If you’re considering product design as a potential career path, you’ll no doubt want to know: What is the average product designer salary?
Based on our research, the average product designer salary is around $98,000. Not bad when you consider that the U.S. national average salary across all occupations is around the $59,000 mark!
But that’s just one salary benchmark based on the United States alone, and covering all experience levels. When you look at senior product designer salaries, that figure goes up considerably. And, of course, it also varies based on industry and location.
So, the question of how much do product designers earn requires a more thorough investigation if we really want to paint an accurate picture. To that end, we’ve gathered the most up-to-date salary data to compile this comprehensive product designer salary guide.
If you’re just getting started in product design, check out our free 5-day product design course.
Here’s what’s included:
- What is the average product designer salary?
- Product designer salaries based on experience and seniority
- Product designer salaries based on job title
- Product designer salaries by industry
- Product designer salaries by location
- Product designer salary FAQ
- Wrap-up and further reading
Let’s jump in.
1. What is the average product designer salary?
The average salary for a product designer is $98,676.
To calculate the average product designer salary, we gathered data from several sources: Glassdoor, Indeed, and PayScale. This salary factors in all experience levels and is based on the United States. We’ll explore product designer salaries across different locations in section five.
Here is the data we used to calculate the average product designer salary:
For comparison, the national average salary across all occupations is $59,428—putting product designer salaries well above average.
Of course, a product designer’s salary will vary once you consider factors such as experience level, job title, industry, and location. With that in mind, let’s delve deeper into the data.
2. Product designer salaries based on experience and seniority
A product designer’s salary is primarily determined by how much experience they have in the field.
Newcomers can expect to start on an entry-level salary—which, as you’ll soon see, still sits quite comfortably above the national average salary (not just in the United States). From there, a product designer’s salary increases steadily in line with seniority.
So let’s consider the average product designer salary across different seniority levels. As before, we’ll calculate our averages using data from three trusted sources (Glassdoor, Indeed, and PayScale) and focus on the U.S..
Here are the average salaries for different career levels at a glance. We’ve included the national average salary across all occupations for comparison:
- National average salary in the US: $59,428
- Junior product designer: $72,277
- Mid-level product designer: $98,676
- Senior product designer: $129,579
- Product design lead: $140,814
You’ll find a breakdown of how we arrived at these averages in the following sections.
The average salary for a junior product designer: $72,277
According to Glassdoor, Indeed, and PayScale, the average salary for a junior product designer in the United States is:
This gives us an average junior product designer salary of $72,277.
The average salary for a mid-level product designer: $98,676
The average salary for a mid-level product designer breaks down as follows:
This gives us an average mid-level product designer salary of $98,676.
The average salary for a senior product designer: $129,579
We found the following data for senior product designer salaries:
This gives us an average senior product designer salary of $129,579.
The average salary for a product design lead: $140,814
The average salary for a product design lead in the United States breaks down as follows:
This gives us an average product design lead salary of $140,814.
3. Product designer salaries based on job title
Product designer isn’t the only possible job title for those with product design skills. In this section, we’ll consider the average salaries for a variety of popular product design-related roles. As always, we’ll average out the data found across multiple sources.
Here’s a snapshot of the average salaries for different job titles, including the product designer salary for comparison:
- Product designer: $98,676
- Product design engineer: $87,648
- UX designer: $95,478
- UI designer: $83,433
- Industrial designer: $81,227
- Service designer: $79,167
Keep reading for a breakdown of how we calculated these average salaries, as well as a brief description of each role.
The average salary for a product design engineer: $87,648
Product design engineers are responsible for creating physical products. They conduct research to define product requirements, design the product itself, and oversee the manufacturing process.
The average salary for a product design engineer is $87,648 based on the following data:
Learn more about the role in our full guide to product design engineers.
The average salary for a UX designer: $95,478
UX designers are responsible for the end-to-end experience a user has with a product. They conduct research, create product wireframes and prototypes, and run usability tests to ensure that the product is usable, accessible, and user-friendly. You can learn more about what a UX designer does here.
The average salary for a UX designer is $95,478 based on the following data:
You’ll find a detailed breakdown of UX designer salaries in this guide.
The average salary for a UI designer: $83,433
UI design is a subset of UX and product design that focuses solely on digital products (such as websites and apps). UI designers take care of the product’s visual and interactive properties, designing all the screens and pages the user encounters. You can learn more about what a UI designer does here.
The average salary for a UI designer is $83,433 based on the following:
For more data, refer to our dedicated UI designer salary guide.
