Graphic Designer Salary:

Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for Graphic Designers is approximately $50,000 a year. This will, however, vary significantly depending on the area of the country in which you work. As with most professions, wages will be higher in places like New York City or San Francisco, but the cost of living will also be significantly higher. By contrast, living in Butte may be more affordable, but there will simply be fewer employment opportunities for designers in places where there aren’t many big firms. Work-from-home practices are beginning to change this dynamic, though it is no guarantee that there will be local opportunities for distance working. These numbers are also only truly applicable for Graphic Designers working full-time at firms. Nearly 20% of Graphic Designers are self-employed and will therefore have significantly different salaries depending on the kinds of work they do and the number of commissions that they take on.

It is very important to consider the expected salaries of a given position and how these salaries will vary before heading onto the job market.

What is a Graphic Designer?

A Graphic Designer is a creative professional who combines text and visually appealing imagery to share a message with an audience. This could be through advertising, social media, or product packaging, to name a few. They are well-versed in design principles like color and typography and are committed to staying up-to-date on the latest trends. Whether they work for an agency or freelancer, they collaborate with clients and other team members to create high-quality designs that appeal to new and existing customers. 

In addition to proficiency in professional design programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, a successful Graphic Designer must also work well with others. Graphic Designers rarely work alone, and since their job is to create a product that matches a client's vision, they must be willing to accept feedback and suggestions from others. Time management skills are also crucial for a Graphic Designer; since most of them work freelance, they often work on multiple projects for many clients simultaneously. 

Read more about what a Graphic Designer does. 

What Affects Your Pay as a Graphic Designer

As with most jobs, Graphic Designer salaries will vary depending on the kinds of work you are doing, where you are employed, and in what industry you find your employment. Some of these factors are largely outside of your control unless you plan to relocate for work, while designers may have control over others, such as their level of education and their experience.

Education

The level of education you have is likely to impact your starting salary in most graphic design positions. While there isn’t a strict requirement to have a specific kind of degree to become a Graphic Designer, higher education correlates with higher pay. This will also include professional skills training courses, which strongly correlate with increased pay. Regardless of the kind of education you receive, you’ll be improving your long-term earning potential.

Most Graphic Designers either receive their training in a four-year degree program or through accelerated professional development courses. Some students may attend a technical art school and some students may stay in school to receive a graduate arts degree. These students are more likely to receive training for more advanced design careers, so it isn’t recommended for students looking to work as Graphic Designers.

Experience

As with most jobs, having a significant amount of experience can land you more exclusive, and therefore higher-paying, jobs and contracts. Designers with only a bit of on-the-job design experience will want to work in parts of the field that give them the best chance to build a portfolio and establish themselves within the industry.

It may also be productive for prospective designers to do freelance work to build experience, but they should avoid taking on too much work for too little. Working simply to generate experience can often result in burnout and be incredibly unproductive. Experience is important, but it isn’t worth spending too much time and energy volunteering just to build resume lines.

Industry

Another significant factor in gauging your starting salary will be the industry in which you work. As with many career paths, the larger the firm you work for the more money you can expect to make and the more competitive the application process will be. Large firms work with bigger clients, so they need to hire and reward talented designers, which usually translates into larger salaries. Smaller companies and nonprofits won’t have as much money to throw around and will tend to pay their designers slightly less to compensate for these realities. The difference is rarely going to be massive but it is an issue worth considering.

Freelancers will set their own rates, but they will most commonly be working with smaller entities and organizations (multinational corporations aren’t hiring freelance designers), so the rates they charge will need to be in line with the reality of their clientele. This is especially true for freelancers working on single projects or contracted out by incredibly small businesses or firms. Balancing how much you are charging clients for your work against how much those clients can reasonably expect to pay is an important skill for freelancers looking to maximize their earnings.

Location

For Graphic Designers, where you work will have a significant impact on your salary. While Graphic Designers have a median salary of about $50,000, this can increase or decrease by as much as 50% depending on whether you are working in a major metropolitan area or you are working in a smaller city. Living in or around a city like Chicago, New York City, or Seattle will allow you to find employment with high starting salaries. However, the cost of living in these cities are significantly higher, meaning that everything will be more expensive, especially housing. Prospective Graphic Designers will need to judge for themselves whether or not the increased salary will outweigh the increased cost of living. Still, it is worth noting that remote employment or self-employment can also impact this aspect of your prospective salary. 

