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Production designer salary
Average production designer salary
$54,760
Average Production Designer Salary
The average salary for a production designer in the United States is approximately $54,760 per year, translating to about $26 per hour. Salaries can vary significantly based on factors such as geographic location, industry, and years of experience.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level production designers may start with salaries around $40,000, while those with several years of experience can earn upwards of $70,000 annually. Specialized skills in high-demand areas can further enhance earning potential.
Highest Paying States
Production designers looking to maximize their earnings should consider relocating to states like California and New York, where salaries often exceed the national average. In these states, experienced professionals can earn significantly higher salaries due to the concentration of creative industries.
Job Opportunities
As a production designer, job opportunities span various sectors, including film, television, theater, and advertising. Keeping an eye on industry trends and networking within creative communities can open doors to higher-paying positions.
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Where can a Production Designer earn more?
Production designer salaries by experience level
| Experience level | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level production designer | $34,200 | $16.45 |
| Mid-level production designer | $48,000 | $23.06 |
| Senior-level production designer | $74,800 | $35.95 |
Production designer salary estimates from across the web
Average production designer salary by state
The highest-paying states for production designers are California, Washington, and Alaska. The lowest average production designer salary states are Kansas, Iowa, and Maine.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for production designers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $82,334 | $39.58 |
| 2 | California | $82,683 | $39.75 |
| 3 | Oregon | $62,737 | $30.16 |
| 4 | New York | $65,837 | $31.65 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | $63,088 | $30.33 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $64,281 | $30.90 |
| 7 | District of Columbia | $68,152 | $32.77 |
| 8 | Rhode Island | $64,952 | $31.23 |
| 9 | Virginia | $62,121 | $29.87 |
| 10 | Michigan | $54,783 | $26.34 |
| 11 | Ohio | $51,943 | $24.97 |
| 12 | Nevada | $59,575 | $28.64 |
| 13 | Arizona | $58,439 | $28.10 |
| 14 | Alaska | $68,414 | $32.89 |
| 15 | Texas | $56,056 | $26.95 |
| 16 | New Jersey | $62,789 | $30.19 |
| 17 | Utah | $51,816 | $24.91 |
| 18 | West Virginia | $56,707 | $27.26 |
| 19 | Indiana | $51,002 | $24.52 |
| 20 | Maryland | $60,434 | $29.05 |
| 21 | Delaware | $59,615 | $28.66 |
| 22 | North Carolina | $53,596 | $25.77 |
| 23 | Colorado | $54,509 | $26.21 |
| 24 | New Hampshire | $49,962 | $24.02 |
| 25 | Kentucky | $45,531 | $21.89 |
| 26 | Connecticut | $54,104 | $26.01 |
| 27 | Illinois | $49,268 | $23.69 |
| 28 | Idaho | $48,861 | $23.49 |
| 29 | Wisconsin | $43,576 | $20.95 |
| 30 | Missouri | $47,260 | $22.72 |
| 31 | North Dakota | $46,855 | $22.53 |
| 32 | Tennessee | $43,851 | $21.08 |
| 33 | Minnesota | $43,446 | $20.89 |
| 34 | Wyoming | $48,657 | $23.39 |
| 35 | Florida | $47,350 | $22.76 |
| 36 | Georgia | $43,323 | $20.83 |
| 37 | Hawaii | $53,747 | $25.84 |
| 38 | Iowa | $41,078 | $19.75 |
| 39 | Nebraska | $43,248 | $20.79 |
| 40 | Louisiana | $46,763 | $22.48 |
| 41 | Kansas | $41,680 | $20.04 |
| 42 | Montana | $45,998 | $22.11 |
| 43 | New Mexico | $46,435 | $22.32 |
| 44 | Arkansas | $43,691 | $21.01 |
| 45 | Maine | $40,644 | $19.54 |
| 46 | Vermont | $42,244 | $20.31 |
| 47 | Alabama | $42,640 | $20.50 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $40,407 | $19.43 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $41,683 | $20.04 |
| 50 | South Carolina | $39,695 | $19.08 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $32,957 | $15.84 |
Highest paying cities for production designers
The highest-paying cities for production designers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Washington, DC.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $91,090 | $43.79 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $83,092 | $39.95 |
| 3 | Washington, DC | $68,122 | $32.75 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $66,446 | $31.95 |
| 5 | Arlington, VA | $65,053 | $31.28 |
| 6 | Philadelphia, PA | $64,430 | $30.98 |
| 7 | Boston, MA | $63,976 | $30.76 |
| 8 | Edison, NJ | $62,851 | $30.22 |
| 9 | Las Vegas, NV | $59,049 | $28.39 |
| 10 | Phoenix, AZ | $58,751 | $28.25 |
| 11 | San Antonio, TX | $57,654 | $27.72 |
| 12 | Denver, CO | $54,462 | $26.18 |
| 13 | Kalamazoo, MI | $52,551 | $25.26 |
| 14 | Salt Lake City, UT | $51,651 | $24.83 |
| 15 | Dublin, OH | $51,137 | $24.59 |
| 16 | Skokie, IL | $49,383 | $23.74 |
| 17 | Orlando, FL | $47,364 | $22.77 |
| 18 | Racine, WI | $43,870 | $21.09 |
| 19 | Rochester, MN | $43,755 | $21.04 |
| 20 | Atlanta, GA | $43,080 | $20.71 |
Production designer salary details
A production designer's salary ranges from $36,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $82,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a production designer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $82,000 | $6,833 | $39 |
| 75th Percentile | $67,000 | $5,583 | $32 |
| Average | $54,760 | $4,563 | $26 |
| 25th Percentile | $44,000 | $3,667 | $21 |
| 10th Percentile | $36,000 | $3,000 | $17 |
Highest paying production designer jobs
The highest paying types of production designers are design director, head designer, and lead designer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designer/Art Director | $97,448 | $8,121 | $46.85 | 53,314 |
| Graphic Designer/Production | $48,619 | $4,052 | $23.37 | 95,831 |
| Design Director | $132,823 | $11,069 | $63.86 | 48,337 |
| Graphic Designer, Marketing | $48,763 | $4,064 | $23.44 | 115,113 |
| Web Designer | $63,842 | $5,320 | $30.69 | 50,899 |
| Visual Designer | $86,495 | $7,208 | $41.58 | 46,815 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for production designers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Abby Guido
Assistant Professor, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University
Top companies hiring production designers now:
Which companies pay production designers the most?
