What Kind of Salaries Can You Expect As a UX/UI Designer?
If you are looking for the top talent in UX/UI design, it is important to understand what salary others in your location or around the world offer entry-level and experienced UX/UI designers/
The average salary for a UX/UI designer varies based on the person’s level of expertise, the company, and location.
Let’s dive into the exciting world of UX/UI design to learn more about what kind of salary you can expect.
What is a UX Designer?
UX stands for user experience. A UX designer creates products or services that are fun, meaningful, and logical for users to interact with. The UX designer focuses on the branding, usability, function, and design of product development.
They have to prioritize giving each user a positive interaction with a product or service. The product needs to either solve a problem, entertain, or help a user with information that leaves them feeling satisfied with the product or service.
A UX designer can work with digital products like advertising, blogs, or websites. Or, they can work with physical products.
They are responsible for the following duties:
- Communicating with clients about the business’s goals and needs
- Improving existing user interface designs
- Implement and plan new designs
- Conduct user experience tests
- Develop new product ideas and prototypes
- Test new ideas
- Use research to influence new designs and improve older designs
UX designers will need to research, collect, evaluate, and collect user experience data.
What is a UI Designer?
UI stands for user interface. UI designers work with the tools that users engage with. These could be widgets, text, images, sliders, buttons, or other elements. The job of a UI designer is to make the entire interface appeal to the user and to make the experience function well.
They need to work on the details, design, and look of the products rather than the creation, feel, and user flow of products and services.
UX and UI designers often work very closely together and there are often overlaps between the two roles. They are distinct roles, but if you have expertise in both industries, you will become more marketable to companies.
These two roles can be exciting prospective jobs for people who are creative and love to serve their community. That’s why icreatives works to connect companies with experts in all industries. Whether you are looking for temporary, full-time, freelance, or contract, icreatives is your creative staffing partner.
What Is The Average Salary For A UX/UI Designer?
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for a UX/UI designer in the US is $80,730 as of 2022. This converts to about $38 an hour. According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary of UX/UI designers in 2023 was $112,198, or around $54 an hour in the US. The top 75th percentile earns around $135,000 a year while the lower 25th percentile averages around $86,000 per year.
UX/UI designers may work in person, remotely, or in a hybrid role. The demand for UX designers is increasing because design-led companies tend to have higher revenue and better overall performance. This role was listed as one of the highest-paying entry-level jobs for 2023.
Of course, this amount differs based on your company, the location of your company, and the years of experience an employee has to offer. Other countries also have differences in average salary, so these numbers may vary based on whether you are recruiting within the US or elsewhere.
Salary Based on Top Companies
Most of the biggest companies for UX/UI design in the US have comparable pay scales. If you want to match these salaries, here is an overview of what some other big companies are offering their UX/UI designers.
- Activision: $99,000
- Dell: $97,142
- AT&T: $96,000
- Macy’s $95,244
- Essence Digital: $93,500
These numbers may vary based on location and experience, but the salary for most UX/UI designers is pretty standard across the board. Several industries are hiring UX/UI designers including healthcare, financial services, eCommerce, manufacturing, education, and automotive.
It is one of the fastest growing in the tech industry, so employees have many opportunities to grow and explore different niches. UX design jobs are not only available with big companies, there are many small businesses in small towns and rural areas that need UX/UI designers.
If you are interested in recruiting UX/UI designers for your small business, icreatives partners with some of the top companies in the US to help staff their company with hot talent. They have been working for 35 years to provide a nationwide recruitment company that is well-respected and provides a full service that gets you the perfect match every time.
Salary Based on US State
Based on where you work in the United States, the salary your company offers may vary widely. Different regions of the country have a higher demand for UX/UI designers than others. Even within a single state, not every city will pay the same salary as others.
Here are a few of the states in the US with the highest salary for UX/UI designers:
- Arkansas: #130,350
- Indiana: $130,000
- California: $126, 750
- West Virginia: $117,250
- Georgia: $115.000
These numbers are averages and may not reflect every job opportunity in that state. There are ranges in salary based on cities and regions within each state.
The top 10 cities with the highest-paying UX/UI designer jobs are the following:
- Berkeley, California
- Renton, Washington
- Santa Monica, California
- Dale City, California
- Milpitas, California
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Auburn, Missouri
- Scottsbluff, Nebraska
- San Mateo, California
- Richmond, California
Also, even if the salary is better in some locations, the cost of living for that area may affect the average. Large cities and certain states in the US have higher costs of living compared to others.