Specialization

Since Graphic Designers work on such a varied and diverse set of projects, it is natural that they will find themselves becoming more and more specialized in their work as time goes on. Very few Graphic Designers learn all the tools and techniques of the trade and even fewer designers regularly use those skills. Most Graphic Designers will specialize in a specific design field, like layout design or logo design, and they will develop a unique style visible in their portfolios.

Unsurprisingly, certain specializations will be in higher demand and therefore come with higher starting salaries. For example, Graphic Designers who work in digital mediums and specialize in elements of webpage layout and design will tend to make more than Graphic Designers who work in print medium layout design, since the digital design field is larger than the print design industry. This varies enough that it will be difficult to build your early plans around this factor, but it is worth considering that some design specializations will open career opportunities at more diverse companies, which correlates to higher earning potential.

Pay Range for Graphic Designers

Since graphic design comprises a diverse range of careers and specializations, these careers also have a noticeably large pay range based on specialization, location, and industry. Nationally, Graphic Designers make about $50,000 a year, with an average range falling between $39,000 and $60,000 a year. However, some companies, such as AT&T and Control4 list jobs with salaries that approach $100,000 dollars a year. These are not the norm, nor are they entry-level graphic design careers, but they demonstrate that Graphic Designers do have the long-term potential to find jobs that far outstrip the national average in terms of start salary.

In addition, working in a state like New York or Massachusetts can increase your base pay by as much as 25%. This is also true of states like Alaska, where you can expect to earn a bit more to attract top-tier talent. States like Alabama, Arkansas, and Iowa will have lower overall starting salaries and will likely have fewer career options.

Consult Indeed.com Career Explorer and Glassdoor Discover Salaries. Focus on national averages but discuss some examples of salaries (that users have shared or posted in job listings) that demonstrate some of the rules above in regards to location and industry.

Highest-Earning Job Titles for Graphic Designers

In general, the highest-earning job titles for Graphic Designers will be job titles that communicate specialization and experience. Senior Graphic Designers and Creative Directors will indicate that the company is looking for designers with a great deal of experience or the ability to lead teams of designers on massive projects. These positions aren’t ideal entry-level jobs, so prospective Graphic Designers will need to build strong resumes to apply for them, but they are ideal for students seeking high-paying jobs.

In addition, specialists like Illustrators, Web/Graphic Designers, or 2D game artists, can expect to earn more than generalist Graphic Designers and have narrower pay ranges. These jobs require prospective candidates to demonstrate their skills and proficiencies. 

Learn the Skills to Become a Graphic Designer at Noble Desktop

If you want to start a career in graphic design, the graphic design classes offered by Noble Desktop are an excellent place to start. Students can take all their classes remotely or in-person at their Manhattan campus. For students who want to start slow by just learning one popular design program, Noble offers an Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp, an Adobe InDesign Bootcamp, and an Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp. These beginner-friendly courses take just a few days to complete and will provide students with foundational design skills.

For those who feel ready to dive into a more comprehensive program, Noble Desktop’s Graphic Design Certificate might be a better fit. Students will complete hands-on assignments using popular design programs, including Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. This program is ideal for those hoping to start a career as a Graphic Designer. Certificate students at Noble Desktop receive individual career mentorship, where experts in the design industry help craft resumes and portfolios and provide helpful tips for finding lucrative employment. 

If a class isn’t feasible for your current schedule, Noble Desktop has a host of resources on its website to help start your graphic design career. You can browse their collection of articles about Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign if you’re curious about how each program works. You can also review information about other design tools to see if another field might interest you more.

Key Takeaways

• Graphic Design salaries tend to vary a great deal because graphic design is a diverse field that employs individuals in almost every level of every industry. While the national median salary is about $50,000, there are a lot of factors that will cause this to vary.
• The most significant issue in terms of salary will be your job title and where you live. More experienced designers can apply for more senior positions, adding leadership roles to their responsibilities and greatly increasing their pay.
• Graphic Designers working in major cities, like New York City or Chicago, will have higher salaries and face higher-cost of living.
• Certain specialist positions, particularly those which indicate project management responsibilities, will make significantly more than generalist designers.
• Education and training is also a vital factor. One way to get more experience to raise your earning potential is to enroll in one of Noble’s comprehensive Graphic Design training programs. These courses are available both in person and in live online classrooms.