Average Graphic Designer Salary
U.S. Department of Labor statistics indicate that many beginning graphic designers earn an average starting salary of about $30,000. After just five years of experience at a company, an in-house graphic designer could expect to earn as much as $47,000 annually, according to a recent survey of human resources professionals conducted by Salary.com. Across the country, the Labor Department survey shows that most graphic designers earn an average salary of about $42,000.
Although graphic designers in established markets like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles can generally earn higher salaries, new designers can expect to face more challenges while finding work in those cities. Graphic designers in other areas of the country, especially emerging markets like Atlanta, Denver and Seattle, can still find competitive salaries while enjoying those cities' lower cost of living.
Recent college graduates benefit from the new graphic design positions available at a range of companies. Once limited to specialized businesses like newspapers, magazines and advertising agencies, salaried graphic designer positions have popped up in all sorts of companies. Schools, hospitals and manufacturers all realize the benefits of putting an in-house graphic designer on a salary rather than relying on more expensive specialty firms.
A young designer working solo or on a small team in a business can make a large impact on the company's bottom line by integrating highly unique designs into product development and marketing materials early in the life cycle of a new product offering. By relying on salaried graphic designers, companies can freely make changes to their products and campaigns more frequently without incurring last minute expenses. Likewise, a graphic designer on salary at a company can seize the opportunity to impact popular culture by integrating innovative design into their employer's products and services.
If you feel you have reached a salary ceiling in your company, you can expand your skills and enhance your income by taking on freelance graphic design work. Many freelance graphic designers segue into their careers by moonlighting while still earning a salary and benefits at a larger company. Experts recommend that beginning freelancers set their rates by factoring in the cost of benefits and overhead to their current salary and dividing that figure by the number of work hours in a year.
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