JobAfterNext

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.

Wages

Median annual wage, U.S.$62,960
Employment, U.S.197,830
Median hourly wage$30.27
Annual wage percentiles, U.S., May 2025
10th25thMedian75th90th
$39,520$49,040$62,960$81,830$104,910
By state (51)
StateEmploymentMedian annualLocation quotient
Alabama1,760$51,0700.65
Alaska180$62,5700.45
Arizona3,560$58,5100.86
Arkansas1,390$46,2200.84
California27,390$75,1301.18
Colorado4,200$66,3301.15
Connecticut1,930$72,7000.89
Delaware360$60,1300.58
District of Columbia1,150$87,9201.29
Florida12,660$61,6601.00
Georgia5,920$60,2500.95
Hawaii520$58,0700.65
Idaho920$50,3500.84
Illinois8,960$62,5601.15
Indiana3,450$55,4800.85
Iowa2,100$50,3101.06
Kansas1,730$53,6300.94
Kentucky2,060$52,9600.81
Louisiana1,750$49,9100.71
Maine560$60,0300.69
Maryland3,050$75,1200.87
Massachusetts4,450$76,7100.96
Michigan6,070$57,3501.08
Minnesota5,570$63,8601.48
Mississippi830$45,6400.56
Missouri4,500$56,7501.20
Montana610$56,8900.93
Nebraska1,670$56,7001.28
Nevada1,570$62,8900.80
New Hampshire790$60,4900.91
New Jersey5,670$73,7901.04
New Mexico850$56,7300.77
New York14,530$77,3401.18
North Carolina5,660$58,4500.90
North Dakota460$56,4700.85
Ohio7,280$60,0801.03
Oklahoma2,040$53,6300.94
Oregon4,140$66,0401.66
Pennsylvania8,150$60,7301.06
Rhode Island750$78,2201.17
South Carolina1,930$57,1700.66
South Dakota470$48,3900.81
Tennessee3,880$57,2700.93
Texas13,670$60,1500.76
Utah2,720$62,3101.23
Vermont410$65,6901.06
Virginia4,740$72,3100.91
Washington3,960$72,7100.88
West Virginia520$40,3500.58
Wisconsin4,130$59,9001.10
Wyoming240$45,1500.67

Similar occupations

Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.

#OccupationJob ZoneSimilarity
1Art Directors40.976
2Special Effects Artists and Animators40.951
3Set and Exhibit Designers50.938
4Film and Video Editors40.937
5Interior Designers40.934
6Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators30.928
7Video Game Designers40.923
8Photographers30.920
9Fashion Designers30.917
10Costume Attendants1-20.911

One skill away

Among the 50 occupations most similar to Graphic Designers, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.

OccupationSkill to buildLevel gapSimilarity
Prepress Technicians and WorkersOperations Monitoring1.250.904
Architectural and Civil DraftersMathematics1.000.886
Online MerchantsMathematics1.000.883
Solar Sales Representatives and AssessorsPersuasion0.760.877
Document Management SpecialistsWriting0.880.876

Software to learn next

Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Graphic Designers, excluding software Graphic Designers already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.

SoftwareSimilar jobs using itLift
Autodesk Maya8 of 2026.4x
Adobe Director6 of 2046.2x
Autodesk 3ds Max5 of 2028.8x
Twitter6 of 2011.5x
Corel Painter4 of 2020.5x
Adobe ImageReady3 of 2046.2x
Autodesk Mudbox3 of 2046.2x
Pixologic Zbrush3 of 2046.2x
Unreal Technology Unreal Engine3 of 2046.2x
AutoDesSys form Z3 of 2027.7x

Skills

From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.

