Lab One

UX Designer Salaries Across the World

As an IxD student graduating in May 2021, it will be important to know about the current earnings of UX designers as I start my job search. For this assignment, I wanted to find out: Where is the best place for an Entry Level UX Designer to work and live?

I looked at latest data sets on UX designer salaries, cost of living and rent indices to help answer my question. The relationships shared between these data sets will not only inform me about the value and salaries of UX designers across the world, but also consider how expensive it will be to live in these cities over time. Here is what I found:

UX Designer Salaries

Of the 3,688 UX designer salaries submitted to uxdesignersalaries.com between 2015 and 2020, the average salary is $52,953. The highest number of entries came from the US, with over 700 entries submitted. From this data, it suggests that there is a high demand for UX designers in the US.

While there were a few countries that made it into the top five, I had excluded them from the list as they contained fewer than 15 submissions, or were missing entries from the 0-3 years of experience category. I also narrowed my search by focusing only on the top highest paid countries and US states. Comparing the salaries between US and worldwide will help guide my decision on whether to stay in the US after I graduate, or move closer back home to Hong Kong.

From there, I narrowed down my search and examined the salary entries under the category of 0-3 years of experience as I will be applying as an entry level designer.

In addition to holding the highest average UX salaries, Switzerland and US appear again as the top two leading countries with the highest average entry level salaries. Within the US, states such as California, New York, and Massachusetts also appear in the top rank.

Cost of Living and Rent Indices

The next step is to compare the salaries to the cost of living and rent indices to get a bigger picture on how expensive it will be to live and move to the new city. The following scatterplot displays the cost of living and rent indices collected from Numbeo, one of the largest databases on cities and countries worldwide. ‘Cost of Living’ includes consumer good prices such as groceries, restaurants, transportation, and utilities. ‘Rent Index’ is the estimated price of renting apartments in the city. Both indices are relative to New York City (NYC), where cost of living and rent index is set at 100.

The countries with the highest UX designer salaries are highlighted in the scatterplot. As I am hoping to live in a big metropolitan area, I decided to focus on the major cities from each country and US state. The scatterplot shows that most of the major cities in Switzerland including Zurich has an average cost of living that is 23% more expensive than NYC. However, the rent is on average 40% less expensive. On the other hand, a city like Norway, also a top contender from our list, has a cost of living closer to NYC but is almost 60% lower in rent. Even though the rent in Norway is low, I would still consider Zurich because the average salary for a UX designer in Switzerland makes almost $30,000 more, while the pay for entry level designers is also the highest.

The highest paid US states include California, New York, and Massachusetts. However, cities including NYC and San Francisco are way too expensive. Even though the cost of living in San Francisco is 20% less expensive compared to NYC, the rent is 23% more. I would consider another city in California such as Los Angeles, as the cost of living and rent indices are on average 30% less expensive than NYC, while the average entry level salary in California is around $10,000 more. Similarly, Boston would be a good candidate as Massachusetts has one of the highest average salaries and is 20-30% less expensive in its cost of living and rent indices than NYC.

UX Salaries and Rental Trends over time

To help me make a more informed decision for the US cities, I decided to look at how the UX designer salaries and rental prices have progressed over time. These will be the most important indicators for me, as I hope to be working in the city for at least 5 years, while making sure the rent for one bedroom isn’t too expensive in the coming years so I can live comfortably.

The bar graphs comparing the earnings of California and Massachusetts UX designers show that entry level designers start at around the same salary. However, over time, we see a steady increase in salary in California compared to Massachusetts, as a UX designer with 4-7 years of experience earns an additional $20,000, while 8-12 years will earn an additional $30,000. Whereas in Massachusetts, the peak doesn’t occur until 13+ year later. The increase in salary is much slower, as a UX designer with 4-7 years of experience earns an additional $10,000, while 8-12 years of experience earns roughly at the same salary.

The following rent trends are from Rent Jungle, a website for hunting apartments and rental houses nationwide. As we can see, the rental prices from 2011 to 2020 for a 1-bed is less expensive in Los Angeles compared to Boston. It can be projected that in the coming years, the rental price in Boston may exceed $3,000 while Los Angeles will be closer to $2,500.

Conclusion

Where is the best place for an Entry Level UX Designer to work and live?

From the gathered datasets, I have concluded that the two best places for an entry level UX designer to work and live is Zurich and Los Angeles. However, if I had to pick one city to start off as a UX designer, I would pick Los Angeles. This is because the average overall UX salary and entry level salary are both higher in California. While the rent indices for both cities are similar, there is a drastic difference in the cost of living, as it is almost 50% less expensive to live in Los Angeles than Zurich.