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As of October 2025, the average salary for a graphic engineer is $110,329 per year, translating to approximately $53 per hour. This figure can vary significantly based on factors such as geographic location, experience, and the specific industry in which one is employed.
Graphic engineers with extensive experience typically earn higher salaries. For instance, entry-level positions may start around $70,000, while senior roles can exceed $130,000 annually. Additionally, states like California and New York often offer higher compensation due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals.
Graphic engineers have diverse job opportunities, ranging from game design to web development and multimedia art. Each of these roles may have different salary expectations and growth potential. By understanding the salary landscape and market demands, you can make informed decisions about your career path in graphic engineering.
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| Experience level | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level graphic engineer | $68,900 | $33.14 |
| Mid-level graphic engineer | $96,600 | $46.46 |
| Senior-level graphic engineer | $151,000 | $72.44 |
The average graphic engineer salary in Washington, California, and Virginia are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average graphic engineer salary states are Mississippi, Kentucky, and Oklahoma.
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $146,749 | $70.55 |
| 2 | California | $126,976 | $61.05 |
| 3 | Oregon | $116,917 | $56.21 |
| 4 | District of Columbia | $123,978 | $59.60 |
| 5 | Virginia | $116,938 | $56.22 |
| 6 | Maryland | $115,959 | $55.75 |
| 7 | Utah | $106,971 | $51.43 |
| 8 | Arizona | $107,529 | $51.70 |
| 9 | Nevada | $110,605 | $53.18 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | $105,333 | $50.64 |
| 11 | Colorado | $102,881 | $49.46 |
| 12 | Idaho | $107,362 | $51.62 |
| 13 | New York | $101,326 | $48.71 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | $100,101 | $48.13 |
| 15 | Rhode Island | $96,760 | $46.52 |
| 16 | Florida | $100,859 | $48.49 |
| 17 | Illinois | $98,613 | $47.41 |
| 18 | Wyoming | $95,207 | $45.77 |
| 19 | Georgia | $95,443 | $45.89 |
| 20 | Texas | $93,542 | $44.97 |
| 21 | Alaska | $100,815 | $48.47 |
| 22 | West Virginia | $96,561 | $46.42 |
| 23 | Montana | $96,556 | $46.42 |
| 24 | New Jersey | $98,575 | $47.39 |
| 25 | New Mexico | $94,513 | $45.44 |
| 26 | New Hampshire | $87,926 | $42.27 |
| 27 | Connecticut | $94,185 | $45.28 |
| 28 | Wisconsin | $90,228 | $43.38 |
| 29 | Michigan | $85,982 | $41.34 |
| 30 | Minnesota | $88,143 | $42.38 |
| 31 | Delaware | $85,775 | $41.24 |
| 32 | Hawaii | $92,631 | $44.53 |
| 33 | North Carolina | $85,363 | $41.04 |
| 34 | Indiana | $84,234 | $40.50 |
| 35 | Arkansas | $84,692 | $40.72 |
| 36 | Iowa | $86,321 | $41.50 |
| 37 | Missouri | $87,213 | $41.93 |
| 38 | Vermont | $83,165 | $39.98 |
| 39 | Ohio | $83,044 | $39.92 |
| 40 | South Carolina | $85,708 | $41.21 |
| 41 | Louisiana | $84,863 | $40.80 |
| 42 | North Dakota | $83,160 | $39.98 |
| 43 | Nebraska | $80,927 | $38.91 |
| 44 | Tennessee | $82,270 | $39.55 |
| 45 | Maine | $76,976 | $37.01 |
| 46 | Kansas | $80,305 | $38.61 |
| 47 | Alabama | $72,000 | $34.62 |
| 48 | Kentucky | $77,082 | $37.06 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $79,444 | $38.19 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $76,991 | $37.01 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $65,374 | $31.43 |
The highest-paying cities for graphic engineers are Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA, and Carson City, NV.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle, WA | $148,412 | $71.35 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $136,924 | $65.83 |
| 3 | Carson City, NV | $116,729 | $56.12 |
| 4 | Annapolis, MD | $116,298 | $55.91 |
| 5 | Chandler, AZ | $107,430 | $51.65 |
| 6 | Salt Lake City, UT | $106,584 | $51.24 |
| 7 | Boston, MA | $105,344 | $50.65 |
| 8 | Boulder, CO | $102,937 | $49.49 |
| 9 | New York, NY | $101,657 | $48.87 |
| 10 | Orlando, FL | $101,501 | $48.80 |
| 11 | Charleston, WV | $96,132 | $46.22 |
| 12 | Atlanta, GA | $95,032 | $45.69 |
| 13 | Austin, TX | $94,130 | $45.25 |
| 14 | Cheyenne, WY | $93,545 | $44.97 |
| 15 | Chanhassen, MN | $88,338 | $42.47 |
| 16 | Concord, NH | $87,681 | $42.15 |
| 17 | Des Moines, IA | $86,371 | $41.52 |
| 18 | Farmington Hills, MI | $86,063 | $41.38 |
| 19 | Cary, NC | $85,791 | $41.25 |
| 20 | Columbia, SC | $85,432 | $41.07 |
A graphic engineer's salary ranges from $78,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $155,000 at the 90th percentile.

| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $155,000 | $12,917 | $75 |
| 75th Percentile | $132,000 | $11,000 | $63 |
| Average | $110,329 | $9,194 | $53 |
| 25th Percentile | $92,000 | $7,667 | $44 |
| 10th Percentile | $78,000 | $6,500 | $38 |
The highest paying types of graphic engineers are senior designer, software engineer, and engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design Internship | $45,791 | $3,816 | $22.01 | 97,018 |
| Production Artist | $61,870 | $5,156 | $29.75 | 59,103 |
| Web Designer | $63,842 | $5,320 | $30.69 | 50,899 |
| Freelance Designer | $57,260 | $4,772 | $27.53 | 45,914 |
| Designer | $66,347 | $5,529 | $31.90 | 52,433 |
| Graphic Designer, Marketing | $48,763 | $4,064 | $23.44 | 115,113 |
Top companies hiring graphic engineers now:
Graphic engineer salaries at Meta and Unity Technologies are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average graphic engineer salary at companies like Apple and Tencent are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $164,707 | $79.19 |
| 2 | Unity Technologies | $150,374 | $72.30 |
| 3 | Apple | $149,538 | $71.89 |
| 4 | Tencent | $149,342 | $71.80 |
| 5 | Bloomberg | $148,065 | $71.19 |
| 6 | Microsoft | $146,578 | $70.47 |
| 7 | CyberCoders | $142,110 | $68.32 |
| 8 | Trion Worlds | $141,465 | $68.01 |
| 9 | Schell Games | $141,301 | $67.93 |
| 10 | Zynga | $138,353 | $66.52 |
| 11 | Activision Blizzard | $137,496 | $66.10 |
| 12 | NVIDIA | $136,005 | $65.39 |
| 13 | Glu Mobile | $135,744 | $65.26 |
| 14 | ZeniMax Media | $135,468 | $65.13 |
| 15 | Resilience | $134,421 | $64.63 |
| 16 | Amazon | $134,250 | $64.54 |
| 17 | Halon Entertainment | $133,689 | $64.27 |
| 18 | Sony Pictures | $133,213 | $64.04 |
| 19 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $133,189 | $64.03 |
| 20 | Certain Affinity | $131,379 | $63.16 |
The average graphic engineer salary has risen by $19,367 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average graphic engineer earned $90,962 annually, but today, they earn $110,329 a year. That works out to a 12% change in pay for graphic engineers over the last decade.
Compare graphic engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Compare graphic engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $110,000 | $53.04 | +2.4% |
| 2025 | $108,000 | $51.78 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $104,000 | $50.05 | +3.3% |
| 2023 | $101,000 | $48.39 | +2.2% |
| 2022 | $98,500 | $47.34 | +1.6% |
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activision Publishing | Expert Graphics Engineer-High Moon Studios | Carlsbad, CA | 06/25/2025 | $121,500 |
| Qualcomm | GPU Graphics Compiler Engineer | Santa Clara, CA | 06/21/2025 | $133,400 |
| Oxide Games | 3D Graphics Engineer | Maryland | 06/11/2025 | $97,614 |
| Blind Squirrel | Senior Graphics Engineer | Irvine, CA | 06/10/2025 | $138,000 |
| Blind Squirrel | Senior Graphics Engineer | Austin, TX | 06/10/2025 | $138,000 |
| Apple | Graphics Compositing UI Compositing Engineer | Cupertino, CA | 06/03/2025 | $143,100 |
| Samsung Electronics America | GPU Software Graphics Engineer | Austin, TX | 05/27/2025 | $122,220 |
| Akkodis | Graphics Engineer | Phoenix, AZ | 05/24/2025 | $104,350 |
| Tencent Ltd. | Lead Graphics Engineer | Irvine, CA | 05/09/2025 | $150,000 |
| Samsung Electronics America Inc. | GPU Software Graphics Engineer | San Jose, CA | 04/29/2025 | $122,220 |
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