Best US Cities for Graphic Designers
Top US cities for Graphic Designers ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $76,700 | 1.45× | +$18,700 |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $75,700 | 1.32× | +$17,700 |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $73,400 | 1.35× | +$15,400 |
| 4 | Los Angeles, CA | $72,200 | 1.22× | +$14,200 |
| 5 | Irvine, CA | $71,700 | 1.30× | +$13,700 |
| 6 | San Diego, CA | $68,600 | 1.21× | +$10,600 |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $67,600 | 1.30× | +$9,600 |
| 8 | Seattle, WA | $67,500 | 1.18× | +$9,500 |
| 9 | Anaheim, CA | $67,500 | 1.18× | +$9,500 |
| 10 | Scottsdale, AZ | $67,500 | 1.18× | +$9,500 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $76,700 | $37/hr |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $75,700 | $36/hr |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $73,400 | $35/hr |
| 4 | Los Angeles, CA | $72,200 | $35/hr |
| 5 | Irvine, CA | $71,700 | $34/hr |
| 6 | San Diego, CA | $68,600 | $33/hr |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $67,600 | $33/hr |
| 8 | Seattle, WA | $67,500 | $32/hr |
| 9 | Anaheim, CA | $67,500 | $32/hr |
| 10 | Scottsdale, AZ | $67,500 | $32/hr |
| 11 | Frisco, TX | $66,200 | $32/hr |
| 12 | Boston, MA | $65,000 | $31/hr |
| 13 | Portland, OR | $64,900 | $31/hr |
| 14 | Sacramento, CA | $64,900 | $31/hr |
| 15 | Yonkers, NY | $64,400 | $31/hr |
| 16 | Anchorage, AK | $64,400 | $31/hr |
| 17 | Denver, CO | $64,200 | $31/hr |
| 18 | Long Beach, CA | $63,700 | $31/hr |
| 19 | Austin, TX | $63,200 | $30/hr |
| 20 | Las Vegas, NV | $62,900 | $30/hr |
| 21 | Chandler, AZ | $62,900 | $30/hr |
| 22 | Chula Vista, CA | $62,800 | $30/hr |
| 23 | Reno, NV | $62,100 | $30/hr |
| 24 | Gilbert, AZ | $62,100 | $30/hr |
| 25 | Salt Lake City, UT | $62,100 | $30/hr |
| 26 | Miami, FL | $61,800 | $30/hr |
| 27 | Raleigh, NC | $61,500 | $30/hr |
| 28 | Boise, ID | $61,500 | $30/hr |
| 29 | Dallas, TX | $61,200 | $29/hr |
| 30 | Nashville, TN | $61,200 | $29/hr |
| 31 | Newark, NJ | $61,200 | $29/hr |
| 32 | Riverside, CA | $61,200 | $29/hr |
| 33 | Glendale, AZ | $60,100 | $29/hr |
| 34 | Arlington, TX | $59,800 | $29/hr |
| 35 | Chicago, IL | $59,600 | $29/hr |
| 36 | Baltimore, MD | $59,600 | $29/hr |
| 37 | Stockton, CA | $59,600 | $29/hr |
| 38 | Aurora, CO | $59,600 | $29/hr |
| 39 | Hialeah, FL | $59,600 | $29/hr |
| 40 | Albuquerque, NM | $59,500 | $29/hr |
| 41 | Minneapolis, MN | $59,300 | $29/hr |
| 42 | Plano, TX | $59,300 | $29/hr |
| 43 | Columbus, OH | $58,700 | $28/hr |
| 44 | Kansas City, MO | $58,700 | $28/hr |
| 45 | Phoenix, AZ | $58,600 | $28/hr |
| 46 | Philadelphia, PA | $58,600 | $28/hr |
| 47 | Atlanta, GA | $58,600 | $28/hr |
| 48 | Tampa, FL | $58,600 | $28/hr |
| 49 | Henderson, NV | $58,600 | $28/hr |
| 50 | Charleston, SC | $58,600 | $28/hr |
| 51 | Orlando, FL | $58,300 | $28/hr |
