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Visual designer salary
Average visual designer salary
$86,495
Visual Designer Salary Overview
As of October 2025, the salary for Visual Designers in the United States averages around $86,495 per year. This figure represents a competitive wage within the design industry, reflecting the critical role visual designers play in branding and user experience.
Factors Influencing Salary
Several factors contribute to variations in salary:
- Experience Level: Entry-level positions typically start around $50,000, while experienced designers can earn upwards of $120,000.
- Location: Salaries are often higher in urban areas, particularly in tech hubs like San Francisco and New York City.
- Industry: Designers in tech and entertainment sectors tend to earn more than those in non-profits or education.
For those considering a career as a Visual Designer, understanding these salary dynamics can guide your career decisions and help you negotiate better compensation packages. Explore opportunities in various states to find where Visual Designers are earning the highest salaries.
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Where can a Visual Designer earn more?
Visual designer salaries by experience level
| Experience level | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level visual designer | $54,000 | $25.98 |
| Mid-level visual designer | $75,800 | $36.42 |
| Senior-level visual designer | $118,000 | $56.79 |
Visual designer salary estimates from across the web
Average visual designer salary by state
The average visual designer salary in California, Massachusetts, and Washington are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average visual designer salary states are Michigan, Iowa, and South Carolina.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for visual designers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $108,222 | $52.03 |
| 2 | Washington | $91,126 | $43.81 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $93,243 | $44.83 |
| 4 | Oregon | $80,204 | $38.56 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $82,384 | $39.61 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | $80,647 | $38.77 |
| 7 | District of Columbia | $84,039 | $40.40 |
| 8 | Arizona | $83,366 | $40.08 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | $77,100 | $37.07 |
| 10 | Connecticut | $80,553 | $38.73 |
| 11 | New York | $79,312 | $38.13 |
| 12 | Virginia | $75,564 | $36.33 |
| 13 | Texas | $71,224 | $34.24 |
| 14 | Maine | $73,079 | $35.13 |
| 15 | Nevada | $72,156 | $34.69 |
| 16 | Utah | $67,446 | $32.43 |
| 17 | Colorado | $72,176 | $34.70 |
| 18 | Maryland | $74,451 | $35.79 |
| 19 | New Jersey | $74,764 | $35.94 |
| 20 | Hawaii | $88,541 | $42.57 |
| 21 | Vermont | $71,883 | $34.56 |
| 22 | New Mexico | $69,312 | $33.32 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $72,284 | $34.75 |
| 24 | Delaware | $73,192 | $35.19 |
| 25 | Indiana | $67,263 | $32.34 |
| 26 | North Dakota | $67,786 | $32.59 |
| 27 | Wyoming | $67,112 | $32.27 |
| 28 | Louisiana | $68,493 | $32.93 |
| 29 | Alaska | $70,985 | $34.13 |
| 30 | Wisconsin | $63,217 | $30.39 |
| 31 | North Carolina | $61,680 | $29.65 |
| 32 | Tennessee | $63,537 | $30.55 |
| 33 | Florida | $63,594 | $30.57 |
| 34 | Illinois | $61,903 | $29.76 |
| 35 | Arkansas | $62,678 | $30.13 |
| 36 | Idaho | $62,818 | $30.20 |
| 37 | Montana | $62,935 | $30.26 |
| 38 | Georgia | $58,163 | $27.96 |
| 39 | Michigan | $56,979 | $27.39 |
| 40 | Alabama | $60,129 | $28.91 |
| 41 | Minnesota | $58,437 | $28.09 |
| 42 | Oklahoma | $61,186 | $29.42 |
| 43 | Missouri | $60,722 | $29.19 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $59,457 | $28.59 |
| 45 | Kentucky | $60,252 | $28.97 |
| 46 | Iowa | $56,448 | $27.14 |
| 47 | Kansas | $54,722 | $26.31 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $58,773 | $28.26 |
| 49 | Ohio | $53,709 | $25.82 |
| 50 | South Carolina | $55,067 | $26.47 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $46,685 | $22.44 |
Highest paying cities for visual designers
The highest-paying cities for visual designers are San Bruno, CA, Boston, MA, and Seattle, WA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Bruno, CA | $115,101 | $55.34 |
| 2 | Boston, MA | $93,519 | $44.96 |
| 3 | Seattle, WA | $92,029 | $44.24 |
| 4 | Washington, DC | $84,181 | $40.47 |
| 5 | Providence, RI | $82,414 | $39.62 |
| 6 | Philadelphia, PA | $81,828 | $39.34 |
| 7 | Hillsboro, OR | $79,750 | $38.34 |
| 8 | New York, NY | $79,513 | $38.23 |
| 9 | Arlington, VA | $77,592 | $37.30 |
| 10 | Denver, CO | $72,028 | $34.63 |
| 11 | Austin, TX | $71,951 | $34.59 |
| 12 | Las Vegas, NV | $71,942 | $34.59 |
| 13 | Coral Gables, FL | $64,223 | $30.88 |
| 14 | Raleigh, NC | $62,528 | $30.06 |
| 15 | Chicago, IL | $61,998 | $29.81 |
| 16 | Saint Louis, MO | $60,321 | $29.00 |
| 17 | Hoover, AL | $59,356 | $28.54 |
| 18 | Minneapolis, MN | $58,452 | $28.10 |
| 19 | Atlanta, GA | $58,014 | $27.89 |
| 20 | Detroit, MI | $57,276 | $27.54 |
Visual designer salary details
A visual designer's salary ranges from $51,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $143,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a visual designer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $143,000 | $11,917 | $69 |
| 75th Percentile | $113,000 | $9,417 | $54 |
| Average | $86,495 | $7,208 | $42 |
| 25th Percentile | $66,000 | $5,500 | $32 |
| 10th Percentile | $51,000 | $4,250 | $25 |
Highest paying visual designer jobs
The highest paying types of visual designers are lead designer, senior designer, and interactive designer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphic Designer, Marketing | $48,763 | $4,064 | $23.44 | 115,113 |
| Graphic Designer/Production | $48,619 | $4,052 | $23.37 | 95,831 |
| Graphic Designer Internship | $35,800 | $2,983 | $17.21 | 93,292 |
| User Interaction Designer | $82,651 | $6,888 | $39.74 | 54,146 |
| User Experience Designer | $91,159 | $7,597 | $43.83 | 52,582 |
| Lead Graphic Designer | $76,009 | $6,334 | $36.54 | 46,260 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for visual designers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Abby Guido
Assistant Professor, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University
Top companies hiring visual designers now:
Which companies pay visual designers the most?
