Highest-paying Cities for Other Designers

The top 100 highest paying cities for other designers (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of other designers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $108,860, Lake Charles, Louisiana is the highest paying city for other designers. It is followed by Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California (average annual salary $98,500). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of other designers in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Other Designers

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Lake Charles, Louisiana	$108,860	$66,970	230
2	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$98,500	$34,740	140
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$97,480	$35,840	110
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$96,920	$41,270	480
5	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$95,280	$35,230	90
6	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$92,980	$62,730	40
7	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$91,410	$40,370	n/a
8	Worcester, Massachusetts	$90,770	$70,430	30
9	St Louis, Missouri	$88,060	$19,260	110
10	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$85,190	$36,260	110
11	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$84,010	$50,870	1,380
12	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$82,840	$38,090	90
13	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	$81,290	$37,070	200
14	Augusta-Richmond County, South Carolina	$81,210	$33,450	60
15	Savannah, Georgia	$79,620	$34,100	40
16	Memphis, Tennessee	$78,730	$36,290	40
17	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$76,720	$51,900	190
18	Tacoma, Washington	$76,250	$53,730	40
19	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$75,170	$38,720	910
20	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$74,820	$29,020	40
21	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$74,100	$33,930	140
22	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$74,080	$64,130	n/a
23	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$73,990	$38,920	260
24	Columbus, Georgia	$73,700	$41,770	n/a
25	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$73,020	$44,600	420
26	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$72,360	$37,180	80
27	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$72,310	$49,530	40
28	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$71,650	$28,670	280
29	Ogden-Clearfield, Utah	$70,800	$40,760	30
30	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$70,420	$25,090	350
31	Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky	$70,340	$50,950	40
32	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$69,740	$44,110	210
33	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$68,620	$36,380	70
34	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$68,110	$35,980	1,790
35	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$66,430	$29,690	130
36	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$65,840	$45,710	30
37	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$65,830	$36,950	30
38	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$65,440	$41,600	60
39	Salt Lake City, Utah	$65,410	$42,330	100
40	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$65,100	$34,830	280
41	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$64,480	$57,430	190
42	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$63,680	$29,720	50
43	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$63,560	$39,610	60
44	Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina	$62,880	$34,210	50
45	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$62,730	$40,560	190
46	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$62,510	$34,120	510
47	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$61,680	$38,760	30
48	Columbus, Ohio	$60,860	$41,690	40
49	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$59,240	$50,260	50
50	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tennessee	$58,780	$37,220	110
51	North Georgia nonmetropolitan area, Georgia	$58,610	$41,040	60
52	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$58,530	$34,630	40
53	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$58,060	$33,360	60
54	Monroe, Louisiana	$57,630	$33,280	30
55	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$57,050	$34,770	30
56	Tucson, Arizona	$57,020	$38,870	40
57	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Florida	$56,990	$29,760	n/a
58	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$56,990	$18,670	400
59	Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana	$55,850	$27,720	40
60	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$55,750	$30,610	190
61	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$55,370	$21,610	1,080
62	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$55,240	$23,600	40
63	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$54,870	$27,250	30
64	Jacksonville, Florida	$53,700	$25,610	50
65	Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa	$53,570	$26,190	30
66	Lafayette, Louisiana	$53,510	$26,960	50
67	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$53,320	$35,700	n/a
68	Knoxville, Tennessee	$53,220	$36,590	50
69	Gainesville, Florida	$52,620	$32,830	n/a
70	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$51,800	$41,930	40
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$51,750	$26,000	60
72	Provo-Orem, Utah	$51,390	$35,880	50
73	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$51,290	$34,460	50
74	Boulder, Colorado	$50,660	$28,030	40
75	Spokane, Washington	$50,050	$35,860	30
76	Athens-Clarke County, Georgia	$49,860	$42,190	n/a
77	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida	$48,820	$39,330	n/a
78	Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Michigan	$47,130	$31,720	40
79	Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan	$46,840	$38,200	30
80	Green Bay, Wisconsin	$46,320	$28,240	50
81	Honolulu, Hawaii	$46,300	$39,860	50
82	West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area, Kentucky	$44,920	$39,470	50
83	Boise City-Nampa, Idaho	$44,720	$26,260	30
84	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$44,660	$26,170	30
85	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$44,370	$21,690	110
86	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida	$42,820	$26,580	n/a
87	Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio	$42,080	$27,460	40
88	Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Florida	$41,920	$20,860	n/a
89	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$41,850	$32,160	30
90	Chattanooga, Tennessee	$41,170	$34,250	n/a
91	Lake County-Kenosha County, Wisconsin	$40,510	$32,810	40
92	Tallahassee, Florida	$40,040	$33,030	n/a
93	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$39,300	$29,690	50
94	Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado	$39,240	$33,350	30
95	South Georgia nonmetropolitan area, Georgia	$38,430	$18,090	40
96	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$38,230	$27,800	160
97	Southwestern Montana nonmetropolitan area, Montana	$37,490	$22,450	40
98	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$37,160	$29,300	230
99	Oshkosh-Neenah, Wisconsin	$36,980	$17,000	30
100	West Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area, Wisconsin	$36,790	$30,850	40

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for other designers.