How Much Do Graphic Designers Make in 2021 (including Starting Salary)

Stan T.Career, SalaryLeave a Comment

Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries

Graphic Designers

Graphic Designers design or create graphics to meet specific commercial or promotional needs, such as packaging, displays, or logos. May use a variety of mediums to achieve artistic or decorative effects.

Salary
$58370
Becoming One
Hard
Education
Bachelor's degree
Job Satisfaction
Job Growth

Personality
Interest Match



Table of contents
  1. Average salary
  2. Starting salary
  3. Salary rank
  4. Salary range
  5. Highest paying states
  6. Highest paying industries

Average salary

Annual salary
$58370 per year
Hourly wage
$28 per hour

Starting salary

Entry-level annual salary
$31,720 to $40,160 per year
Entry-level hourly wage
$15 to $19 per hour

Entry-level Graphic Designers with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $31,720 to $40,160 per year or $15 to $19 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.

Salary rank

Salary rank
C

We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Graphic Designers to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.

Salary range

Level Hourly Annual
Highest (Top 10%) $45 $93,440
Senior (Top 25%) $34 $71,310
Middle (Mid 50%) $26 $53,380
Junior (Bottom 25%) $19 $40,160
No experience (Bottom 10%) $15 $31,720

Highest paying states

State Hourly Annual
DC $40 $83,070
WA $37 $77,000
MA $34 $70,180
NY $33 $68,260
VA $32 $66,850
CA $32 $66,600
NJ $32 $65,680
RI $31 $64,570
AK $30 $63,430
MD $30 $61,660

Another simple way to increase your salary as a Graphic Designer is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at DC might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.

According to BLS, the highest paid Graphic Designers are in the states of DC, WA, MA, NY and VA.

Highest paying industries

Salary by industry Annual Hourly
Federal Executive Branch $88090 $42.35
Software Publishers $81610 $39.23
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing $80000 $38.46
Legal Services $77790 $37.40
Cable and Other Subscription Programming $77090 $37.06
Nondepository Credit Intermediation $74980 $36.05
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories $74830 $35.97
Scientific Research and Development Services $73640 $35.41
Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing $73060 $35.13
Individual and Family Services $72990 $35.09
Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing $70770 $34.03
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services $70640 $33.96
Motion Picture and Video Industries $70020 $33.66
Other Information Services $69650 $33.49
Facilities Support Services $69290 $33.31
Employment Services $68730 $33.04
Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing $68110 $32.75
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services $68030 $32.71
Building Material and Supplies Dealers $67860 $32.62
Investigation and Security Services $67590 $32.49
Nonresidential Building Construction $67210 $32.31
Sound Recording Industries $66470 $31.96
Specialty Hospitals $66260 $31.86
Management of Companies and Enterprises $66240 $31.85
Rental and Leasing Services $66050 $31.76
Insurance Carriers $65960 $31.71
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services $65890 $31.68
Computer Systems Design and Related Services $65890 $31.68
Other Transportation Equipment Manufacturing $65600 $31.54
Other Food Manufacturing $64630 $31.07

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