Graphic Designers in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,869
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$12,201
21.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,233
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$58,070
Kept after tax
$45,869
Worth in national money
$42,233
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Hawaii pays graphic designers around $58,070 at the midpoint, 30 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Graphic designers ranks 262 among 437 occupations Hawaii publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $58,070 the take-home is $45,869. But Hawaii costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $42,233 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $61,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For graphic designers the Hawaii median is $58,070, ranking 30 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Position 262 of 437 in Hawaii 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Hawaii income tax is $45,869 for graphic designers, from $58,070. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $42,233. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $61,870 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 | $31,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $91,080 |
| This salary | $58,070 |
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 Hawaii | $45,869 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,839 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,026 |
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 | $54,374 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,706 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 Hawaii earn under $58,070 and half over. The published range runs $31,890 at the tenth percentile to $91,080 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $45,869 take-home in Hawaii comes from $58,070. 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 262 of 437.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,233 uses one figure for the whole of Hawaii. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 437 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 262.
- Figures are distribution medians for graphic designers in Hawaii, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,890 to $91,080; 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 $45,869, from $58,070, assumes a single Hawaii 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 262 of 437 locally, and the state ranks 30 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,233, worked from $58,070, 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 Hawaii address, on work sitting at 262 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $61,870, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $31,890 and the top tenth $91,080 — 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. Hawaii costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $42,233 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Hawaii's own levy, $45,869 remains.
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 Hawaii is $61,870. 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 ($31,890) and the ninetieth ($91,080) 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?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $42,233 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 $45,869 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.