Senior Designer Salary
Average Senior Designer Salary
$94,447 yearlyTo create our salary estimates, Zippia starts with data published in publicly available sources such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Foreign Labor Certification Data Center (FLC) Show More
How much does a Senior Designer make?
Senior designers make $94,447 per year on average, or $45.41 per hour, in the United States. Senior designers on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $64,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $138,000.
Location impacts how much a senior designer can expect to make. Senior designers make the most in Washington, California, Nevada, Hawaii, and Oregon.
Highest Paying States For Senior Designers
The darker areas on the map show where senior designers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
- State View
- County View
Senior Designer average salary by State
| Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $129,175 | $62.10 | 893 |
| 2 | California | $122,423 | $58.86 | 3,311 |
| 3 | Oregon | $105,086 | $50.52 | 498 |
| 4 | Texas | $96,940 | $46.61 | 1,245 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $96,934 | $46.60 | 77 |
| 6 | Nevada | $115,330 | $55.45 | 94 |
| 7 | Virginia | $98,884 | $47.54 | 683 |
| 8 | Arizona | $100,851 | $48.49 | 296 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | $97,218 | $46.74 | 710 |
| 10 | District of Columbia | $101,723 | $48.91 | 239 |
| 11 | Utah | $91,823 | $44.15 | 226 |
| 12 | Colorado | $97,984 | $47.11 | 361 |
| 13 | New York | $93,952 | $45.17 | 1,470 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | $88,585 | $42.59 | 325 |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | $88,818 | $42.70 | 668 |
| 16 | New Jersey | $97,768 | $47.00 | 393 |
| 17 | North Carolina | $88,401 | $42.50 | 575 |
| 18 | West Virginia | $93,979 | $45.18 | 48 |
| 19 | Michigan | $84,895 | $40.81 | 502 |
| 20 | Hawaii | $107,314 | $51.59 | 31 |
| 21 | Alaska | $97,413 | $46.83 | 33 |
| 22 | Maryland | $91,368 | $43.93 | 375 |
| 23 | Alabama | $88,476 | $42.54 | 172 |
| 24 | Nebraska | $87,167 | $41.91 | 94 |
| 25 | Louisiana | $90,025 | $43.28 | 102 |
| 26 | Kansas | $84,349 | $40.55 | 148 |
| 27 | Ohio | $83,079 | $39.94 | 502 |
| 28 | Illinois | $82,697 | $39.76 | 777 |
| 29 | Arkansas | $84,987 | $40.86 | 103 |
| 30 | Delaware | $85,344 | $41.03 | 59 |
| 31 | Tennessee | $83,108 | $39.96 | 239 |
| 32 | Florida | $82,617 | $39.72 | 719 |
| 33 | South Carolina | $83,237 | $40.02 | 187 |
| 34 | Missouri | $81,555 | $39.21 | 270 |
| 35 | New Mexico | $79,922 | $38.42 | 82 |
| 36 | Mississippi | $82,595 | $39.71 | 64 |
| 37 | Vermont | $78,925 | $37.94 | 43 |
| 38 | New Hampshire | $77,064 | $37.05 | 102 |
| 39 | Georgia | $73,681 | $35.42 | 772 |
| 40 | Connecticut | $79,668 | $38.30 | 191 |
| 41 | Minnesota | $75,894 | $36.49 | 429 |
| 42 | Idaho | $78,608 | $37.79 | 74 |
| 43 | Iowa | $77,649 | $37.33 | 148 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | $75,731 | $36.41 | 127 |
| 45 | North Dakota | $74,087 | $35.62 | 38 |
| 46 | Indiana | $74,524 | $35.83 | 252 |
| 47 | Montana | $70,947 | $34.11 | 51 |
| 48 | Maine | $63,957 | $30.75 | 75 |
| 49 | Wyoming | $65,378 | $31.43 | 27 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $65,175 | $31.33 | 41 |
| 51 | Kentucky | $64,413 | $30.97 | 137 |
Highest Paying Cities For Senior Designers
| Rank | City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle, WA | $130,889 | $62.93 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $129,808 | $62.41 |
| 3 | Beaverton, OR | $104,652 | $50.31 |
| 4 | Washington, DC | $101,757 | $48.92 |
| 5 | Phoenix, AZ | $101,105 | $48.61 |
| 6 | Austin, TX | $97,758 | $47.00 |
| 7 | Denver, CO | $97,709 | $46.98 |
| 8 | Boston, MA | $97,168 | $46.72 |
| 9 | New York, NY | $94,381 | $45.38 |
| 10 | Baltimore, MD | $91,487 | $43.98 |
| 11 | Philadelphia, PA | $89,197 | $42.88 |
| 12 | Raleigh, NC | $88,682 | $42.64 |
| 13 | Milwaukee, WI | $88,653 | $42.62 |
| 14 | Dearborn, MI | $85,056 | $40.89 |
| 15 | Tampa, FL | $83,793 | $40.29 |
Senior Designer Salary Details
What is a Senior Designer's Salary?
| Percentile | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $138,000 | $11,500 | $66 |
| 75th Percentile | $115,000 | $9,583 | $55 |
| Average | $94,447 | $7,871 | $45 |
| 25th Percentile | $77,000 | $6,417 | $37 |
| 10th Percentile | $64,000 | $5,333 | $31 |
Average Salary By Related Titles
| Job Title | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designer/Art Director | $83,757 | $6,980 | $40.27 | 53,314 |
| Graphic Designer, Marketing | $45,164 | $3,764 | $21.71 | 115,113 |
| Computer Aided Design Designer | $59,265 | $4,939 | $28.49 | 92,503 |
| Lead Graphic Designer | $70,199 | $5,850 | $33.75 | 46,260 |
| Interactive Designer | $99,638 | $8,303 | $47.90 | 48,136 |
| Graphic Designer | $48,792 | $4,066 | $23.46 | 45,625 |
Here are the five companies hiring the most now:
Which Companies Pay Senior Designers The Most?
