Graphic Designer Salary Range: $25,000 – $100,000

Graphic designer salary ranges are quite varied and depend upon a number of factors.

A brand new graphic designer, working at a small design shop in a small town may start out with a salary in the low to mid $20,000’s.

On the other side of the range, an owner of a large design agency in a big metropolitan area may bring in $100,000 per year, or even more.

If you were really lucky, and found a design position with a well-known firm like Pixar, this would most likely mean a salary much, much higher than average. In fact, it has been reported that a technical director at Pixar earns approximately $117,000 per year.

An animator will earn $109,000. Even a junior-level animator will pull in about $75-80,000 per year. The same is true with other well-recognized and desired employers, such as Disney.

From this, it should be obvious that the actual company you work for will greatly influence your graphic designer salary.

Given the salary range as falling within the $25,000 to $100,000 range, what are the averages that you can expect to find?

• The median salary in the US for graphic design positions is $47,399. The median represents a number that is in the exact middle; half of the data is below and the other half of the data is above this number.
• The lowest 10% of graphic designers earned less than $27,000 per year.
• The middle 50% earn between $40,000 and $56,000 per year.
• The highest 10% earn more than $74,600 per year.

While the employment outlook for the future is not terribly encouraging, there is some good news. Job growth for the entire graphic design field is expected to grow at about the national average.

Estimates show that these jobs will grow approximately 13% between 2008 and 2018.

While keen competition is expected for these jobs, those with animation and web design skills and experience will fare the best. It is expected that the continued expansion of digital media and the internet will spur most of this job growth.

Another factor which can greatly influence your graphic designer salary picture is the specific industry in which you are seeking employment. Although the statistics show that most industries median salaries tend to stay fairly close to the national average, some are still definitely better than others. For example:

• Computer systems design and related services offer a median salary of approximately $47,000, which is right at the national average for all design incomes.
• Specialized design services have a median salary of approximately $45,000.
• Advertising and public relations offer right around $43,000 per year.
• Newspaper, periodical and book publishing has an average of $37,000, which represents a significant drop-off from the national average.
• Printing and related support offers about the same, averaging $36,000 per year in salary.

From the above statistics we can see that those segments of the design world which are decreasing in size and importance are offering less pay.

For example, the newspaper industry is in trouble right now.

Less and less people are reading (and buying) physical newspapers than in the past. The internet is primarily responsible for this. Also, think of all the folks who prefer getting their books in digital format now (i.e. Kindle, Nook and tablets).

One of the best pieces of advice that you can take is to find a growing industry, or industry segment, and jump in. The employment data shows that most of the growth in the design industries will come from the digital and animation fields. These sections should feature rising salaries, especially if they do not have a corresponding increase in the number of people seeking employment.

Other factors also seem to influence graphic designer salary levels.

Your career level is probably the most important factor.

The next factor is your actual job title. In a way, these are both related, since you can not expect to go right from college into a creative director position (unless you know the owner or are very, very lucky!).

As you gain more experience, it is natural to expect your salary will increase. The statistics bear this out. The table below shows the expected median salary levels which can be expected at various career levels.

 

Career Level	Median Salary
Entry-Level	$35,000
Staff Level	$45,000
Freelancers	$57,000
Senior Designers	$60,000
Directors	$95,000
Owners/Partners/Principals	$100,000+

 

The next factor which needs to be considered is your job title. Generally speaking, the more important sounding your title, the more money you will probably make. This can be seen from looking at the table above. Anything which has the word director or manager in the title will probably be making more than someone with the words entry-level or associate.

You also should consider the area in which you work.

A major metropolitan area such as New York or Los Angeles will put you in contact with many more higher-paying firms. Of course, much of this is probably due to the increased cost-of-living. However, in such areas clients are used to paying more for services than in a small town. In fact, the states with the highest levels of employment in the graphic arts field are California, New York, Florida, Texas and Illinois.

Education is also a factor.

It has been estimated that 81% of all graphic designers hold a bachelor degree (or above). Of the remaining workers, 11% have an associate degree. However, this is probably more important as you start your career than as you advance from position to position. What is vital is that you begin to show demonstrable successes as your years of experience advance.

The bottom line.

Your graphic designer salary will be dependent upon a number of important factors. These include which specific company you work for as well as in which segment of the industry you are working. Are you focusing on skills that are in demand and growing in popularity (such as animation and web design)?

The specific job title and even the city in which you work can also influence the salary received. Finally, your education and career level are also influential factors.