Designers, All Other · SOC 27-1029

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Designers, All Others

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for designers, all other. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (2 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 36 metro areas

Designers, All Other: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$129,110	160	0.1
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$103,040	320	0.1
3	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$85,280	120	0.1
4	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$84,180	110	0.1
5	Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC	$83,980	30	0.1
6	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$82,170	1,260	0.1
7	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$81,800	Not published	Not published
8	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$76,070	140	0.1
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$73,290	Not published	Not published
10	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$70,790	200	0.2
11	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$69,620	Not published	Not published
12	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$69,100	140	0.1
13	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$67,840	140	0.1
14	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$67,770	30	0.0
15	New Orleans-Metairie, LA	$67,200	80	0.2
16	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$65,550	90	0.1
17	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$65,370	110	0.1
18	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$64,970	120	0.0
19	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$62,100	40	0.0
20	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$61,670	250	0.1
21	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$60,910	Not published	Not published
22	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$58,990	30	0.1
23	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$58,930	1,970	0.3
24	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$58,560	580	0.2
25	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$57,230	30	0.0

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Designers, All Other overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.