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft | $163,858 | $78.78 | 25 |
| 2 | $154,985 | $74.51 | 196 | |
| 3 | Evernote | $151,754 | $72.96 | |
| 4 | Lyft | $147,824 | $71.07 | 1 |
| 5 | VMware | $145,333 | $69.87 | 143 |
| 6 | Nordstrom | $144,989 | $69.71 | 26 |
| 7 | eBay | $143,883 | $69.17 | 8 |
| 8 | StubHub | $143,839 | $69.15 | |
| 9 | Uber Technologies | $139,252 | $66.95 | 1 |
| 10 | URBN | $137,988 | $66.34 | 28 |
| 11 | American Eagle Outfitters | $135,007 | $64.91 | |
| 12 | $134,454 | $64.64 | ||
| 13 | Neiman Marcus Group | $134,331 | $64.58 | 29 |
| 14 | Adobe | $134,269 | $64.55 | 69 |
| 15 | Renesas Electronics | $134,215 | $64.53 | 10 |
| 16 | Macy's | $133,430 | $64.15 | 13 |
| 17 | Thoughtworks | $132,272 | $63.59 | 4 |
| 18 | Levi Strauss & Co. | $130,759 | $62.86 | 8 |
| 19 | Gap Inc. | $129,457 | $62.24 | 71 |
| 20 | Intuit | $128,652 | $61.85 | 30 |
How Much Do Senior Designers Make In Different Industries?
Senior designer salaries can vary depending on the industry. In fact, our data shows that the retail, technology, and media industries tend to offer much higher salaries for senior designers. For example, senior designers make a whopping average salary of $107,473 while working in the retail industry. Meanwhile, other people in this field are making $107,350 in the technology industry and $105,240 in the media industry.
Senior designers may want to avoid working in the professional industry as it offers the lowest average salary of $93,866.
Highest Paying Industries For Senior Designers
| Rank | Industry | Average Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retail | $107,473 | $51.67 |
| 2 | Technology | $107,350 | $51.61 |
| 3 | Media | $105,240 | $50.60 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $97,800 | $47.02 |
| 5 | Automotive | $97,226 | $46.74 |
| 6 | Professional | $93,866 | $45.13 |
High Paying Senior Designer Jobs
Senior Designer Salary Trends
Average Senior Designer Salary Over Time
Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Senior Designer Salary By Year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $94,400 | $45.41 | +2.4% |
| 2021 | $92,200 | $44.33 | +3.3% |
| 2020 | $89,100 | $42.85 | +3.3% |
| 2019 | $86,200 | $41.43 | +2.2% |
| 2018 | $84,300 | $40.52 | +1.6% |
Recently Added Senior Designer Salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date Added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atwell, LLC | Senior Designer (Civil Engineer-Land Development) | Lakewood, CO | 06/01/2022 | $50,000 |
| Atwell | Senior Designer (Civil Engineer-Land Development) | Tempe, AZ | 05/31/2022 | $50,000 |
| Floor & Decor | Senior Designer | Fairfield, CT | 05/27/2022 | $38,797 |
| Floor & Decor | Senior Designer | Arvada, CO | 05/27/2022 | $37,587 |
| VF Corporation | The North Face: Senior Designer, Women's Off | Denver, CO | 05/24/2022 | $93,312 |
| Teco Energy/Peoples Gas | Designer/Senior Designer | Gallup, NM | 05/24/2022 | $54,200 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Senior Designer | Philadelphia, PA | 05/23/2022 | $60,000 |
| United Services Automobile Association (USAA) | Designer Senior | San Antonio, TX | 05/12/2022 | $97,200 |
| The Reinforced Earth Company | Senior Designer-Manufacturing | Denver, CO | 05/10/2022 | $68,000 |
| Creative Circle, LLC | Senior Designer (8317) | Englewood, CO | 05/10/2022 | $77,219 |
Senior Designer Salaries FAQs
What state pays Senior Designers the most?
Washington pays Senior Designers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $129,175 per year, or $62.10 per hour.
How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a Senior Designer?
You know if you are being paid fairly as a Senior Designer if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in California you should be paid close to $122,423 per year.
What type of Senior Designer gets paid the most?
Lead Designer gets paid the most. Lead Designer made a median salary of $111,727. The best-paid 10 percent make $134,000, while the lowest-paid 10 percent make $92,000.
How much do senior designers make?
Senior designers make $96,000 yearly ($46.60 an hour) on average. The range, however, in how much a senior designer can make is rather high - starting from as little as $67,000 a year to as much as $139,000 a year. Factors such as location and type of industry impacts how much a senior designer can make.
How much do senior digital designers make?
Senior digital designers make between $70,000 to $105,000 a year, with a median salary of $72,000. Factors such as where you live, and the company you work for can impact how much a senior digital designer can make.
How much does being a graphic designer pay?
Being a graphic designer typically pays about $45,772 yearly or $3,814 per month, which is about $22 per hour. As most jobs go, factors like location, industry, and experience can determine your exact salary.
What do you need to be a senior designer?
You need the right educational background, extensive work portfolio, and several years of work experience to become a senior designer.
Most senior designers have a bachelor's degree and design or related fields. From there, prospective senior designers will need to put in at least five to eight years working as a designer. Usually, this is the time it takes to advance from a junior designer position into a mid-level designer and finally to a senior designer position.
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