Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2016

27-1024 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.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3) 		Mean hourly
wage		 Mean annual
wage (2) 		Wage RSE (3)
210,710 0.9 % $25.14 $52,290 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median) 		75% 90%
Hourly Wage $13.44 $17.10 $22.90 $30.45 $39.43
Annual Wage (2) $27,950 $35,560 $47,640 $63,340 $82,020

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Specialized Design Services 29,040 21.16 $26.26 $54,620
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services 22,290 4.60 $25.92 $53,900
Printing and Related Support Activities 18,680 4.14 $19.96 $41,520
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers 16,610 4.39 $22.36 $46,510
Computer Systems Design and Related Services 9,610 0.49 $28.03 $58,300

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Specialized Design Services 29,040 21.16 $26.26 $54,620
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services 22,290 4.60 $25.92 $53,900
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers 16,610 4.39 $22.36 $46,510
Printing and Related Support Activities 18,680 4.14 $19.96 $41,520
Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing 8,280 2.92 $20.32 $42,270

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 1,570 0.08 $38.05 $79,140
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 310 0.06 $36.54 $76,000
Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing 270 0.07 $34.27 $71,280
Legal Services 270 0.02 $32.11 $66,790
Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) 40 0.03 $31.32 $65,140

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 29,750 1.86 1.24 $28.46 $59,210
New York 21,440 2.36 1.57 $30.17 $62,750
Florida 12,500 1.52 1.01 $22.09 $45,950
Texas 12,110 1.03 0.69 $23.25 $48,360
Illinois 9,630 1.63 1.09 $25.62 $53,290




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 21,440 2.36 1.57 $30.17 $62,750
District of Columbia 1,650 2.35 1.57 $33.41 $69,490
Utah 2,900 2.11 1.40 $22.84 $47,500
Minnesota 5,710 2.03 1.35 $25.28 $52,590
Oregon 3,520 1.97 1.31 $25.40 $52,820




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 1,650 2.35 1.57 $33.41 $69,490
New York 21,440 2.36 1.57 $30.17 $62,750
California 29,750 1.86 1.24 $28.46 $59,210
Maryland 3,260 1.23 0.82 $28.17 $58,590
Massachusetts 5,020 1.45 0.97 $27.99 $58,210





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 18,690 2.84 1.89 $31.93 $66,420
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 10,960 2.60 1.73 $28.36 $59,000
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 6,930 1.91 1.27 $26.56 $55,240
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 4,880 1.91 1.27 $25.75 $53,570
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 4,790 1.92 1.28 $32.29 $67,150
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 4,330 2.27 1.51 $27.30 $56,780
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 3,460 3.25 2.16 $34.26 $71,260
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 3,360 2.12 1.41 $29.05 $60,420
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 3,210 1.09 0.73 $22.69 $47,190
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 3,190 1.31 0.88 $26.45 $55,010