Visual designer salaries at ByteDance and Flexport are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average visual designer salary at companies like Meta and Roku are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ByteDance | $156,013 | $75.01 |
| 2 | Flexport | $148,818 | $71.55 |
| 3 | Meta | $146,927 | $70.64 |
| 4 | Roku | $144,864 | $69.65 |
| 5 | Apple | $141,316 | $67.94 |
| 6 | Square | $138,511 | $66.59 |
| 7 | MGM SUPPLY CO | $138,028 | $66.36 |
| 8 | BrightEdge | $137,871 | $66.28 |
| 9 | HR Cloud | $137,309 | $66.01 |
| 10 | Squarespace | $136,713 | $65.73 |
| 11 | $136,301 | $65.53 | |
| 12 | Grubhub | $134,296 | $64.57 |
| 13 | Microsoft | $134,217 | $64.53 |
| 14 | AppDynamics | $133,059 | $63.97 |
| 15 | Okta | $132,963 | $63.92 |
| 16 | Atlassian | $131,751 | $63.34 |
| 17 | Magic Leap | $130,244 | $62.62 |
| 18 | Yext | $128,147 | $61.61 |
| 19 | Cohesity | $127,645 | $61.37 |
| 20 | NVIDIA | $127,544 | $61.32 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Visual Designer salary by industry
The average visual designer salary varies across industries:
- The average visual designer salary in the start-up industry is $121,675, the highest of any industry.
- The average visual designer salary in the finance industry is $108,051.
- Visual designers in the professional industry earn an average salary of $73,078, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for visual designers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start-up | $121,675 | $58.50 |
| 2 | Technology | $108,051 | $51.95 |
| 3 | Internet | $106,265 | $51.09 |
| 4 | Media | $95,378 | $45.85 |
| 5 | Retail | $73,350 | $35.26 |
| 6 | Professional | $73,078 | $35.13 |
High paying visual designer jobs
Visual designer salary trends
The average visual designer salary has risen by $15,183 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average visual designer earned $71,312 annually, but today, they earn $86,495 a year. That works out to a 12% change in pay for visual designers over the last decade.
Compare visual designer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average visual designer salary over time
Compare visual designer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Visual designer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $86,500 | $41.58 | +2.4% |
| 2024 | $84,400 | $40.59 | +3.3% |
| 2023 | $81,600 | $39.24 | +3.3% |
| 2022 | $78,900 | $37.94 | +2.2% |
| 2021 | $77,200 | $37.11 | +1.6% |
Recently added visual designer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insight Global | Senior Visual Designer | New York, NY | 06/28/2025 | $114,785 |
| The Safety Sleeper By Abram's Nation | Visual Designer/Office Administrator | Gibsonia, PA | 06/27/2025 | $41,740 |
| Cox Enterprises | Visual Designer, AJC | Atlanta, GA | 06/26/2025 | $65,500 |
| Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center, Inc. | Genesis Visualization Designer II | El Segundo, CA | 06/26/2025 | $90,000 |
| Niantic | Visual & Motion Designer (Short-Term) | San Francisco, CA | 06/26/2025 | $114,785 |
| Mathis Home | Visual Merch Design Studio | Ontario, CA | 06/25/2025 | $44,933 |
| Soundcloud | Visual & Motion Designer | New York, NY | 06/24/2025 | $95,000 |
| Bayone Solutions | Visual Designer | San Jose, CA | 06/24/2025 | $156,525 |
| Samsung Electronics America | Designer II, Visual Communication Design | Mountain View, CA | 06/20/2025 | $134,500 |
| Imagination | Senior Visual Designer | New York, NY | 06/18/2025 | $100,000 |
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