Salary report · 2026 to date
Design jobs in United States advertised a median of $163K a year in 2026 (middle half $115K–$207K), from 374 job postings on JobRipe. Figures come only from pay ranges employers published; estimates are never counted.
Number of postings by yearly midpoint. The first and last bands also hold the lowest and highest 5%.
Every row rests on at least 5 postings; groups with fewer are left out.
| Level | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid level | $90K – $176K | $123K | $58.89 | 159 |
| Senior | $138K – $183K | $163K | $78.34 | 108 |
| Staff/Principal | $200K – $257K | $230K | $110 | 66 |
| Manager | $157K – $217K | $185K | $88.76 | 36 |
| Workplace | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-site | $132K – $200K | $166K | $79.99 | 184 |
| Remote | $95K – $190K | $135K |
JobRipe, "What Design jobs pay in the United States, 2026", https://jobripe.com/salary-reports/2026/us/design (23 October 2026).
Journalists and researchers are welcome to quote these figures with a link to this page. Questions about the data: support@jobripe.com
The median advertised pay is $163K a year (about $78.47 an hour), from 374 job postings on JobRipe that published a pay range between 29 January 2026 and 23 October 2026. Half of them fall between $115K and $207K.
One in ten postings advertised $252K a year or more; one in ten advertised $86K or less.
By median advertised pay, among cities with enough postings: Denver $229K; San Francisco $208K; New York $206K; San Mateo $202K.
Median advertised pay is $135K for remote postings (144) and $166K for on-site ones (184). Remote and on-site roles also differ in seniority and employer, so this is not a like-for-like comparison.
| $64.95 |
| 144 |
| Hybrid | $182K – $260K | $211K | $101 | 46 |
| City | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $180K – $245K | $208K | $99.76 | 65 |
| New York | $173K – $236K | $206K | $98.80 | 38 |
| Hawthorne | $114K – $173K | $123K | $58.89 | 9 |
| San Mateo | $175K – $214K | $202K | $96.95 | 8 |
| Menlo Park | $153K – $187K | $181K | $86.78 | 8 |
| Sunnyvale | $155K – $183K | $175K | $84.13 | 7 |
| Denver | $184K – $236K | $229K | $110 | 5 |
| Company | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SpaceX | $121K – $176K | $135K | $64.90 | 15 |
| Brex | $211K – $270K | $211K | $101 | 10 |
| Nordstrom | $38K – $45K | $40K | $19.27 | 10 |
| OpenAI | $278K – $278K | $278K | $133 | 8 |
| ServiceNow | $229K – $263K | $249K | $120 | 8 |
| Robinhood | $153K – $181K | $167K | $80.05 | 8 |
| Jobgether | $93K – $160K | $116K | $55.75 | 8 |
| Applied | $155K – $183K | $175K | $84.13 | 7 |
| Procter & Gamble | $104K – $104K | $104K | $49.81 | 7 |
| Zip | $190K – $224K | $198K | $95.19 | 6 |
| Harvey | $184K – $241K | $185K | $88.85 | 6 |
| Esri | $144K – $144K | $144K | $69.45 | 6 |
| Oscar Health | $143K – $165K | $143K | $68.58 | 6 |
| Datadog | $148K – $230K | $230K | $110 | 5 |
| Salesforce | $148K – $186K | $148K | $70.91 | 5 |
| Company size | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small (under 50) | $170K – $249K | $213K | $102 | 7 |
| Mid-size | $157K – $215K | $183K | $87.86 | 76 |
| Large | $139K – $211K | $180K | $86.54 | 135 |
| Enterprise | $124K – $222K | $168K | $80.53 | 56 |
| Industry | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ai | $185K – $278K | $243K | $117 | 30 |
| Fintech | $167K – $240K | $209K | $101 | 26 |
| Saas | $144K – $220K | $196K | $94.35 | 18 |
| Finance | $143K – $190K | $172K | $82.85 | 16 |
| Retail | $38K – $88K | $43K | $20.60 | 15 |
| Devtools | $148K – $216K | $183K | $88.15 | 14 |
| Social | $157K – $200K | $162K | $77.93 | 13 |
| Health | $104K – $163K | $104K | $49.81 | 11 |
| Enterprise | $196K – $263K | $236K | $114 | 10 |
| Hardware | $69K – $192K | $151K | $72.48 | 10 |
| Security | $165K – $225K | $189K | $90.62 | 8 |
| Data | $172K – $198K | $185K | $88.91 | 6 |