Updated 16 June 2026
UX Designer Salary by State
California leads at $145K but Texas and Michigan offer the best purchasing power. Remote UX roles (40%+ of job postings) are closing the geographic gap.
Highest Raw Salary
Best After Cost of Living
| State | Average | COL | Adjusted | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $145,000 | 142 | $102,113 | Bay Area FAANG + LA entertainment/streaming. Highest raw pay. |
| Washington | $138,000 | 115 | $120,000 | Amazon, Microsoft, Meta. Seattle is a UX hub. |
| New York | $132,000 | 136 | $97,059 | NYC finance + media. Strong agency scene (IDEO, Frog, R/GA). |
| Massachusetts | $125,000 | 131 | $95,420 | Boston. HubSpot, Wayfair, biotech UX. |
| New Jersey | $120,000 | 120 | $100,000 | NYC spillover + pharma UX (J&J, Merck). |
| Colorado | $118,000 | 105 | $112,381 | Denver/Boulder. Strong remote-friendly market. |
| Illinois | $112,000 | 98 | $114,286 | Chicago. Grubhub, Groupon, enterprise SaaS. |
| Oregon | $115,000 | 112 | $102,679 | Portland. Nike, Intel, creative agencies. |
| Texas | $108,000 | 93 | $116,129 | Austin tech + Dallas enterprise. Best COL-adjusted. |
| Georgia | $105,000 | 93 | $112,903 | Atlanta fintech + Cox Automotive. |
| Virginia | $112,000 | 103 | $108,738 | DC metro. Federal digital-service UX (VA.gov, CMS), defense. |
| Minnesota | $105,000 | 98 | $107,143 | Target, UnitedHealth, Best Buy HQs. |
| Michigan | $95,000 | 91 | $104,396 | Auto UX (GM, Ford infotainment). Excellent COL ratio. |
| North Carolina | $98,000 | 95 | $103,158 | Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle. |
| Pennsylvania | $102,000 | 98 | $104,082 | Philly + Pittsburgh. Comcast, Duolingo. |
Government UX is an underrated path.
Federal agencies hire UX designers across the General Schedule, typically GS-13 to GS-15 (roughly $122K to $197K in the DC locality once locality pay is applied, plus full federal benefits and a pension). The Digital Service at VA, the team behind VA.gov, is the largest active federal design org and hires designers and researchers; agency teams at CMS and elsewhere hire too. Note that GSA shut down its 18F unit in March 2025 and the central US Digital Service was reorganized, so federal design now runs through individual agency teams rather than one central office. Roles post on USAJOBS. The work is meaningful (healthcare, immigration, veteran services) and the benefits are hard to match in the private sector.