Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

27-1024 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.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
151,950 1.9 % $19.85 $41,300 1.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $10.39 $13.43 $17.61 $23.66 $31.28
Annual Wage (2) $21,600 $27,930 $36,630 $49,210 $65,060

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Specialized design services 27,200 $23.59 $49,070 1 8
Advertising and related services 21,880 $21.31 $44,330 2 39
Newspaper, book, and directory publishers 20,240 $17.00 $35,360 3 121
Printing and related support activities 14,120 $16.21 $33,720 4 131
Architectural and engineering services 4,710 $21.69 $45,120 5 33

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Legal services 110 $26.12 $54,330 91 1
Securities and commodity contracts brokerage 330 $25.55 $53,150 50 2
Druggists' goods merchant wholesalers 460 $24.92 $51,830 40 3
Semiconductor and electronic component mfg. 200 $24.30 $50,540 72 4
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing 890 $23.96 $49,830 21 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
District of Columbia 1,260 $22.08 $45,930 0.212% 215
New York 16,340 $24.87 $51,740 0.198% 236
Vermont 520 $16.97 $35,290 0.179% 218
Connecticut 2,730 $21.26 $44,210 0.166% 258
Minnesota 3,800 $19.12 $39,770 0.146% 316

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
New York 16,340 $24.87 $51,740 0.198% 236
Massachusetts 4,490 $24.87 $51,730 0.141% 196
Michigan 4,500 $22.55 $46,910 0.104% 226
Nevada 820 $22.30 $46,390 0.077% 186
District of Columbia 1,260 $22.08 $45,930 0.212% 215

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 690 $23.22 $48,300 0.345%
Orange County, CA PMSA 3,990 $19.87 $41,340 0.278%
Madison, WI MSA 700 $18.05 $37,530 0.250%
Burlington, VT MSA 260 $17.74 $36,900 0.248%
Racine, WI PMSA 180 $18.74 $38,970 0.238%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Jose, CA PMSA 1,530 $29.28 $60,900 0.174%
Boston, MA-NH PMSA 3,150 $27.38 $56,950 0.164%
Santa Rosa, CA PMSA 280 $27.15 $56,470 0.147%
Detroit, MI PMSA 2,020 $27.14 $56,440 0.100%
New York, NY PMSA (6) $26.98 $56,110 (6)

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004