Since this job can be done in person, remotely, or a combination of the two, you have a lot of options for recruiting the best candidates across the country to fill your UX/UI design needs.
Salary Based on Experience
How much you pay a prospective UX/UI designer will be dependent on their level of experience. Employees with several years of experience will have higher salaries than entry-level recruits.
Recent graduates may need to show their skills as up-and-coming UX/UI designers with enhanced portfolios to bolster their credibility. It is important to show prospective employees that they can grow with the company.
Here is an overview of the average salary based on experience level in the US:
- Entry-level: $75,000-$80,928
- Mid-level: $90,000-$104,580
- Senior-level: $110,000-$113,368
These estimates are a range, and people with no experience may be at the lower end of these ranges.
Certain companies will expect their UX/UI designers to have additional certificates and degrees to set them apart from the competition.
Salary for UX/UI Designer Based on Country
The entry-level UX/UI designer may make a different salary in other countries, based on the demand for this job. Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai are some of the most lucrative locations for UX designers in the industry. Many of the other countries have a lower average salary than entry-level UX designers in the US.
Here is a list of the average salary for a UX designer in other countries:
- Canada: US $ 61,998, CA $ 84,416
- Germany: US $56,967, €53,082
- United Kingdom: US $65,956, £53,356
- Australia: US $41,233, A $61,968
- France: US $47,809, €44,567
- South Africa: US $35,655, R 698,328
- China: US $135,927, ¥960,000
These numbers vary based on the location, company, and job requirements.
What Is The Average Salary For UX/UI Designer Related Roles?
Within the UX/UI designer umbrella, there are different job titles where the roles may be divided. These different job titles require different skill sets and provide different compensation. One of the best parts about the UX industry is that a person can choose to specialize in roles to gain a higher salary rather than take on more responsibilities.
This gives employees more flexibility in the way that they can advance their careers. This helps keep employees who enjoy serving others in a role that feels satisfying.
Here is a list of the average salaries in the US for different job titles:
- UI designer: $82,548 – $93,440
- UX researcher: $85,028 – $117,378
- Product designer: $78,613 – $105,448
- UX writer: $75,026 – $91,279
- UX engineer: $125, 552
- Product designer: $78,613 – $105,448
- UX strategist: $110,329 – $112,146
Each of these job titles requires its own set of skills, such as a UX writer. UX writers use their ability to write clear, engaging text to make written content that creates a seamless user experience.
Candidates who previously worked in a similar field such as graphic design or web development, may possess skills that give them an edge over other candidates. These skills may influence employers to negotiate a better salary, even if this is the candidate’s first time working as a UX/UI designer.
What Other Benefits Can You Expect As A UX/UI Designer?
Besides salary, there are other ways an employer may compensate their UX/UI designer. Many candidates will be willing to take a lower salary if their benefits are excellent.
Companies that offer health, dental, and vision insurance; paid time off; stock options; retirement savings plans; and cash bonuses are more appealing than those that do not. Consider also paying for travel, offering remote or hybrid options, and other ways to accommodate and bring in new hires.
These benefits are a great way to bring in top candidates and keep your company staffed with people who want to stay for many years.
What is the UX/UI Designer Job Demand?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US will see a 16% growth over the next decade in the web design field. This is considerably faster than the average. There are UX/UI designer jobs available all over the US, and many other countries, such as China have a high demand for people skilled in this area, as well.
UX designer positions were one of the top 15 jobs listed as on the rise for 2022 with LinkedIn. If you are looking for the right candidates to fill your UX/UI positions, we have the solution.
Since icreatives knows the ups and downs of the creative world, our expert recruiters can help you with all your creative staffing needs. Every candidate we provide will have their portfolio, resume, and a blurb on why we think they are the perfect match. We work fast to provide you with creative talent. We make finding temporary, full-time, freelance, and contract creative staffing easy and precise.
Conclusion
As one of the fastest-growing tech industries in the US, UX/UI designers can expect a fair entry-level salary in most places. Of course, based on a candidate’s experience level, the company you work for, and the location, the salary may vary. Additionally, if you have specialized UX roles to offer, the compensation may also vary.
If you are looking to staff your business with creative talents, it is important to understand the salaries that others are offering a UX/UI designer to remain competitive. With a little research, you’ll be able to recruit the best talent to meet your company’s needs.
