Design salaries: what design jobs advertise
Design postings that state pay run $105,000 to $205,000 for the middle half, median $160,500, from 1,267 paid postings from 678 employers. With function, level and industry matched, pay is +3.8% (about $8.5k a year) against other functions.
By Justin KullaLast updated
Design pay range
From 1,267 paid postings from 678 employers. Annual, in US dollars.
- Lower quarter
- $105,000
- Median
- $160,500
- Upper quarter
- $205,000
The median for all professional postings is $136,500, so Design is above it. With function, level and industry matched, Design pay is +3.8% (about $8.5k a year) against other functions.
Design pay by level
Levels with at least 30 paid postings from 8 employers.
| Group | Median | Middle half | Gap | Postings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry level | $82,500 | $66,500 to $107,000 | n/a | 40 | 36 |
| Early career | $95,000 | $75,000 to $134,000 | n/a | 308 | 204 |
| Mid-level | $161,500 | $118,500 to $196,000 | n/a | 241 | 162 |
| Senior individual contributor | $175,000 | $135,000 to $208,500 | n/a | 366 | 265 |
| Manager | $185,500 | $144,500 to $229,500 | n/a | 128 | 89 |
| Director | $218,500 | $177,500 to $262,500 | n/a | 168 | 121 |
Skills that go with higher Design pay
Skills listed on 50 or more paid postings from 10 employers in this function, by median pay.
| Skill | Median pay listing it | Raw gap | Gap, job mix matched | Postings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | $160,000 | −3.8% | −2.1% | 6,389 | 1,728 |
| Figma | $180,000 | +9.1% | −1.6% | 705 | 356 |
| HTML | $138,000 | −16.6% | −0.7% | 912 | 304 |
| CSS | $166,500 | +0.9% | n/a | 347 | 228 |
| Agile | $165,000 | +0% | −8.7% | 2,296 | 692 |
| Project Management | $142,500 | −15.2% | −7.3% | 4,098 | 1,331 |
Compare with other functions
The groups ranked just above and below by median.
Questions about this data
- How much do Design jobs pay?
- $105,000 to $205,000 for the middle half, median $160,500, from 1,267 paid postings from 678 employers that state pay. That is above the $136,500 median for all professional postings. It is advertised pay, not what people are paid.
- Is Design pay higher or lower once the job mix is matched?
- With function, level and industry matched, advertised pay is +3.8% (about $8.5k a year) against other functions.
- How does Design pay change with level?
- Entry level: $82,500; Early career: $95,000; Mid-level: $161,500; Senior individual contributor: $175,000; Manager: $185,500; Director: $218,500.
Method, download and how to cite
Data as of November 10, 2026. Rebuilt daily.
Pay is the midpoint of the range an employer posted (or stated in the posting text), converted to a year, on live U.S. professional jobs. It is advertised pay, not what anyone is paid.
A “gap, job mix matched” compares postings inside cells of the same function, level and industry, so a group is not credited for simply holding more senior or better-paid roles. It needs 150 or more postings across at least 5 cells with 15 postings on each side, and is shown as n/a otherwise. A gap is a difference in advertised pay between postings. It does not show that a skill, an industry or an employer size causes higher pay.
Download the CSV (aggregates only; no posting, employer or person is in it). Cite as: NextChapter, “Advertised pay in Design (function) on U.S. professional job postings”, data as of November 10, 2026, https://launchyournextchapter.com/resources/pay-data/function/design
See also the AI skills salary premium, which uses the same method for AI skills only, and the salary by job title pages.
More pay data
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