Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Tool designer salary
Average tool designer salary
$64,763
Average Tool Designer Salary
The average salary for a tool designer is approximately $64,763 per year, translating to about $31 per hour. Salaries can vary significantly depending on factors such as experience, location, and the specific industry. Entry-level positions typically start lower, while experienced professionals can expect higher compensation.
Salary Insights by Experience Level
Entry-level tool designers generally earn around $50,000, while those with five to ten years of experience can expect salaries ranging from $60,000 to $75,000. Senior tool designers with extensive experience may earn upwards of $90,000.
Top Paying States for Tool Designers
Tool designers in states like California, Texas, and New York tend to earn higher salaries. In California, the average salary can exceed $70,000 due to its high demand for skilled professionals and cost of living considerations.
Opportunities for Growth
As industries evolve, so do job opportunities for tool designers. With advancements in technology and manufacturing methods, tool designers who specialize in areas like CAD software or CNC machining are particularly sought after.
Let Zippi find your next tool designer job
Let Zippi find your next tool designer job
Where can a Tool Designer earn more?
Tool designer salaries by experience level
Tool designer salary estimates from across the web
Average tool designer salary by state
The average tool designer salary in California, Indiana, and Nevada are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average tool designer salary states are Hawaii, South Carolina, and New Mexico.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for tool designers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $88,909 | $42.74 |
| 2 | Wisconsin | $71,049 | $34.16 |
| 3 | Utah | $72,393 | $34.80 |
| 4 | Illinois | $72,852 | $35.02 |
| 5 | Indiana | $77,964 | $37.48 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | $70,398 | $33.85 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $70,334 | $33.81 |
| 8 | Washington | $68,780 | $33.07 |
| 9 | Nevada | $73,923 | $35.54 |
| 10 | North Dakota | $70,645 | $33.96 |
| 11 | Ohio | $67,366 | $32.39 |
| 12 | Rhode Island | $67,537 | $32.47 |
| 13 | Nebraska | $68,542 | $32.95 |
| 14 | New York | $67,922 | $32.65 |
| 15 | District of Columbia | $68,020 | $32.70 |
| 16 | Georgia | $64,843 | $31.17 |
| 17 | New Jersey | $70,390 | $33.84 |
| 18 | New Hampshire | $65,703 | $31.59 |
| 19 | Connecticut | $67,885 | $32.64 |
| 20 | Virginia | $66,757 | $32.09 |
| 21 | Iowa | $66,254 | $31.85 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | $66,197 | $31.83 |
| 23 | Kentucky | $66,553 | $32.00 |
| 24 | Tennessee | $65,268 | $31.38 |
| 25 | Delaware | $68,577 | $32.97 |
| 26 | Michigan | $62,339 | $29.97 |
| 27 | Idaho | $65,320 | $31.40 |
| 28 | Vermont | $66,822 | $32.13 |
| 29 | Arizona | $64,822 | $31.16 |
| 30 | Mississippi | $65,272 | $31.38 |
| 31 | Missouri | $64,398 | $30.96 |
| 32 | Alaska | $72,303 | $34.76 |
| 33 | Minnesota | $63,602 | $30.58 |
| 34 | Oregon | $61,932 | $29.77 |
| 35 | Maine | $62,512 | $30.05 |
| 36 | Kansas | $61,033 | $29.34 |
| 37 | Colorado | $62,258 | $29.93 |
| 38 | West Virginia | $62,272 | $29.94 |
| 39 | Maryland | $60,048 | $28.87 |
| 40 | Wyoming | $61,174 | $29.41 |
| 41 | Alabama | $57,256 | $27.53 |
| 42 | North Carolina | $55,161 | $26.52 |
| 43 | Texas | $51,056 | $24.55 |
| 44 | Arkansas | $56,723 | $27.27 |
| 45 | South Carolina | $53,685 | $25.81 |
| 46 | New Mexico | $51,557 | $24.79 |
| 47 | Hawaii | $54,310 | $26.11 |
| 48 | South Dakota | $54,389 | $26.15 |
| 49 | Montana | $55,604 | $26.73 |
| 50 | Louisiana | $50,496 | $24.28 |
| 51 | Florida | $45,784 | $22.01 |
Highest paying cities for tool designers
The highest-paying cities for tool designers are San Jose, CA, Carson City, NV, and Indianapolis, IN.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose, CA | $97,889 | $47.06 |
| 2 | Carson City, NV | $79,503 | $38.22 |
| 3 | Indianapolis, IN | $77,868 | $37.44 |
| 4 | Batavia, IL | $72,752 | $34.98 |
| 5 | Clearfield, UT | $71,745 | $34.49 |
| 6 | Everett, WA | $69,269 | $33.30 |
| 7 | Newark, DE | $68,453 | $32.91 |
| 8 | Middletown, CT | $67,781 | $32.59 |
| 9 | Waterloo, IA | $66,687 | $32.06 |
| 10 | Canton, GA | $66,616 | $32.03 |
| 11 | Middletown, OH | $66,480 | $31.96 |
| 12 | Albany, NY | $66,176 | $31.82 |
| 13 | Minneapolis, MN | $63,638 | $30.60 |
| 14 | Warren, MI | $62,574 | $30.08 |
| 15 | Hillsboro, OR | $61,634 | $29.63 |
| 16 | Houston, TX | $49,853 | $23.97 |
Tool designer salary details
A tool designer's salary ranges from $47,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $87,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a tool designer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $87,000 | $7,250 | $42 |
| 75th Percentile | $76,000 | $6,333 | $37 |
| Average | $64,763 | $5,397 | $31 |
| 25th Percentile | $55,000 | $4,583 | $26 |
| 10th Percentile | $47,000 | $3,917 | $23 |
Highest paying tool designer jobs
The highest paying types of tool designers are senior mechanical designer, product designer, and tool engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mold Maker | $48,841 | $4,070 | $23.48 | 13,896 |
| Computer Aided Design Designer | $60,150 | $5,012 | $28.92 | 92,503 |
| Tool And Die Maker | $52,956 | $4,413 | $25.46 | 18,971 |
| Tool Maker | $52,443 | $4,370 | $25.21 | 18,166 |
| Mechanical Designer | $62,541 | $5,212 | $30.07 | 65,748 |
| Product Designer | $102,033 | $8,503 | $49.05 | 98,465 |
Top companies hiring tool designers now:
Which companies pay tool designers the most?
