UX Designer Salary: What to Expect
Where the published federal wage percentiles actually sit, how pay climbs with scope and seniority, and which figures to check before you name a number.
UX design work is counted by the federal government inside the occupation "Web and Digital Interface Designers," and for that group the median annual wage was $98,540 in May 2023, with the lowest 10 percent under $48,210 and the highest 10 percent above $176,490 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2023). That spread of roughly $128,000 between the bottom and top tenth is the real story: job title alone tells you very little.
What moves you along that range is seniority and scope, where you work, and whether your pay includes bonuses and equity on top of base. BLS has since released a May 2025 update to the same series, so treat the figures here as a map of the shape of the range and check the current year's numbers before you negotiate.
What the Typical UX Designer Earns
There is no federal occupation called "UX Designer." The closest match is Web and Digital Interface Designers (SOC 15-1255), and for that group the median annual wage was $98,540 in the May 2023 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2023). The same release puts the 10th percentile at $48,210 and the 90th percentile at $176,490, with the 25th at $66,020 and the 75th at $139,500.
Median means the midpoint: half the people counted earned more, half earned less. BLS also publishes a mean (average) annual wage for the same occupation in May 2023, and it is a separate, differently calculated figure from the median — averages are pulled upward by the top of the range. Every dollar figure in this guide is a median or a percentile, never a mean, unless the text says otherwise.
Two caveats before you use $98,540 as your anchor. First, the occupation mixes UX designers with web designers and digital interface designers, so it is broader than a product UX role. Second, BLS has published a newer May 2025 estimate of the median, the 10th percentile and the 90th percentile for this occupation, and O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor, 2025) publishes median hourly and annual wages for the same group — check both for the current year rather than quoting a 2023 number in a 2026 conversation.
One more gap worth knowing: BLS wage data is base pay. Sources that compile employer-reported offers, such as Glassdoor data summarized by Coursera (2024), report a median total UX designer salary that includes additional compensation — bonuses, profit sharing, equity — and that total sits above the base-only national median. If your offer has a bonus or stock component, compare it against total-pay sources, not against the BLS median alone.
Pay by Experience Level
BLS does not publish wages by years of experience, so the table below maps the published percentile bands onto the tiers most hiring managers use. Treat each band as "where people at this stage usually fall," not as a guaranteed offer.
| Career stage | Typical annual range | What separates this tier |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level | $48,210 – $66,020 | 10th to 25th percentile; portfolio-based hiring, junior or associate titles, work scoped by someone else |
| Mid-career | $66,020 – $139,500 | 25th to 75th percentile; owns features end to end, runs own research, the widest band of the three |
| Experienced / senior | $139,500 – $176,490 and above | 75th to 90th percentile and beyond; leads design direction, mentors, influences roadmap and staffing |
Source: percentile wages for Web and Digital Interface Designers, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2023. Band labels are an interpretation of those percentiles, not a BLS classification.
Glassdoor data summarized by Coursera (2024) uses similar steps, reporting separate pay levels for a UX designer with 2–4 years' experience, a senior designer at 5–7 years, a principal or staff designer at 5–7 years, and a director at 8 or more years. The principal/staff and director rungs are where pay most often moves past the 90th percentile of the BLS band, because the job stops being "design screens" and becomes "decide what gets designed."
What Affects Pay
- Seniority and scope. The single biggest measurable lever. The distance from the 25th percentile ($66,020) to the 75th ($139,500) is $73,480 a year — more than the entry-level salary itself (BLS OEWS, May 2023).
- State. California is the top-paying state for web and digital interface designers, with a six-figure median (All Art Schools, citing BLS 2025 OEWS data, 2025). O*NET OnLine (2025) publishes separate state wage estimates for Texas, Minnesota and Nevada, among others, and state medians can sit well below or above the $98,540 national median.
- Base pay versus total compensation. BLS reports base wages only. Glassdoor-derived figures summarized by Coursera (2024) show a median total UX pay — base plus bonus and additional pay — above the base-only national median, so two offers with identical salaries are not identical offers.
- Employed versus contract. At the May 2023 median of $98,540 and an assumption of 40 hours a week for 52 weeks (2,080 hours), the hourly equivalent is about $47.38. A contractor billing that rate is not matching that salary, because self-employment taxes, unpaid gaps and benefits come out of it. O*NET OnLine (2025) also publishes a median hourly wage for the occupation directly.
- Demand in your market. O*NET OnLine (2025) projects employment for this occupation to grow faster than average between 2025 and 2035, with a published number of annual openings. Tight local demand is what gives you leverage to ask for the upper half of the band rather than the middle.
- Certification. The Nielsen Norman Group runs a UX Certification program with multiple levels and a published starting price (Moonlite Education, summarizing NN/g's program). No reliable published figure attaches a specific dollar raise to it, so budget for it as skill-building and portfolio evidence, not as a priced pay bump.
