Graphic Designers in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,024
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$10,046
19.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,597
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$51,070
Kept after tax
$41,024
Worth in national money
$45,597
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Alabama pays graphic designers a middle wage of $51,070, 43 of 51 states and about 18.89% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Alabama reports figures for, this is number 242.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $51,070 you keep $41,024 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $45,597 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $57,010, since top earners drag the number up.
- Alabama's $51,070 median for graphic designers places it 43 of 51 states, about 18.89% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In Alabama's occupational distribution, graphic designers sits at 242 of 482 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay in Alabama is $41,024 after the full tax stack, from $51,070. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $45,597 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $57,010 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Graphic Designers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $89,130 |
| This salary | $51,070 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $41,024 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,215 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,126 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $48,343 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,362 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $51,070. The published range is $33,050 up to $89,130, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alabama's $41,024, worked from $51,070. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 242 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $45,597 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 242.
- Reported values are medians; for graphic designers in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $33,050 to $89,130. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Alabama take-home of $41,024, on $51,070 for work ranking 242 of 482 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 242 of 482 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,597, worked from $51,070, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Alabama address, on work sitting at 242 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $57,010, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $33,050 at the bottom tenth to $89,130 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $45,597.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Alabama adds its own income tax on top — which is why $41,024 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Alabama is $57,010. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($33,050) and the ninetieth ($89,130) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $45,597 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $41,024 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.