Graphic Designers
Design or create graphics to meet specific commercial or promotional needs, such as packaging, displays, or logos. May use a variety of mediums to achieve artistic or decorative effects.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Graphic Designers. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $39,520 | $19.00 |
| 25th | $49,040 | $23.58 |
| 50th · Median | $62,960 | $30.27 |
| 75th | $81,830 | $39.34 |
| 90th | $104,910 | $50.44 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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Compare an entered wage with the published thresholds for United States. Your entry stays on this page.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (25)
Typical tasks
- Key information into computer equipment to create layouts for client or supervisor.
- Review final layouts and suggest improvements, as needed.
- Determine size and arrangement of illustrative material and copy, and select style and size of type.
- Develop graphics and layouts for product illustrations, company logos, and Web sites.
- Create designs, concepts, and sample layouts, based on knowledge of layout principles and esthetic design concepts.
- Use computer software to generate new images.
Expand more tasks (13)
- Prepare digital files for printing.
- Confer with clients to discuss and determine layout design.
- Research the target audience of projects.
- Draw and print charts, graphs, illustrations, and other artwork, using computer.
- Mark up, paste, and assemble final layouts to prepare layouts for printer.
- Study illustrations and photographs to plan presentation of materials, products, or services.
- Maintain archive of images, photos, or previous work products.
- Prepare notes and instructions for workers who assemble and prepare final layouts for printing.
- Prepare illustrations or rough sketches of material, discussing them with clients or supervisors and making necessary changes.
- Research new software or design concepts.
- Produce still and animated graphics for on-air and taped portions of television news broadcasts, using electronic video equipment.
- Photograph layouts, using camera, to make layout prints for supervisors or clients.
- Write or edit copy for clients.
Skills used in this work
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Expand more skills (29)
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Explore wages by location.
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