Design Associate

Design Associate Salary

$19.5K

$60K

$87K

$58,560

/year

$28.15

/hour

Design Associate Salary Comparison by Location

Nationwide

United States

$58,560

Columbus

Ohio

$56,564

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    How much does a Design Associate make?

    As of Jun 12, 2026, the average annual pay for a Design Associate in the United States is $58,560 a year.

    Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $28.15 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,126/week or $4,880/month.

    While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $87,000 and as low as $19,500, the majority of Design Associate salaries currently range between $48,500 (25th percentile) to $68,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $80,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Design Associate varies greatly (by as much as 19500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.

    A Design Associate in your area makes on average $56,564 per year, or $1,996 (3.408%) less than the national average annual salary of $58,560. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Design Associate salaries.

    To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Design Associate jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.

    Find your next high paying job as a Design Associate on ZipRecruiter today.

    What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Design Associate Jobs

    We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Design Associate job is above the national average. Topping the list is San Ramon, CA, , with West Hollywood, CA, and Bakersfield, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Bakersfield, CA, beats the national average by $27,057 (46.2%), and San Ramon, CA, furthers that trend with another $29,669 (50.7%) above the $58,560 average.

    With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Design Associate appears to be exceedingly fruitful.

    Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 6% between San Ramon, CA, and Falls Church, VA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Design Associate role.

    City

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    San Ramon, CA

    $88,229

    $42.42

    West Hollywood, CA

    $87,315

    $41.98

    Bakersfield, CA

    $85,617

    $41.16

    Paramount, CA

    $84,318

    $40.54

    Orange, CA

    $84,089

    $40.43

    Long Beach, CA

    $84,066

    $40.42

    Pennington County, SD

    $83,590

    $40.19

    Yorba Linda, CA

    $83,453

    $40.12

    Riverside, CA

    $82,637

    $39.73

    Falls Church, VA

    $82,270

    $39.55

    What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Design Associate Jobs in the U.S.

    We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Design Associate category.

    For example Principal Bridge Engineer jobs pay as much as $88,660 (151.4%) more than the average Design Associate salary of $58,560. If you're qualified, finding work as a Principal Bridge Engineer may help you make more money than that of the average Design Associate position.

    Job Title

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    Principal Bridge Engineer

    $147,220

    $70.78

    Agriculture Engineer

    $111,632

    $53.67

    Construction Engineer Technician

    $88,563

    $42.58

    Transportation Design Engineer

    $87,307

    $41.97

    Transportation Planning Engineer

    $80,821

    $38.86

    About Our Data

    ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.

    Infographic detailing Design Associate salary across the United States as of June 2026. Displays a bar chart with salary percentiles, a national average salary of $58,560 per year or $28.15 an hour, and a color-coded map showing state-by-state salary variations.