UI UX

UI/UX Designer Salary: What Can You Expect in 2024?

Written byJohn Terra
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Updated onJanuary 14, 2024

A software development company can release the most state-of-the-art application, incorporating all the latest bells and whistles. Still, it will fail if the customers find it hard to use and are generally apathetic about the product. That is why it’s critical to give the users the means to efficiently use the product and deliver a positive experience from beginning to end. That’s what UI/UX is all about.

UI/UX is integral to any new product’s success, and companies are always looking for new talent. Consequently, they offer attractive compensation, but what does that look like? This article shows the typical UI/UX designer salary, including variables such as country, city, company, and experience level.

We will also briefly discuss what UI/UX entails, why it’s a good career choice, and how to get a UI/UX certification online.

What is UI/UX?

UI stands for “user interface,” while UX stands for “user experience.” The term has no universally accepted format, but many sources render it UI/UX. For this article, we’ll do our best to refer to the concepts as UI/UX consistently.

User interface (UI) covers the look and feel of the user interface, covering areas such as fonts, colors, buttons, graphics, and other elements on the screen. These are the components that users interact with. UI is a broad category that covers hardware as well, so UI can refer to keyboards, mice, game controllers, screens, ATMs, and how a desktop looks and feels. If the user can manipulate it and gain information from it, it’s a user interface.

User experience (UX), on the other hand, is a broader category that covers a user’s experience with a product from start to finish and how they feel while they use the product in question. This experience deals with everything from how the product was developed to how the user interacts with it, so yes, UI is a subcategory of UX.

Let’s look at a fictional retail website, for example. Our website, GameGeekDice.com, sells dice for tabletop games. The user visits the site and is greeted by an attractive front page with an easy-to-use navigation bar. A search function lets them find particular kinds of dice, and the site’s layout makes sense and is easy to use. With only a few clicks, the customer can find their dice, place an order, pay for it, and arrange delivery with minimal fuss. Plenty of payment options and a very reasonable shipping and handling process exist.

That entire experience is the user experience and is supposed to be fun, easy, convenient, and aesthetically pleasing, from when they enter the website to when they make the final click of their order. That’s the UX. The UI includes the website itself. Note that the UX covers some non-technical aspects, like shipping and payment options.

Or, to put it another way, an automobile’s dashboard and the steering wheel is the UI, while the overall feel of the car, its standard and optional features, the kind of ride it delivers, and how it looks is the UX.

But before we get into UX design salary specifics, let’s see why UI/UX is a good career choice.

Also Read: The UI UX Design Process: Everything You Need to Know

Why Should You Pursue a UI/UX Design Career?

Let’s list why UI/UX is essential and why it’s a good career choice.

It establishes solid brand consistency and recognition, helping the company gain a competitive advantage
It builds a deeper emotional connection with users, increasing the customer’s trust and brand loyalty
It creates a positive user experience, influencing customer behavior and conversions
It reduces development costs and time-to-market, allowing the company to release a popular product faster and cheaper

In these uncertain economic times, companies are constantly seeking a competitive edge. If a business hires more UI/UX professionals, it increases the likelihood of creating a successful product. However, to hire UI/UX experts, there needs to be more of them. Many companies are experiencing skill and talent gaps and are desperate to fill critical vacant positions. You can help fill these gaps by earning a certification in UI/UX.

Exploring UI/UX Designer Salaries

Time to check out UI/UX designer salaries. Bear in mind these are average salary figures subject to many variables that can affect UX designer salaries. For example, according to Glassdoor, the average base salary of a UI/UX designer in the United States is $86,633 annually. But this is a median salary and doesn’t factor in specific cities, experience level, and hiring corporations, let alone deal with typical UX designer salaries worldwide.

So, let’s break down these UI/UX designer salary figures by the many possible categories.

UX/UI Designer Salary by Country

Here’s a breakdown of average annual UI/UX designer salaries by nation, courtesy of Glassdoor. As a rule, nations with high living costs tend to pay more, while nations with lower living costs pay commensurately less. Developing nations pay the least.

