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User experience researcher salary
Average user experience researcher salary
$99,849
Average User Experience Researcher Salary
The average salary for a User Experience Researcher is $99,849 annually, equating to approximately $48 per hour. This figure reflects a strong demand for professionals who specialize in understanding user behavior and enhancing product design.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level researchers can start with a salary around $70,000, while those with several years of experience can earn upwards of $120,000. As professionals advance in their careers, they often take on more complex projects, leading to higher compensation.
Top Paying States
User Experience Researchers in states like California, New York, and Washington report some of the highest salaries in the field. For instance, California researchers average over $110,000. Understanding where these opportunities exist can significantly impact your earning potential.
Job Opportunities
With the increasing emphasis on user-centered design, companies across sectors are actively seeking skilled User Experience Researchers. Job postings frequently highlight the need for strong analytical skills and the ability to conduct user interviews and usability testing.
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Where can a User Experience Researcher earn more?
User experience researcher salaries by experience level
| Experience level | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level user experience researcher | $62,700 | $30.12 |
| Mid-level user experience researcher | $106,000 | $50.87 |
| Senior-level user experience researcher | $173,000 | $83.31 |
User experience researcher salary estimates from across the web
Average user experience researcher salary by state
The highest-paying states for user experience researchers are Washington, Delaware, and California. The lowest average user experience researcher salary states are Iowa, Indiana, and Oklahoma.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for user experience researchers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $120,296 | $57.83 |
| 2 | Oregon | $106,150 | $51.03 |
| 3 | Alaska | $112,332 | $54.01 |
| 4 | California | $113,683 | $54.66 |
| 5 | New York | $109,683 | $52.73 |
| 6 | Delaware | $118,602 | $57.02 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $98,264 | $47.24 |
| 8 | New Hampshire | $101,648 | $48.87 |
| 9 | District of Columbia | $105,679 | $50.81 |
| 10 | New Jersey | $101,478 | $48.79 |
| 11 | Montana | $93,812 | $45.10 |
| 12 | Texas | $92,728 | $44.58 |
| 13 | Vermont | $91,284 | $43.89 |
| 14 | Maine | $97,758 | $47.00 |
| 15 | Connecticut | $95,266 | $45.80 |
| 16 | Minnesota | $90,348 | $43.44 |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | $87,678 | $42.15 |
| 18 | Louisiana | $90,071 | $43.30 |
| 19 | Massachusetts | $89,865 | $43.20 |
| 20 | Nevada | $90,942 | $43.72 |
| 21 | Alabama | $90,882 | $43.69 |
| 22 | Arkansas | $89,273 | $42.92 |
| 23 | Colorado | $88,741 | $42.66 |
| 24 | Utah | $83,135 | $39.97 |
| 25 | Kansas | $87,273 | $41.96 |
| 26 | North Dakota | $86,141 | $41.41 |
| 27 | New Mexico | $88,513 | $42.55 |
| 28 | South Dakota | $86,589 | $41.63 |
| 29 | Arizona | $87,479 | $42.06 |
| 30 | Georgia | $83,736 | $40.26 |
| 31 | North Carolina | $82,120 | $39.48 |
| 32 | Idaho | $86,651 | $41.66 |
| 33 | Maryland | $83,773 | $40.28 |
| 34 | Michigan | $79,453 | $38.20 |
| 35 | Illinois | $79,028 | $37.99 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | $81,407 | $39.14 |
| 37 | Virginia | $79,283 | $38.12 |
| 38 | Hawaii | $84,484 | $40.62 |
| 39 | Wyoming | $80,204 | $38.56 |
| 40 | Ohio | $75,319 | $36.21 |
| 41 | South Carolina | $81,700 | $39.28 |
| 42 | Florida | $77,088 | $37.06 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $76,101 | $36.59 |
| 44 | Missouri | $75,431 | $36.26 |
| 45 | West Virginia | $73,859 | $35.51 |
| 46 | Indiana | $72,788 | $34.99 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $66,462 | $31.95 |
| 48 | Iowa | $72,859 | $35.03 |
| 49 | Nebraska | $70,992 | $34.13 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $71,144 | $34.20 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $64,394 | $30.96 |
Highest paying cities for user experience researchers
The highest-paying cities for user experience researchers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Albany, NY.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $122,451 | $58.87 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $121,634 | $58.48 |
| 3 | Albany, NY | $110,964 | $53.35 |
| 4 | Portland, OR | $105,663 | $50.80 |
| 5 | Washington, DC | $105,645 | $50.79 |
| 6 | Jersey City, NJ | $101,824 | $48.95 |
| 7 | Portland, ME | $97,792 | $47.02 |
| 8 | Austin, TX | $93,520 | $44.96 |
| 9 | Minneapolis, MN | $90,368 | $43.45 |
| 10 | Boston, MA | $89,914 | $43.23 |
| 11 | Boulder, CO | $88,813 | $42.70 |
| 12 | Philadelphia, PA | $88,439 | $42.52 |
| 13 | Phoenix, AZ | $87,597 | $42.11 |
| 14 | Atlanta, GA | $83,644 | $40.21 |
| 15 | Raleigh, NC | $82,981 | $39.89 |
| 16 | Salt Lake City, UT | $82,683 | $39.75 |
| 17 | Madison, WI | $80,742 | $38.82 |
| 18 | Arlington, VA | $80,336 | $38.62 |
| 19 | Detroit, MI | $79,635 | $38.29 |
| 20 | Chicago, IL | $79,196 | $38.08 |
User Experience Researchers are the most in-demand in these five cities:
User experience researcher salary details
A user experience researcher's salary ranges from $73,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $135,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a user experience researcher's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $135,000 | $11,250 | $65 |
| 75th Percentile | $117,000 | $9,750 | $56 |
| Average | $99,849 | $8,321 | $48 |
| 25th Percentile | $84,000 | $7,000 | $40 |
| 10th Percentile | $73,000 | $6,083 | $35 |
Highest paying user experience researcher jobs
The highest paying types of user experience researchers are user experience designer, product specialist, and freelance marketing consultant.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing Department Internship | $31,989 | $2,666 | $15.38 | 143,703 |
| Marketing Internship | $30,260 | $2,522 | $14.55 | 122,135 |
| Marketing Consultant | $70,593 | $5,883 | $33.94 | 88,935 |
| Marketing Analyst | $59,380 | $4,948 | $28.55 | 95,650 |
| Sales And Marketing Internship | $42,269 | $3,522 | $20.32 | 142,820 |
| Marketing Coordinator | $48,326 | $4,027 | $23.23 | 91,281 |
Top companies hiring user experience researchers now:
Which companies pay user experience researchers the most?