| 52 | Wilmington, DE | $58,000 | $28/hr |
| 53 | Virginia Beach, VA | $58,000 | $28/hr |
| 54 | St. Paul, MN | $58,000 | $28/hr |
| 55 | Chesapeake, VA | $58,000 | $28/hr |
| 56 | North Las Vegas, NV | $58,000 | $28/hr |
| 57 | Fresno, CA | $58,000 | $28/hr |
| 58 | Worcester, MA | $58,000 | $28/hr |
| 59 | Colorado Springs, CO | $57,700 | $28/hr |
| 60 | Bakersfield, CA | $57,700 | $28/hr |
| 61 | St. Petersburg, FL | $57,700 | $28/hr |
| 62 | Madison, WI | $57,700 | $28/hr |
| 63 | Norfolk, VA | $57,400 | $28/hr |
| 64 | Jacksonville, FL | $57,000 | $27/hr |
| 65 | Charlotte, NC | $57,000 | $27/hr |
| 66 | Mesa, AZ | $57,000 | $27/hr |
| 67 | Houston, TX | $56,700 | $27/hr |
| 68 | Fort Worth, TX | $56,700 | $27/hr |
| 69 | Tucson, AZ | $56,700 | $27/hr |
| 70 | Garland, TX | $56,700 | $27/hr |
| 71 | Spokane, WA | $56,700 | $27/hr |
| 72 | Pittsburgh, PA | $56,400 | $27/hr |
| 73 | Tallahassee, FL | $56,400 | $27/hr |
| 74 | Milwaukee, WI | $56,100 | $27/hr |
| 75 | New Orleans, LA | $56,100 | $27/hr |
| 76 | San Antonio, TX | $55,800 | $27/hr |
| 77 | Grand Rapids, MI | $55,800 | $27/hr |
| 78 | Detroit, MI | $55,400 | $27/hr |
| 79 | Cincinnati, OH | $55,400 | $27/hr |
| 80 | Lexington, KY | $55,400 | $27/hr |
| 81 | Corpus Christi, TX | $55,400 | $27/hr |
| 82 | Buffalo, NY | $55,400 | $27/hr |
| 83 | Greensboro, NC | $55,400 | $27/hr |
| 84 | Knoxville, TN | $55,400 | $27/hr |
| 85 | El Paso, TX | $55,100 | $26/hr |
| 86 | Cleveland, OH | $55,100 | $26/hr |
| 87 | St. Louis, MO | $55,100 | $26/hr |
| 88 | Winston-Salem, NC | $55,100 | $26/hr |
| 89 | Indianapolis, IN | $54,800 | $26/hr |
| 90 | Louisville, KY | $54,800 | $26/hr |
| 91 | Omaha, NE | $54,800 | $26/hr |
| 92 | Memphis, TN | $54,500 | $26/hr |
| 93 | Oklahoma City, OK | $54,500 | $26/hr |
| 94 | Lincoln, NE | $54,500 | $26/hr |
| 95 | Birmingham, AL | $54,200 | $26/hr |
| 96 | Toledo, OH | $54,200 | $26/hr |
| 97 | Lubbock, TX | $54,200 | $26/hr |
| 98 | Wichita, KS | $53,500 | $26/hr |
| 99 | Fort Wayne, IN | $53,500 | $26/hr |
| 100 | Mobile, AL | $53,500 | $26/hr |
Does location actually decide Graphic Designer pay?
Graphic Designer work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $53,500 in Mobile to $76,700 in San Francisco — a spread of 43%.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In San Francisco, $76,700 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $40,700 a year after housing. In Mobile, $53,500 against $850 leaves about $43,300. The bottom of the pay list beats the top once rent is subtracted — which is the whole reason to look past headline salary.
Why these metros and not others
Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); New York City (JPMorgan Chase, NYC Health + Hospitals); Oakland (Kaiser Permanente (HQ), Port of Oakland). A Graphic Designer at a large employer in a metro where design work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.