Pay by State or Metro Area
The table is ordered with the highest-paying location first. Federal sources publish state-level estimates for this occupation separately from the national figure, and they are updated every year.
| State or benchmark | What the federal data shows | Where to check the current figure |
|---|---|---|
| California | Top-paying state, six-figure median (All Art Schools citing BLS 2025 OEWS, 2025) | BLS OEWS state tables for SOC 15-1255 |
| United States (benchmark) | Median $98,540; 10th $48,210, 25th $66,020, 75th $139,500, 90th $176,490 (BLS OEWS, May 2023) | BLS OEWS national page, latest release |
| Minnesota | State median and wage range published separately from the national figure | O*NET OnLine state wages, 2025 |
| Nevada | State median and wage range published separately from the national figure | O*NET OnLine state wages, 2025 |
| Texas | State median and wage range published separately from the national figure | O*NET OnLine state wages, 2025 |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS (May 2023 national percentiles; 2025 state rankings as cited by All Art Schools, 2025); O*NET OnLine state wage pages (U.S. Department of Labor, 2025). CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor, 2024) publishes the same occupation's wage percentiles and state employment projections if you want a second federal view.
Do not treat $98,540 as a national going rate. It is a midpoint built from every state at once, and a state median can land closer to the national 25th percentile of $66,020 or above the 75th of $139,500 depending on where you are.
How to Increase Your Earnings
- Find your own percentile first. Look up the current BLS OEWS figure for Web and Digital Interface Designers in your state, then place your salary against the national percentiles ($48,210 / $66,020 / $98,540 / $139,500 / $176,490, BLS May 2023). Knowing you sit at the 25th rather than the 50th changes what you ask for.
- Target the next percentile band, not a round number. Moving from the median to the 75th percentile is $40,960 a year on the May 2023 figures. Framing a request as "the 75th percentile for this occupation in this state" gives the conversation an external reference point.
- Negotiate the whole package. Because Glassdoor-based totals reported by Coursera (2024) include bonus and additional pay above base, ask for the bonus target, equity and review timing in writing. A base-only comparison can hide a five-figure difference between two offers.
- Change employer deliberately. The 25th-to-75th gap of $73,480 exists largely between organisations, not within them. If your current band is capped, an external move is usually the faster route up the percentile ladder.
- Move toward lead, staff or director scope. Glassdoor data summarized by Coursera (2024) shows distinct, higher pay levels for senior (5–7 years), principal/staff (5–7 years) and director (8+ years) titles. Take on roadmap ownership, design systems or research leadership before the title exists.
- Use credentials for credibility, with eyes open. The Nielsen Norman Group UX Certification runs in levels with a published starting price (Moonlite Education, summarizing NN/g). Check the BLS page on typical entry-level education for web developers and digital designers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025) before spending on anything, and ask employers in your market what they actually screen for.
Frequently asked questions
What hourly rate matches the national median salary?
At the May 2023 BLS median of $98,540 a year, and assuming 40 hours a week for 52 weeks (2,080 hours), the hourly equivalent is about $47.38. O*NET OnLine (2025) also publishes a median hourly wage for this occupation directly, which is the figure to quote for part-time or hourly roles rather than dividing an annual salary yourself.
What should a freelance UX designer charge?
Freelancers cannot bill the $47.38-an-hour salary equivalent and come out even, because unbilled hours, self-employment tax and benefits all come out of the rate. Work backwards from the annual figure you want — if you target the 2023 median of $98,540 and expect to bill only part of a 2,080-hour year, your rate has to cover the unbilled remainder plus costs.
How much do entry-level UX designers earn?
The bottom 10 percent of web and digital interface designers earned under $48,210 and the 25th percentile was $66,020 (BLS OEWS, May 2023) — that band is where most junior and associate roles sit. It is a separate figure from experienced pay, so never compare an entry-level offer to the $98,540 median; compare it to the 10th-to-25th band in your own state.
Is UX design a growing field?
O*NET OnLine (2025) projects employment for Web and Digital Interface Designers to grow faster than average between 2025 and 2035 and publishes an estimated number of annual openings over that period. CareerOneStop (2024) publishes state-level projections for the same occupation, which matter more than the national trend if you are not planning to relocate.
Do I need a degree to be paid at the top of the range?
The 90th percentile of $176,490 (BLS OEWS, May 2023) is reached through scope and seniority rather than a specific credential, and UX hiring is heavily portfolio-driven. BLS publishes the typical entry-level education for web developers and digital designers on its 2025 occupation page — read that alongside the actual job postings in your market.
Why do salary sites show different numbers from BLS?
BLS OEWS measures base wages across the whole occupation, which is why its May 2023 median is $98,540. Glassdoor-derived figures summarized by Coursera (2024) report median total pay, including bonuses and additional compensation, and cover self-reported UX job titles rather than the broader federal category — so a higher number there is not a contradiction, it is a different measurement.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Web Developers and Digital Designers : Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025-05)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023: 15-1255 Web and Digital Interface Designers (2023-05)