Australia: AUS $83,750
Canada: CA $65,584
France: €42,009
Germany: €56,346
India: ₹594,000
Israel: ₪291,420
Japan: ¥6M
South Korea: ₩49M
Ukraine: UAH 1,119,000
United Arab Emirates: AED 294,400
United Kingdom: £41,054
United States: $86,633

Also Read: The Latest Buzz on Full Stack Developer Salaries

How Much Does a UI/UX Designer Salary Vary Based on Experience?

Obviously, a UX design intern makes less than a UI/UX professional with a decade of experience. Here’s a sample of average annual UI/UX designer salaries broken down by years of experience, as compiled by Glassdoor.

0-1 Years (Entry Level): $74,176
1-3 Years: $83,139
4-6 Years: $92,650
7-9 Years: $97,497
10-14 Years: $103,518
15+ Years: $109,330

UX/UI Designer Salary by Company

Not every organization pays UI/UX design professionals the same, as this information from Glassdoor shows.

Google: $200,003
SelfEmployed.com: $110,046
Moment Studio: $104,712
Microsoft: $166,920
Amazon: $187,410
Nones: $123,135
IBM: $131,271
Self Opportunity: $113,222
ChopDawg Studios: $116,280
Accenture: $104,169
Ampush: $116,033
J. J. Keller: $110,901
Apple: $174,621
Freelance: $108,272
Salesforce: $163,126
Booz Allen Hamilton: $107,455
Photon: $143,099

Additionally, for professionals who dislike limiting themselves to one organization, Glassdoor reports that UI/UX freelancers earn an average of $52 per hour.

Ui/UX Designer Salary by U.S. City

UI/UX designers in the United States experience a significant range of annual salaries. These are the ten top-paying American cities for UI/UX designer salaries, courtesy of ZipRecruiter.

Berkeley, CA: $140,703
Renton, WA: $139,217
Santa Monica, CA: $138,275
Merced, CA: $137,956
Boston, MA: $136,171
Daly City, CA: $136,040
San Mateo, CA: $135,298
Scottsbluff, NE: $133,778
Irvine, CA: $131,735
Tacoma, WA: $131,660

UI/UX Designer Salary by U.S. States

You’ve come to the right place if you’re less interested in working in a specific United States city and more interested in the overall state. UX and UI salaries vary by state in the United States, subject to factors like demand, economic status, and industries. Here are the dozen best-paying states for UI/UX designer salaries.

Washington: $130,496
New York: $125,099
Maryland: $120,719
California: $120,449
Virginia: $120,351
Colorado: $120,313
Delaware: $119,123
Massachusetts: $115,441
South Carolina: $115,433
Michigan: $114,946
Nevada: $114,876
Oklahoma: $114,344

The Best-Paying UI/UX-Related Designer Jobs in the United States

If you pursue a UI/UX designer vocation, you can take your career in many different directions. Here are the five best-paying UI/UX designer-related occupations in the United States today.

User Experience Lead: $158,621
UI UX Lead: $158,621
UI Tech Lead: $154,914
Game UI Designer: $149,794
UI UX Architect: $148,358

Also Read: What Are Today’s Data Scientist Salaries Like?

The Best-Paying Industries for UX Designers

According to Glassdoor, the following industries pay the best UX designer salaries. Although it doesn’t specifically mention UI designers, you can infer that UI/UX designers enjoy the same salary considerations. Remember, these are median figures and not taking mitigating factors into account.

Information Technology: $170,721 per year, 17% higher than other industries
Media and Communication: $152,975 per year, 8% higher than other industries
Retail and Wholesale: $146,974 per year, 4% higher than other industries
Manufacturing: $139,654 per year, 1% lower than other industries
Financial Services: $136,030 per year, 3% lower than other industries

Do You Want a Career in UI and UX Design?

While it’s true that UI/UX professionals are in great demand, there are still expected qualifications, skills, and standards to be met. The best positions get taken by the most skilled, most qualified candidates. If you’re interested in a UI/UX career, you must expand your skillset and bolster your existing related skills. You need a UI UX bootcamp.

This high-engagement bootcamp lasts 20 weeks and gives you the necessary user interface and experience skills to tackle today’s UI/UX challenges. You’ll build a Dribble portfolio and tackle capstone projects to hone your UI and UX skills sharply.

So check out this valuable UI UX bootcamp today, and get your design career off to a great start. And don’t forget that with the proper skills and training, you can command a higher UI/UX designer salary!