How much do product designers make in 2026?
Product designer is reported here under SOC 27-1021, commercial and industrial designers, which BLS OEWS May 2025 puts at a national median of $83,910 a year, or $40.34 an hour, with a P10 to P90 range of $53,460 to $139,770 across 33,490 workers. The title, though, carries two meanings and only one of them lives in this code. In manufacturing, consumer goods and hardware, a product designer designs a physical product and belongs in this row alongside industrial designers. In software, a product designer designs digital interfaces and user flows and is counted in SOC 15-1255, web and digital interface designers, a different and higher-paying series. Anyone reading a salary figure for this title needs to know which job is being described. Within the physical-product reading covered here, pay follows the same logic as industrial design: sector margin, regulatory complexity and engineering depth. Hardware product designers at technology companies sit at the top of this band because they combine industrial design with engineering and often receive equity, which this wage series does not capture. BLS projects 3.2% growth through 2034 with roughly 2,500 openings a year for this code. → Full product designer career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $83,910 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Product Designers earn a national median $83,910/yr ($40.34/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 27-1021); the P10 to P90 range is $53,460 to $139,770.
- The title spans two occupations: physical product design sits in SOC 27-1021 and is described here, while digital product design is counted in SOC 15-1255 with a materially higher median.
- Within physical product design, sector margin and engineering depth set the range, with hardware roles at technology companies at the top of the band.
- Equity, common in hardware product design at technology employers, is not part of this wage-and-salary series.
US Product Designer Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do product designers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 27-1021; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 27-1021, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a product designer earn at each career stage?
Physical product design pay follows engineering depth and product economics. Each median below is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 27-1021.
By State
Which states pay product designers the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates, not BLS state observations: the national median for SOC 27-1021 scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index. Hardware product design clusters around a small number of development centres, and the model below reflects general wage levels rather than that clustering.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($96,500), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay product designers the most?
Metro figures are modeled, national median times state wage index times published metro index, and are not BLS metropolitan observations. For hardware design the practical map is where product development and supplier engineering sit, which is narrower than a general metro index implies.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a product designer’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does product designer pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Product Designers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify product designer wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a product designer actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Product Designer Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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