Graphic Designers in Connecticut
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$56,726
after federal, FICA and Connecticut tax
Tax takes
$15,974
22.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,708
Connecticut costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Connecticut — 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
$72,700
Kept after tax
$56,726
Worth in national money
$54,708
State rank
9
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Connecticut is one of the better-paying states for graphic designers. The middle earner takes $72,700, which ranks 9 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 15.47% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Graphic designers ranks 212 among 482 occupations Connecticut publishes pay for.
- Connecticut is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $72,700 the take-home is $56,726; in national-average money that behaves like $54,708. The average comes to $75,420, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Connecticut ranks 9 of 51 states publishing a median for graphic designers, at $72,700 — about 15.47% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 212 of 482 in Connecticut 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.
- Take-home for graphic designers in Connecticut, on $72,700, is $56,726; deflated by the state's price level, $54,708. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $75,420 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 | $47,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $72,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $106,830 |
| This salary | $72,700 |
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 Connecticut | $56,726 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $59,974 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,010 |
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 | $68,082 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,250 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $72,700 as a midpoint for Connecticut, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $47,420 and the ninetieth is $106,830 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Connecticut the take-home figure of $56,726, from $72,700, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 212 of 482 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,708 uses one figure for the whole of Connecticut. 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 212.
- The Connecticut median of $72,700 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $47,420 to $106,830. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Connecticut is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $56,726 from $72,700. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 212 of 482 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,708, worked from $72,700, 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 Connecticut address, on work sitting at 212 of 482 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 $75,420 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $47,420 and the top tenth $106,830 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Connecticut costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $54,708 rather than its face figure.
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; Connecticut then takes its own share, leaving $56,726.
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 Connecticut is $75,420. 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 ($47,420) and the ninetieth ($106,830) 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?
Connecticut's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $54,708 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 $56,726 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Connecticut 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.