Tool designer salaries at Entegris and Allison Transmission are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average tool designer salary at companies like Waltonen Engineering and Jacobs Engineering Group are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Entegris | $96,233 | $46.27 |
| 2 | Allison Transmission | $88,954 | $42.77 |
| 3 | Waltonen Engineering | $81,413 | $39.14 |
| 4 | Jacobs Engineering Group | $77,485 | $37.25 |
| 5 | Chromalloy Gas Turbine LLC | $75,006 | $36.06 |
| 6 | ZeniMax Media | $73,177 | $35.18 |
| 7 | Sandvik Coromant | $72,951 | $35.07 |
| 8 | Koch Industries | $72,745 | $34.97 |
| 9 | Pentair | $71,788 | $34.51 |
| 10 | US Tech Solutions | $70,807 | $34.04 |
| 11 | Schaeffler | $68,833 | $33.09 |
| 12 | ICONMA | $68,419 | $32.89 |
| 13 | BlackHawk Industrial | $67,489 | $32.45 |
| 14 | VIVA USA | $67,022 | $32.22 |
| 15 | Cyient | $66,118 | $31.79 |
| 16 | Spark Talent Acquisition | $65,294 | $31.39 |
| 17 | GWS Tool Group | $65,294 | $31.39 |
| 18 | Jacobs Enterprises | $65,130 | $31.31 |
| 19 | Graco | $65,099 | $31.30 |
| 20 | Meyer Tool | $65,094 | $31.30 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Tool Designer salary by industry
The average tool designer salary varies across industries:
- The average tool designer salary in the automotive industry is $70,839, the highest of any industry.
- The average tool designer salary in the finance industry is $68,859.
- Tool designers in the transportation industry earn an average salary of $63,201, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for tool designers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Automotive | $70,839 | $34.06 |
| 2 | Manufacturing | $68,859 | $33.11 |
| 3 | Professional | $67,112 | $32.27 |
| 4 | Technology | $66,011 | $31.74 |
| 5 | Transportation | $63,201 | $30.39 |
High paying tool designer jobs
Tool designer salary trends
The average tool designer salary has risen by $9,591 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average tool designer earned $55,172 annually, but today, they earn $64,763 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for tool designers over the last decade.
Compare tool designer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average tool designer salary over time
Compare tool designer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Tool designer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $64,800 | $31.14 | +1.5% |
| 2024 | $63,800 | $30.66 | +2.2% |
| 2023 | $62,400 | $29.99 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | $62,100 | $29.84 | +2.7% |
| 2021 | $60,400 | $29.03 | +1.5% |
Recently added tool designer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeppesen | Equipment & Tool Designer (Tool Liaison & Design) | Mesa, AZ | 06/30/2025 | $63,750 |
| Jeppesen | Equipment & Tool Designer (Asset Design) | Berkeley, MO | 06/30/2025 | $90,950 |
| Boeing | Equipment & Tool Designer (Tool Liaison & Design) | Mesa, AZ | 06/28/2025 | $63,750 |
| Boeing | Equipment & Tool Designer (Asset Design) | Berkeley, MO | 06/28/2025 | $90,950 |
| Mate Precision Technologies | Tool Designer I | Anoka, MN | 06/11/2025 | $71,459 |
| Jeppesen | Associate Equipment & Tool Designer Technician-Additive Manufacturing and Prototyping | Tukwila, WA | 05/27/2025 | $56,950 |
| Boeing | Associate Equipment & Tool Designer Technician-Additive Manufacturing and Prototyping | Tukwila, WA | 05/25/2025 | $56,950 |
| Trelleborg Group | Tool Designer | Plymouth, MN | 05/24/2025 | $77,219 |
| Teksky LLC | Tools Designer | Comstock Park, MI | 05/24/2025 | $62,610 |
| Caterpillar | Tool Designer | San Diego, CA | 05/22/2025 | $87,456 |
Tool designer salary FAQs
Search for tool designer jobs