Highest-paying Cities for Graphic Designers

The top 100 highest paying cities for graphic 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 graphic designers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $91,040, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California is the highest paying city for graphic designers. It is followed by San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California (average annual salary $84,430). 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 graphic designers in a specific city, use the links in the table.

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

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$91,040	$49,950	1,660
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$84,430	$48,710	5,150
3	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$79,580	$45,130	5,120
4	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$77,540	$47,620	19,470
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$74,770	$46,990	3,690
6	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$73,290	$47,900	3,810
7	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	$72,860	$42,440	140
8	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$71,540	$38,070	16,060
9	Napa, California	$71,410	$39,040	100
10	California-Lexington Park, Maryland	$70,110	$37,250	40
11	Ithaca, New York	$70,000	$38,670	70
12	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$68,380	$38,470	3,610
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$67,290	$38,850	4,520
14	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$66,830	$39,730	470
15	Madera-Chowchilla, California	$66,410	$34,930	n/a
16	Framingham, Massachusetts	$66,310	$27,140	430
17	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$65,680	$43,610	320
18	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$65,320	$40,380	540
19	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$64,990	$41,180	480
20	St Marys County, Maryland	$64,920	$26,310	40
21	Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, New Hampshire	$64,830	$31,000	160
22	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$64,510	$37,680	260
23	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$64,170	$41,790	980
24	Modesto, California	$64,000	$39,030	190
25	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$63,710	$38,000	2,370
26	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$63,410	$34,450	3,600
27	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$63,380	$42,270	4,080
28	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$63,240	$41,630	80
29	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$62,950	$40,680	140
30	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$62,770	$39,350	1,940
31	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$62,770	$37,410	140
32	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$62,600	$37,710	300
33	Boulder, Colorado	$62,570	$44,300	480
34	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$62,470	$37,310	480
35	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$62,450	$37,080	1,010
36	Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey	$62,160	$39,730	100
37	Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$62,080	$37,440	70
38	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$62,000	$38,670	1,160
39	New Haven, Connecticut	$61,980	$38,050	250
40	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$61,980	$34,520	14,620
41	Salinas, California	$61,920	$37,970	110
42	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$61,880	$42,320	2,890
43	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$61,430	$37,600	1,530
44	Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington	$61,360	$42,840	70
45	Worcester, Massachusetts	$61,300	$42,960	250
46	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$61,240	$39,180	3,120
47	Olympia, Washington	$61,210	$43,840	110
48	Rochester, Minnesota	$61,080	$40,040	80
49	Waterbury, Connecticut	$60,770	$38,120	50
50	Idaho Falls, Idaho	$60,660	$32,830	100
51	Danbury, Connecticut	$60,470	$36,400	70
52	Walla Walla, Washington	$60,250	$43,750	30
53	Peabody, Massachusetts	$60,160	$43,560	170
54	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$60,160	$34,980	3,550
55	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$60,150	$37,200	500
56	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$59,920	$41,940	80
57	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$59,740	$36,400	2,760
58	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$59,510	$30,760	1,630
59	Kingston, New York	$59,370	$37,260	70
60	Bellingham, Washington	$59,360	$38,220	120
61	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$59,190	$35,560	4,080
62	Corvallis, Oregon	$58,990	$34,470	60
63	Salem, Oregon	$58,830	$35,830	160
64	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$58,730	$34,120	2,070
65	Norwich-New London, Rhode Island	$58,660	$38,670	80
66	Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii	$58,330	$34,950	60
67	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$57,900	$37,160	7,930
68	Northcentral Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$57,850	$39,100	110
69	Tacoma, Washington	$57,750	$35,490	230
70	Merced, California	$57,710	$39,310	60
71	Redding, California	$57,690	$36,230	50
72	Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado	$57,520	$38,170	310
73	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$57,450	$35,760	2,130
74	Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, New Jersey	$57,180	$35,280	40
75	Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina	$57,050	$36,330	1,220
76	Mankato-North Mankato, Minnesota	$57,040	$37,850	110
77	Harrisonburg, Virginia	$56,990	$33,890	110
78	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$56,730	$37,090	1,640
79	Bloomington, Illinois	$56,590	$31,140	120
80	Madison, Wisconsin	$56,370	$37,310	720
81	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$56,370	$33,270	1,660
82	Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky	$56,330	$35,180	990
83	Bend, Oregon	$56,290	$35,040	110
84	Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$56,120	$42,950	80
85	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$56,020	$32,120	8,130
86	Columbus, Ohio	$55,800	$34,880	1,620
87	Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Massachusetts	$55,560	$29,900	190
88	Richmond, Virginia	$55,500	$36,540	830
89	Central East New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$55,490	$34,320	140
90	Palm Coast, Florida	$55,450	$28,510	40
91	Racine, Wisconsin	$55,260	$34,990	110
92	Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan	$55,190	$35,520	290
93	North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$55,050	$36,410	70
94	North Central Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$54,990	$25,610	50
95	Nevada nonmetropolitan area, Nevada	$54,980	$29,970	30
96	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington	$54,970	$36,970	40
97	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$54,970	$35,210	910
98	Salt Lake City, Utah	$54,910	$31,200	1,490
99	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$54,880	$34,830	170
100	Western New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, New Hampshire	$54,840	$30,600	80

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for graphic designers.