Graphic Designers in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,133
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$10,377
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,606
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$58,510
Kept after tax
$48,133
Worth in national money
$47,606
State rank
28
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Arizona is 28 of 51 states for graphic designers, with a middle wage of $58,510. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Graphic designers ranks 248 among 491 occupations Arizona publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $58,510 the take-home is $48,133, which is worth about $47,606 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $63,570, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arizona ranks 28 of 51 for graphic designers at $58,510. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 248 of 491 in Arizona places graphic designers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Arizona's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for graphic designers on its $58,510 median: $48,133 retained after tax becomes $47,606 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $63,570 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Graphic Designers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,780 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $88,590 |
| This salary | $58,510 |
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 Arizona | $48,133 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,193 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,016 |
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 | $57,190 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,648 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of graphic designers in Arizona earn under $58,510 and half over. The published range runs $43,780 at the tenth percentile to $88,590 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $48,133 take-home in Arizona comes from $58,510. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 248 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $47,606 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 248.
- Figures are distribution medians for graphic designers in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $43,780 to $88,590; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $48,133, from $58,510, assumes a single Arizona filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 248 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 28 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $47,606, worked from $58,510, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 248 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $63,570, 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 $43,780 at the bottom tenth to $88,590 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $47,606 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $48,133.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Arizona is $63,570. 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 ($43,780) and the ninetieth ($88,590) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $47,606 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $48,133 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.