How Much Do UI/UX Designers Make?

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The short answer is: it depends!

UX stands for “user design,” while UI stands for “user interface.” Both these elements work closely together and are crucial to a product’s development and design. From holding your phone to unlocking its screen, to all the gestures and swipes that allow you to use that advanced piece of technology without ever reading a user manual—you can thank user experience (UX) designers for all of this.

When users interact with a digital or physical product, such as a website or a coffee machine, the UX designer creates an optimal experience for them. Some user experience designers focus on service design, such as designing the overall experience of using public transportation or visiting a doctor, while others might focus on studying users, understanding their behavior, and architecting their journey that enables users to achieve their desired tasks with minimal effort.

UI design is generally considered a UX function. User interface designers primarily focus on how users navigate through a digital product. This is the reason why UI and UX design is used interchangeably in job titles and job descriptions, or they may even fall under the responsibilities of product designers.

The earning potential of UI and UX designers depends on several factors, including previous work experience, one’s place of employment, clinical specializations, and the cost of living in a state or metropolitan area.

In general, here is a breakdown of UI and UX designers’ salaries in the United States, according to Payscale.com (October 2022):

UX Designer Salary (based on 4,113 salary profiles)

  • 10th percentile: $53,000
  • 50th percentile (median): $76,267
  • 90th percentile: $110,000

User Interface Designer Salary (based on 452 salary profiles)

  • 10th percentile: $46,000
  • 50th percentile (median): $66,490
  • 90th percentile: $96,000

Self-reported data from PayScale.com also shows UX Designers to be highly satisfied with their jobs with a score of 3.99 out of 5 based on 762 individual responses. User experience designers were also highly satisfied with their jobs, scoring 3.91 out of 5 based on 100 individual responses. (PayScale.com, October 2022).

The U.S. News & World Report (2022) ranks graphic designers (a closely related field that is just one part of the bigger user experience) as the 8th best among the best creative and media jobs. With a bachelor’s degree and no previous professional experience required for entry-level positions, becoming a graphic designer has an easy, smooth, fast career pathway.

Employability is another crucial benefit for those seeking careers as UX designers. The demand for UI/UX designers is increasing. LinkedIn ranked UX design as one of the top ten in-demand hard skills for 2020, while Glassdoor added UX designers to their list of the best 50 jobs in America for 2022. LinkedIn even listed this field as one of the top 25 jobs on the rise in 2022.

The average salaries earned by UI and UX designers also differ according to the data source. Apart from Payscale, here are some other sources that offer information on UI and UX designer salaries in the US:

UX Designer Average Salaries:

UI Designer Average Salaries:

Read on to learn how much UI and UX designers make, where they are employed, and the top-paying specializations.

Top-Paying Cities for UI and UX Designers

Below is a list of the top-paying cities with the highest salaries for UI and UX designers. Also shown are the estimated number of salaries reported, and the average base salary per year as reported by Indeed.com (October 2022).

User Experience (UX) Designers:

City Salaries reported Average base salary
San Francisco, CA 23 $142,427
Redmond, WA 5 $119,597
Seattle, WA 17 $109,661
Austin, TX 153 $106,612
Boston, MA 31 $106,600
Atlanta, GA 43 $104,719
Dallas, TX 21 $103,807
Houston, TX 19 $99,739
San Jose, CA 14 $86,112

User Interface (UI) Designers:

City Salaries reported Average base salary
Mountain View, CA 10 $90,859
New York, NY 53 $88,812
Salt Lake City, UT 9 $88,785
Chicago, IL 28 $87,902
Austin, TX 18 $86,260
Boston, MA 13 $74,331
Los Angeles, CA 29 $73,354
Dallas, TX 12 $66,719
Atlanta, GA 22 $65,410

Top-Paying States for UI and UX Designers

Below is a list of the states with the highest salaries for UI and UX designers, the job count available, and the average salary as reported by Zippia.com (October 2022).

User Experience Designers:

State Job Count Average Salary
Washington 1,023 $116,511
California 3,677 $109,571
District of Columbia 278 $98,059
Massachusetts 891 $95,630
Rhode Island 114 $94,508

User Interface Designers:

State Job Count Average Salary
Washington 1,025 $119,331
California 3,703 $112,305
Oregon 534 $99,583
District of Columbia 283 $95,478
Nevada 112 $93,408

Pay by Experience Level for UI and UX Designers

Below is a list showing the level of experience earned by UI and UX designers, the estimated number of salaries reported, and the average base salary per year as reported by Payscale.com (October 2022).

UX Designers:

Level of experience Salaries reported Average base salary
Entry-level (less than one year of experience) 1,201 $65,650
Early career (1-4 years of experience) 3,175 $74,131
Mid-career (5-9 years of experience) 960 $85,977
Experienced (10-19 years of experience) 329 $95,739
Late career (20 years and higher) 62 $97,662

UI Designers:

Level of experience Salaries reported Average base salary
Entry-level (less than one year of experience) 75 $55,685
Early career (1-4 years of experience) 303 $63,472
Mid-career (5-9 years of experience) 152 $70,015
Experienced (10-19 years of experience) 65 $84,171
Late career (20 years and higher) 12 $80,750

Skills That Affect UI and UX Designer Salaries

Different skills can affect UI and UX designer salaries. Here is a list of five UI and UX designer skills and their correlating salaries based on self-reported data from PayScale.com (October 2022):

UX Designers:

Skills Average Salary
Product Development $100,000
Team Leadership $88,000
Content Management $85,000
Product Management $82,812
Design $80,515

UI Designers:

Skills Average Salary
Microsoft Office $77,511
Adobe Dreamweaver $76,500
Figma $75,212
Usability Testing $75,000
User Research $74,209

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