User experience researcher salaries at Meta and ByteDance are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average user experience researcher salary at companies like Apple and DoorDash are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $137,096 | $65.91 |
| 2 | ByteDance | $135,852 | $65.31 |
| 3 | Apple | $133,322 | $64.10 |
| 4 | DoorDash | $133,264 | $64.07 |
| 5 | Zoox | $131,561 | $63.25 |
| 6 | Airbnb | $130,741 | $62.86 |
| 7 | Instacart | $130,040 | $62.52 |
| 8 | $129,410 | $62.22 | |
| 9 | PayPal | $128,192 | $61.63 |
| 10 | Turo | $125,315 | $60.25 |
| 11 | Lyft | $123,172 | $59.22 |
| 12 | Flexport | $122,209 | $58.75 |
| 13 | PitchBook Data | $122,092 | $58.70 |
| 14 | Palo Alto Networks | $121,859 | $58.59 |
| 15 | Yelp | $121,674 | $58.50 |
| 16 | Zeta | $120,611 | $57.99 |
| 17 | Waymo | $120,540 | $57.95 |
| 18 | Databricks | $120,218 | $57.80 |
| 19 | GoPro | $119,988 | $57.69 |
| 20 | Duolingo | $119,422 | $57.41 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
User Experience Researcher salary by industry
The average user experience researcher salary varies across industries:
- The average user experience researcher salary in the start-up industry is $118,075, the highest of any industry.
- The average user experience researcher salary in the finance industry is $114,457.
- User experience researchers in the professional industry earn an average salary of $95,842, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for user experience researchers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start-up | $118,075 | $56.77 |
| 2 | Technology | $114,457 | $55.03 |
| 3 | Internet | $101,649 | $48.87 |
| 4 | Finance | $98,644 | $47.42 |
| 5 | Professional | $95,842 | $46.08 |
High paying user experience researcher jobs
User experience researcher salary trends
The average user experience researcher salary has risen by $8,436 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average user experience researcher earned $91,413 annually, but today, they earn $99,849 a year. That works out to a 5% change in pay for user experience researchers over the last decade.
Compare user experience researcher salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average user experience researcher salary over time
Compare user experience researcher salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
User experience researcher salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $99,800 | $48.00 | +3.1% |
| 2024 | $96,800 | $46.53 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $95,800 | $46.04 | -0.2% |
| 2022 | $95,900 | $46.12 | +1.1% |
| 2021 | $94,900 | $45.63 | +0.7% |
Recently added user experience researcher salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Senior UX Researcher-Owned Brands | Minneapolis, MN | 06/30/2025 | $95,000 |
| Lyft | UX Researcher, Risk Tech | San Francisco, CA | 06/29/2025 | $128,000 |
| Get It-Hospitality | People Experience & Programs-Remote | Los Angeles, CA | 06/29/2025 | $35,479 |
| Adobe Systems Incorporated | User Experience Researcher 2 | San Francisco, CA | 06/28/2025 | $77,500 |
| at&T | Principal UX Researcher | Bothell, WA | 06/28/2025 | $158,200 |
| Digitalocean | User Research | Denver, CO | 06/28/2025 | $85,000 |
| Fanduel | User Experience Researcher | Atlanta, GA | 06/28/2025 | $94,000 |
| Flutter Entertainment PLC | User Experience Researcher | Atlanta, GA | 06/28/2025 | $94,000 |
| Comcast | Lead UX Researcher | New York, NY | 06/27/2025 | $133,933 |
| Church Mutual Insurance Company | Digital UX Researcher Designer | Milwaukee, WI | 06/27/2025 | $82,700 |
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