Creative pay 2026
Graphic designer salary in Minnesota (2026)
Graphic designers in Minnesota earn a median $63,860 a year ($30.70 an hour), according to BLS wage data for May 2025. That is close to the US median for the job ($62,960), 14th of 53 states and territories. The median for every job in Minnesota is $56,920, so this pays 12% more than the typical job there.
- $63,860median a year in Minnesota
- $30.70median an hour
- +1%vs the US median ($62,960)
- 5,570employee jobs (BLS estimate)
What is the salary range for a graphic designer in Minnesota?
Half of graphic designers in Minnesota earn between $51,570 and $78,380. Pay is bunched more tightly than nationally: the 90th percentile is 2.3 times the 10th, against 2.7 times across the US.
| 10th percentile | $42,690 | $39,520 | $20.52 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th | $51,570 | $49,040 | $24.79 |
| Median | $63,860 | $62,960 | $30.70 |
| 75th | $78,380 | $81,830 | $37.68 |
| 90th percentile | $96,960 | $104,910 | $46.61 |
The mean (average) is $68,280, above the median, pulled up by the highest earners.
How does Minnesota compare with other states?
Minnesota sits 14th of 53, between Vermont ($65,690) and Nevada ($62,890).
| Iowa | $50,310 | −21% | 2,100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | $56,470 | −12% | 460 |
| South Dakota | $48,390 | −24% | 470 |
| Wisconsin | $59,900 | −6% | 4,130 |
Which cities in Minnesota pay graphic designers best?
Of the 8 metro areas in Minnesota where BLS publishes a median for the job, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington pays most, at $65,610, 3% above the state median.
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 3,690 | $65,610 | $31.54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fargo, ND-MN | 260 | $55,910 | $26.88 |
| Sioux Falls, SD-MN | 200 | $50,030 | $24.05 |
| St. Cloud, MN | 160 | $58,340 | $28.05 |
| Duluth, MN-WI | 130 | $57,960 | $27.86 |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN | 130 | $56,630 | $27.23 |
| Mankato, MN | 120 | $54,150 | $26.04 |
| Rochester, MN | 80 | $61,240 | $29.44 |
How many graphic designers work in Minnesota?
BLS estimates 5,570 employee jobs, 1.89 in every 1,000 jobs in the state. The job is concentrated here: Minnesota's share of employment in it is 1.48 times the national share (BLS's location quotient).
Employees only. BLS does not count the self-employed, who are a large share of several creative jobs.
What do other creative jobs pay in Minnesota?
3 of the 6 other creative jobs below pay a higher median in Minnesota.
| UX/UI designer | $82,650 | 1,520 |
|---|---|---|
| Copywriter | $72,810 | 720 |
| Motion designer | $64,990 | 30 |
| Video editor | $53,150 | 200 |
| Videographer | $51,420 | 300 |
| Photographer | $46,470 | 730 |
What do freelance graphic designers charge?
Upwork, graphic designers list $15 to $35 an hour, worldwide. Minnesota's employee median of $30.70 an hour is inside that range. The rate calculator works out an hourly rate from the salary you want.
Questions
What is the average graphic designer salary in Minnesota?
The median is $63,860 a year and the mean is $68,280, from BLS data for May 2025 covering about 5,570 employee jobs.
How much does a graphic designer make an hour in Minnesota?
The median hourly wage is $30.70. The bottom 10% earn under $20.52 and the top 10% over $46.61.
What does a starting graphic designer earn in Minnesota?
BLS does not publish pay by experience. The lowest-paid quarter of graphic designers in Minnesota earn under $51,570 a year and the lowest-paid tenth under $42,690, which is the nearest guide to starting pay.
Get the Slice Weekly
One free email every Friday: tools for creators and the best advice we found from people who make things.
Where do these numbers come from?
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (published 15 May 2026). Occupation 27-1024, Graphic Designers. Employees only; annual figures are hourly times 2,080.
n = 5,570 jobs in the Minnesota estimate. Last updated 2 October 2026.
Get the data
Free · CSV and JSON · 2 files
This page’s own figures as a CSV, and the full files behind What creative jobs pay in 2026. One email unlocks every download on Slice’s data pages.
- This page’s figures (CSV) Every table and figure on this page, with its source line.
- Every role, country and source (CSV) One row per role, country and measure: percentiles for employees and every published freelance rate, with its source.
- The full dataset (JSON) Everything above plus every US state and metro table, the outlook figures and the source records.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit “Slice (tryslicemedia.com)” and link to this page. Leave the box unticked and we send you nothing. Everything on this page stays free to read without an email.
Graphic designer pay in other states
- District of Columbia $87,920
- Rhode Island $78,220
- New York $77,340
- Massachusetts $76,710
- California $75,130
- Maryland $75,120
- New Jersey $73,790
- Washington $72,710
- Connecticut $72,700
- Virginia $72,310
- Colorado $66,330
- Oregon $66,040