Graphic Designers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,746
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$16,384
21.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,181
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$75,130
Kept after tax
$58,746
Worth in national money
$52,181
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays graphic designers a middle wage of $75,130, ranking 5 of 51 states and sitting about 19.33% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations California reports figures for, this is number 231.
- California is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $75,130 the take-home is $58,746; in national-average money that behaves like $52,181. The average comes to $86,800, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- California's median for graphic designers is $75,130, about 19.33% above the national figure and 5 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In California's occupational distribution, graphic designers sits at 231 of 492 — 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.
- Take-home for graphic designers in California, on $75,130, is $58,746; deflated by the state's price level, $52,181. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $86,800 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Graphic Designers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $75,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,560 |
| This salary | $75,130 |
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 California | $58,746 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,684 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,296 |
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 | $70,954 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$14,736 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $75,130. The published range is $46,190 up to $129,560, 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 California's $58,746, worked from $75,130. 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 231 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,181 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 231.
- Reported values are medians; for graphic designers in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,190 to $129,560. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The California take-home of $58,746, on $75,130 for work ranking 231 of 492 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 231 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,181, worked from $75,130, 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 California address, on work sitting at 231 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $86,800 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $46,190 at the bottom tenth to $129,560 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $52,181 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $58,746 of this wage survives to your account.
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 California is $86,800. 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 ($46,190) and the ninetieth ($129,560) 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?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $52,181 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 $58,746 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.