SkillTypeImportanceLevel
Active ListeningEssential skill 3.75 3.25
SpeakingEssential skill 3.38 3.75
Critical ThinkingEssential skill 3.25 3.88
Active LearningEssential skill 3.25 3.25
WritingEssential skill 3.25 3.00
Reading ComprehensionEssential skill 3.12 3.75
Complex Problem SolvingTransferable skill 3.12 3.12
CoordinationTransferable skill 3.12 3.12
Judgment and Decision MakingTransferable skill 3.12 3.00
Social PerceptivenessTransferable skill 3.12 3.00
Time ManagementTransferable skill 3.12 3.00
MonitoringEssential skill 3.00 3.12
NegotiationTransferable skill 3.00 3.12
PersuasionTransferable skill 3.00 3.12
Service OrientationTransferable skill 3.00 3.00
Systems AnalysisTransferable skill 2.88 2.75
InstructingTransferable skill 2.75 3.00
Learning StrategiesEssential skill 2.75 3.00
Operations AnalysisTransferable skill 2.75 2.75
Systems EvaluationTransferable skill 2.62 2.75
Management of Personnel ResourcesTransferable skill 2.25 2.50
Technology DesignTransferable skill 2.25 1.88
ProgrammingTransferable skill 2.12 1.38
MathematicsEssential skill 2.00 2.12
Operations MonitoringTransferable skill 2.00 1.75
Management of Material ResourcesTransferable skill 2.00 1.12
Management of Financial ResourcesTransferable skill 1.88 1.12
Quality Control AnalysisTransferable skill 1.88 1.12
Equipment SelectionTransferable skill 1.12not rated
Operation and ControlTransferable skill 1.12not rated
ScienceEssential skill 1.12not rated
Equipment MaintenanceTransferable skill 1.00not rated
InstallationTransferable skill 1.00not rated
RepairingTransferable skill 1.00not rated
TroubleshootingTransferable skill 1.00not rated
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
Knowledge
NameImportanceLevel
Design 4.70 5.80
Fine Arts 4.40 5.65
Computers and Electronics 4.40 4.95
Communications and Media 4.30 4.40
English Language 3.80 3.95
Sales and Marketing 3.65 4.15
Customer and Personal Service 3.55 3.85
Production and Processing 3.30 3.70
Administration and Management 3.00 3.55
Administrative 2.84 3.89
Education and Training 2.80 3.55
Psychology 2.75 3.00
Engineering and Technology 2.60 3.25
Sociology and Anthropology 2.55 3.20
Personnel and Human Resources 2.50 2.90
Economics and Accounting 2.32 2.00
Mathematics 2.26 2.74
Telecommunications 2.20 2.00
Geography 2.05 2.35
Philosophy and Theology 1.90 1.95
History and Archeology 1.90 1.80
Law and Government 1.80 1.55
Foreign Language 1.75 1.40
Public Safety and Security 1.70 1.30
Mechanical 1.60 1.30
Building and Construction 1.55 1.15
Physics 1.55 1.00
Transportation 1.47 1.00
Therapy and Counseling 1.40 0.85
Food Production 1.25not rated
Chemistry 1.25 0.55
Biology 1.20not rated
Medicine and Dentistry 1.20not rated
Abilities
NameImportanceLevel
Originality 4.00 4.00
Near Vision 3.88 4.12
Fluency of Ideas 3.88 4.00
Written Comprehension 3.75 3.38
Oral Comprehension 3.62 4.00
Oral Expression 3.50 3.88
Written Expression 3.50 3.62
Visual Color Discrimination 3.25 3.75
Speech Recognition 3.25 3.50
Deductive Reasoning 3.25 3.38
Speech Clarity 3.25 3.25
Visualization 3.12 3.62
Problem Sensitivity 3.12 3.38
Inductive Reasoning 3.12 3.12
Information Ordering 3.12 3.00
Category Flexibility 3.00 3.12
Selective Attention 3.00 2.88
Far Vision 2.75 2.88
Flexibility of Closure 2.75 2.75
Perceptual Speed 2.75 2.25
Time Sharing 2.62 2.12
Arm-Hand Steadiness 2.50 2.50
Finger Dexterity 2.38 2.38
Speed of Closure 2.25 2.25
Control Precision 2.25 2.00
Manual Dexterity 2.12 2.00
Memorization 2.00 2.12
Number Facility 2.00 2.00
Mathematical Reasoning 2.00 1.75
Hearing Sensitivity 1.88 1.25
Trunk Strength 1.88 1.12
Auditory Attention 1.75 1.12
Depth Perception 1.75 1.00
Wrist-Finger Speed 1.38 0.38
Dynamic Strength 1.25not rated
Dynamic Flexibility 1.00not rated
Explosive Strength 1.00not rated
Extent Flexibility 1.00not rated
Glare Sensitivity 1.00not rated
Gross Body Coordination 1.00not rated
Gross Body Equilibrium 1.00not rated
Multilimb Coordination 1.00not rated
Night Vision 1.00not rated
Peripheral Vision 1.00not rated
Rate Control 1.00not rated
Reaction Time 1.00not rated
Response Orientation 1.00not rated
Sound Localization 1.00not rated
Spatial Orientation 1.00not rated
Speed of Limb Movement 1.00not rated
Stamina 1.00not rated
Static Strength 1.00not rated

Software used

Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.

All 79
  • Microsoft Word hot
  • PHP hot
  • Structured query language SQL hot
  • Trimble SketchUp Pro hot
  • WordPress hot
  • jQuery hot
  • Adobe ActionScript
  • Adobe ColdFusion
  • Adobe Distiller
  • Adobe Dreamweaver
  • Adobe FrameMaker
  • Adobe FreeHand MX
  • Adobe Macromedia HomeSite
  • Adobe PageMaker
  • Apple Final Cut Pro
  • Apple Keynote
  • Apple iMovie
  • Apple iWork Keynote
  • Avid Pro Tools
  • Computer aided design and drafting CADD software
  • Computer aided design and drafting software CADD
  • Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite
  • Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
  • Dassault Systemes CATIA
  • Drupal
  • Dynamic hypertext markup language DHTML
  • Extensible hypertext markup language XHTML
  • FileMaker Pro
  • Google Ads
  • Google Chrome
  • Google Drive
  • Google Slides
  • IBM Notes
  • LinkedIn
  • Maxon Cinema 4D
  • Microsoft Publisher
  • Nuance OmniPage Professional
  • Oracle Eloqua
  • Oracle JavaServer Pages JSP
  • PDF readers
  • PTC Creo Parametric
  • QuarkXPress
  • SignCAD Systems SignCAD
  • SmugMug Flickr
  • Social media sites
  • Verilog
  • WeVideo
  • Web browser software
  • YouTube

Where it concentrates

Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.

Metro areaEmploymentLocation quotientMedian annual
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI2802.35$58,670
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA3,0902.01$75,650
Lawrence, KS1201.82$54,290
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA13,8101.73$72,400
Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT6601.69$62,210
Mankato, MN1201.66$54,150
Boulder, CO4001.62$67,680
Omaha, NE-IA1,0201.61$58,020
Dubuque, IA1201.55$48,620
Ames, IA1101.50$57,060

More metros, other thresholds