | +3.1% |
| 2024 | $99,400 | $47.79 | +2.8% |
| 2023 | $96,600 | $46.45 | +2.2% |
| 2022 | $94,500 | $45.45 | +2.2% |
| 2021 | $92,500 | $44.46 | +1.4% |
Recently added design manager salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aristocrat | Games Design Manager | Reno, NV | 06/30/2025 | $116,832 |
| Jeppesen | Electrical Design Manager | San Antonio, TX | 06/30/2025 | $137,700 |
| John Hancock | Experience Design Manager | Boston, MA | 06/30/2025 | $90,225 |
| Parsons | Design-Build Discipline Lead/Deputy Design Manager | Pasadena, CA | 06/30/2025 | $120,800 |
| Wolters Kluwer | Manager, Database Analysis & Design | Oracle | SQL | Mysql | Chicago, IL | 06/30/2025 | $145,500 |
| Gensler | Design Manager-Creative Producer | Los Angeles, CA | 06/30/2025 | $120,000 |
| Gensler | Design Manager-Critical Facilities | Seattle, WA | 06/30/2025 | $110,000 |
| Mortenson | Precon/Design Phase Manager-Solar | Minneapolis, MN | 06/29/2025 | $110,700 |
| Arcadis | Design Project Manager-Data Center Design-Remote | Jacksonville, FL | 06/29/2025 | $80,461 |
| Bernhard Link Theatrical LLC | IS Design Manager | Charlotte, NC | 06/29/2025 | $101,610 |
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