The average salary for an industrial designer: $81,227
As per the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), industrial design is the “professional practice of designing products, devices, objects, and services used by millions of people around the world every day.” Industrial designers are responsible for the appearance, functionality, and manufacturability of the product, with a particular focus on engineering and manufacturing.
The average salary for an industrial designer is $81,227 based on the following:
The average salary for a service designer: $79,167
A service designer is like a product designer for intangible processes and experiences. They don’t focus on one specific product; rather, they look to optimize the entire end-to-end service a customer receives from a business. This might include optimizing a physical or digital product, but also extends to processes, frameworks, and business infrastructure.
The average salary for a service designer is $79,167 based on the following:
- $85,321 (Glassdoor)
- $75,924 (Salary.com)
- $76,257 (PayScale)
4. Product designer salaries by industry
Product designer salaries can also vary across different industries. We sourced data from Indeed and Glassdoor to identify which companies and industries pay the highest product designer salaries.
Here are the top-paying companies along with their average reported salaries for product designers:
- Meta: $220,757
- Stripe: $217,666
- Pinterest: $211,885
- Google: $208,838
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: $206,560
- Dropbox: $202,462
- Airbnb: $200,835
- Postman: $195,928
- Twitter/X: $194,757
- Cruise: $188,732
Other top-paying companies at the time of writing include VMware, Citizens, Western Digital, Apple, Microsoft, Uber, and Ford Motor Company.
Based on those companies, we can see that the top-paying industries for product designers tend to be:
- Tech
- Finance
- Automotive
However, the lists of top-paying companies are dynamic and continuously update as new salaries are reported. It’s worth checking Indeed and Glassdoor from time to time to see if there are any interesting new additions or changes to the list.
5. Product designer salaries by location
So far, we’ve focused on product designer salaries within the United States. Now let’s go global! In this section, you’ll find the average product designer salary across different locations.
We’ve sourced our data from Glassdoor, PayScale, and Salary Expert—a global salary database powered by ERI (Economic Research Institute).
So how do product designer salaries fare across the globe? Let’s take a look. We’ve ordered our list alphabetically, and converted each salary into USD for ease of comparison.
- Australia: $106,189 AUD ($67,039 USD)
- Brazil: R$96,000 ($18,974)
- Canada: $84,502 CAD ($61,590)
- China: ¥200,000 ($27,337)
- France: €55,665 ($58,757)
- Germany: €66,631 ($70,333)
- India: ₹12,50,000 ($15,017)
- Morocco: MAD 154,987 ($15,099)
- Netherlands: €42,489 ($44,849)
- New Zealand: $88,127 NZD ($51,352)
- Nigeria: ₦1,787,928 ($2,308)
- South Africa: R357,082 ($18,694)
- Spain: €44,061 ($46,509)
- Sweden: 428,535 kr ($38,893)
- United Arab Emirates: AED 72,348 ($19,697)
- United Kingdom: £44,685 ($54,165)
- United States: $98,676
As you review these average salaries, it’s important to bear in mind that other factors will also come into play—including years of experience in the product design field, any additional relevant experience, and the industry or company hiring. Still, these averages provide a good ballpark for what’s possible.
6. Product designer salary FAQ
Do product designers make good money?
When you compare the average product designer salary ($98,676) to the national average salary in the United States ($59,428), then yes—product designers do make good money. Salaries vary depending on location, experience, and industry, but product designers generally have high earning potential.
Is being a product designer stressful?
Working in the product department of any company can be stressful. It’s fast-paced, you may find yourself working to tight deadlines, and it requires lots of cross-functional collaboration. Juggling the many moving parts can be demanding, and the role is not without its challenges—but it’s also extremely exciting and rewarding.
Is product design hard to study?
Product design is not an easy topic. It spans strategy, technical skills, creativity, and business smarts—and a whole host of soft skills. It requires a mixture of theoretical study and hands-on practice. But, with a well-designed bootcamp, expert instruction, and ongoing mentorship, studying product design and mastering the necessary skills will be considerably easier.
What is the highest paying product design job?
One of the most senior and high-paying product design jobs is that of product design lead, with an average salary of $140,814. Other high-paying jobs within the field include UX designer, UI designer, product design engineer, and industrial designer.
7. Wrap-up and further reading
In all, product design is an exciting, fast-moving, and decidedly well-paid career path. Now you know how much product designers can earn, you may want to think about learning essential product design skills and starting your own career in the field.
Check out these guides for helpful advice and insights:
- What Are the Best Product Design Courses? 10 Free & Paid Courses To Consider
- How To Become a Product Designer: Step-by-Step Guide
- What’s a Typical Day in the Life of a Product Designer? Video Interview With CareerFoundry Graduate Florian Bölter
- Top 10 Product Design Interview Questions (And Answers)