Production designer salaries at Meta and Square are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average production designer salary at companies like Apple and Macy's are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $141,290 | $67.93 |
| 2 | Square | $130,621 | $62.80 |
| 3 | Apple | $126,054 | $60.60 |
| 4 | Macy's | $111,385 | $53.55 |
| 5 | Classy | $103,705 | $49.86 |
| 6 | Amazon | $101,333 | $48.72 |
| 7 | Cricut | $99,509 | $47.84 |
| 8 | Gap Inc. | $97,787 | $47.01 |
| 9 | Nuveen Investments | $97,155 | $46.71 |
| 10 | Mayo Clinic | $92,330 | $44.39 |
| 11 | Aquent | $89,641 | $43.10 |
| 12 | The Home Depot | $89,385 | $42.97 |
| 13 | Bloomingdale's | $88,630 | $42.61 |
| 14 | DreamWorks Animation | $86,000 | $41.35 |
| 15 | Delta Air Lines | $85,409 | $41.06 |
| 16 | COUNTRY Financial | $85,110 | $40.92 |
| 17 | SmartPractice | $83,577 | $40.18 |
| 18 | Publicis Sapient | $83,194 | $40.00 |
| 19 | VF | $82,850 | $39.83 |
| 20 | iHeartMedia | $82,037 | $39.44 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Production Designer salary by industry
The average production designer salary varies across industries:
- The average production designer salary in the internet industry is $91,521, the highest of any industry.
- The average production designer salary in the finance industry is $75,442.
- Production designers in the retail industry earn an average salary of $68,707, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for production designers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Internet | $91,521 | $44.00 |
| 2 | Professional | $75,442 | $36.27 |
| 3 | Technology | $74,378 | $35.76 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $73,973 | $35.56 |
| 5 | Media | $70,854 | $34.06 |
| 6 | Retail | $68,707 | $33.03 |
High paying production designer jobs
Production designer salary trends
The average production designer salary has risen by $9,613 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average production designer earned $45,147 annually, but today, they earn $54,760 a year. That works out to a 12% change in pay for production designers over the last decade.
Compare production designer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average production designer salary over time
Compare production designer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Production designer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $54,800 | $26.33 | +2.4% |
| 2025 | $53,500 | $25.70 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $51,700 | $24.84 | +3.3% |
| 2023 | $50,000 | $24.02 | +2.2% |
| 2022 | $48,900 | $23.50 | +1.6% |
Recently added production designer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balsam Brands, Inc. | Technical Production Designer | Redwood City, CA | 06/29/2025 | $73,000 |
| Team Velocity | Creative Production Designer | Enon, VA | 06/28/2025 | $45,000 |
| Cella Inc. | Production Designer (Contract) | Topeka, KS | 06/27/2025 | $52,175 |
| Cella Inc. | Production Designer (Remote) | Atlanta, GA | 06/27/2025 | $73,045 |
| Run Studios | Production Designer | Seattle, WA | 06/27/2025 | $125,220 |
| Teksystems | Production Designer-Online Retail | Hawthorne, CA | 06/26/2025 | $83,480 |
| Procter & Gamble | Production Designer | Cincinnati, OH | 06/26/2025 | $85,000 |
| Rhode Skin | Packaging Production Designer | Los Angeles, CA | 06/26/2025 | $75,000 |
| Sock Club | Production Sock Designer | Austin, TX | 06/25/2025 | $50,000 |
| at&T | Lead Production Designer, Brand Design | Dallas, TX | 06/24/2025 | $105,600 |
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