Location, experience, specialty, and other factors all contribute to how much a web designer earns on an annual basis. According to Glassdoor, the average web designer’s annual salary is around $53k, but the pay can range from $38k to $74k. Today, we’ll take a quick look at how various factors affect the average web designer’s salary and hopefully give you a better idea of what you can expect if you’re just starting out. Without further ado, let’s look at some numbers!
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Web Design Salaries Based on Job Level
Within the web design industry, as with any other, there are certain hierarchies in place. Your pay will vary greatly depending on where you fall on this scale. According to Glassdoor, an entry-level web designer with little to no experience in the field can expect to earn around $50,000 per year. However, if you’re a junior designer with some work experience, this figure is closer to $60,000.
When you reach the senior level, your salary can increase to $95k or more, but this level is only available to web designers with years of experience in the field unless you’re a freelance web designer, but more on that later.
Web Design Salaries Based on Specialty
There are numerous paths you can take in your web design career, and your salary will vary greatly depending on which category you fall into. For example, if you’re an Ui/Ux designer, you can expect to be paid around $75k per year; however, if you only do Ux design, you can expect to be paid $95k per year.
An interaction designer can expect to earn around $90,000 per year, while a UX researcher can expect to earn around $80,000 per year. Finally, user interface designers can earn up to $83k per year.
Freelance Web Designer Salary
When it comes to working as a freelance web designer, your pay can vary greatly. All of the salaries discussed thus far apply to web designers working for companies; however, freelance designers can earn significantly less or more, depending on their skill set and rates.
Glassdoor reports an annual salary of $75k, but salaries can range from $31k to a whopping $183k. This could be why an increasing number of senior web designers are opting to go freelance, as they can theoretically double their pay by working on projects for multiple clients rather than staying in a company.
Web Designer Salary Based on Location
Finally, the salary of web designers is heavily influenced by their location. Not every state has the same living standards, and it’s common for salaries to vary greatly depending on where you work. For example, the average base salary for a web designer in New York City is around $69k, $73k in San Francisco, and $55k in Washington, DC.
Conclusion
As you can see, a variety of factors influence how much you can expect to earn as a web designer. It’s critical to understand that all of the figures we’ve discussed today are averages, and they will vary greatly depending on your specialty, location, and seniority level.
So, if you’re looking for information on how much you can earn at a particular company, make sure to ask around with the company’s employees some more, and we wish you the best of luck!
