How Much Do Graphic Designers Make? 2025 Guide

Creative business tips to kickstart your career as an artist, designer, or content creator.

A lot has happened to the design world within the past couple of years. Between a booming demand for hybrid and remote work positions, more integrated and robust design software, and the astronomical rise of artificial intelligence systems and toolsets, it has never been a more exciting or complex time for graphic designers.

Recently, Robert Half published their 2025 Marketing and Creative Salary Guide and we’ve found this to be one of the most reliable salary guide estimates for the graphic design field time and again.

Graphic Design in particular falls underneath the role category of Design and Production.

Using our hometown of Phoenix, AZ as the city of choice, the following annual salary estimates for graphic designers going into 2025 are as such:

• $57,200 for Graphic Designers within the 25th Percentile (New/Beginning Designers)
• $73,975 for Graphic Designers within the 50th Percentile (Full-Time Work Experience)
• $87,450 for Graphic Designers within the 75th Percentile (Highly Skilled & Adaptable)

Keep in mind that these metrics only pertain to Phoenix, AZ where worker’s annual salaries are 10% higher than the national average.

Since every state has its own deviation, using your closest city as a reference point will likely yield the best results for how much money graphic designers are expected to make in 2025.

For Graphic Designers, Benefits Are In High Demand

Annual salaries are often at the top of everyone’s mind going into the new year. However, there are other aspects to consider if you’re looking for a change in employment or entering the market as a professional designer for the first time.

According to the Robert Half survey:

• 49% of marketing and creative managers say hiring fast enough to land top talent is one of their biggest recruiting challenges
• 57% of marketing and creative job seekers are interested in a hybrid work arrangements.

As this data shows, both employers and creative job seekers have needs and demands. In addition to salaries, creative employees are attracted to positions with perks:

• unlimited paid time off
• employer compensation towards fully-remote workstations
• increased paid vacation and sick days
• pet-friendly workstations
• more robust health and medical insurance
• and even child-care compensation

It’s these types of potentially offered benefits and more which make it important to examine what a company brings to the table beside just a flat annual salary number.

Yes, you could land a position making six figures a year with enough graphic design experience, but that could also likely mean long working hours, a rigid schedule, and harsh deadlines.

On the flip side, a less competitive company might not offer up as much cold hard cash when it comes to your annual salary. But between flexible paid time off, optional office hours, team building meetings and employer compensated trips, it could be a perfect match for your working style for years, even decades to come.

Changes Within Graphic Designer Workplace Trends

Also at the forefront within the Marketing and Creative sectors is the meteoric rise of a demand for remote work and/or hybrid work capabilities. Over the last two years, data over remote work reflects a continuing realignment between employers and workers.

• 59% of managers say a strong candidate turned down a job offer because remote work wasn’t allowed at their company.
• 49% of managers say a valued employee had quit because remote work wasn’t an option.
• 65% of professionals say they would like a salary premium (a 17% increase on average) if their company required them to commute to their office full-time.

This is proof that employees have to value workplace flexibility now more than ever before.

While traditional office spaces will never truly be extinct, it’s not clear yet that hard ultimatums placed upon workers to return back to the office coming out of the COVID-19 era are effective. At least some designers have resigning from their positions to work instead for different companies that offer more flexibility towards their work-life balance.

Additionally, another significant change in environment is in how these specific industries are expected to offer the most hiring opportunities for graphic designers going into 2024:

• Financial Services
• Healthcare
• Professional Services
• Manufacturing
• and Retail

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