Mid-career New York baseline: $55,000. Each city lists local-market pay and a COLI-scaled lifestyle equivalent — the equivalent is not market pay.
| # | City | Local market | Lifestyle equivalent | COLI | Take-Home % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zurich | CHF 54,545 | CHF 54,545 | 122.4 | 63.8% |
| 2 | Geneva | CHF 52,852 | CHF 52,852 | 118.6 | 60.0% |
| 3 | New York | $55,000 | $55,000 | 100.0 | 69.0% |
| 4 | San Francisco | $53,680 | $53,680 | 97.6 | 70.3% |
| 5 | Singapore | S$62,836 | S$62,836 | 87.7 | 76.6% |
| 6 | London | £36,239 | £36,239 | 87.5 | 74.0% |
| 7 | Copenhagen | kr 299,208 | kr 299,208 | 85.7 | 60.8% |
| 8 | Amsterdam | €38,520 | €38,520 | 82.6 | 63.0% |
| 9 | Boston | $45,320 | $45,320 | 82.4 | 71.9% |
| 10 | Tel Aviv | ₪160,947 | ₪160,947 | 81.3 | 74.6% |
| 11 | Miami | $44,055 | $44,055 | 80.1 | 80.9% |
| 12 | Washington DC | $43,890 | $43,890 | 79.8 | 72.4% |
| 13 | Seattle | $43,725 | $43,725 | 79.5 | 80.9% |
| 14 | Oslo | kr 433,701 | kr 433,701 | 78.5 | 68.5% |
| 15 | San Diego | $42,625 | $42,625 | 77.5 | 71.6% |
| 16 | Tokyo | ¥6,585,983 | ¥6,585,983 | 77.3 | 71.7% |
| 17 | Los Angeles | $41,965 | $41,965 | 76.3 | 71.6% |
| 18 | Sydney | A$58,223 | A$58,223 | 74.5 | 85.8% |
| 19 | Hong Kong | HK$317,012 | HK$317,012 | 73.6 | 88.4% |
| 20 | Chicago | $40,260 | $40,260 | 73.2 | 76.0% |
| 21 | Dublin | €33,950 | €33,950 | 72.8 | 76.0% |
| 22 | Dubai | AED 144,258 | AED 144,258 | 72.4 | 100.0% |
| 23 | Doha | QAR 139,314 | QAR 139,314 | 69.5 | 100.0% |
| 24 | Seoul | ₩48,110,670 | ₩48,110,670 | 68.9 | 78.2% |
| 25 | Philadelphia | $37,840 | $37,840 | 68.8 | 77.9% |
| 26 | Luxembourg City | €31,898 | €31,898 | 68.4 | 75.0% |
| 27 | Melbourne | A$53,299 | A$53,299 | 68.2 | 87.3% |
| 28 | Abu Dhabi | AED 135,092 | AED 135,092 | 67.8 | 100.0% |
| 29 | Portland | $36,960 | $36,960 | 67.2 | 71.1% |
| 30 | Denver | $36,135 | $36,135 | 65.7 | 76.6% |
| 31 | Vancouver | C$48,700 | C$48,700 | 65.4 | 70.5% |
| 32 | Austin | $35,640 | $35,640 | 64.8 | 81.0% |
| 33 | Tampa | $35,475 | $35,475 | 64.5 | 81.0% |
| 34 | Stockholm | kr 321,960 | kr 321,960 | 64.3 | 61.0% |
| 35 | Perth | A$49,626 | A$49,626 | 63.5 | 88.6% |
| 36 | Atlanta | $34,760 | $34,760 | 63.2 | 75.5% |
| 37 | Nashville | $34,540 | $34,540 | 62.8 | 81.0% |
| 38 | Osaka | ¥5,350,579 | ¥5,350,579 | 62.8 | 73.2% |
| 39 | Dallas | $34,375 | $34,375 | 62.5 | 81.0% |
| 40 | Toronto | C$46,392 | C$46,392 | 62.3 | 69.1% |
| 41 | Edinburgh | £25,719 | £25,719 | 62.1 | 75.9% |
| 42 | Munich | €28,680 | €28,680 | 61.5 | 66.7% |
| 43 | Minneapolis | $33,770 | $33,770 | 61.4 | 73.2% |
| 44 | Auckland | NZ$53,887 | NZ$53,887 | 60.8 | 80.0% |
| 45 | Houston | $33,110 | $33,110 | 60.2 | 81.1% |
| 46 | Charlotte | $32,890 | $32,890 | 59.8 | 76.6% |
| 47 | Phoenix | $32,395 | $32,395 | 58.9 | 78.6% |
| 48 | Raleigh | $32,230 | $32,230 | 58.6 | 76.6% |
| 49 | Helsinki | €27,141 | €27,141 | 58.2 | 80.8% |
| 50 | Las Vegas | $32,010 | $32,010 | 58.2 | 81.1% |
| 51 | Milan | €26,954 | €26,954 | 57.8 | 66.9% |
| 52 | Nice | €24,576 | €24,576 | 52.7 | 72.1% |
| 53 | Montreal | C$38,796 | C$38,796 | 52.1 | 63.2% |
| 54 | Fukuoka | ¥4,379,295 | ¥4,379,295 | 51.4 | 75.0% |
| 55 | Berlin | €23,877 | €23,877 | 51.2 | 69.2% |
| 56 | Brussels | €23,457 | €23,457 | 50.3 | 78.1% |
| 57 | Rome | €22,991 | €22,991 | 49.3 | 67.1% |
| 58 | Vienna | €22,478 | €22,478 | 48.2 | 73.0% |
| 59 | Paris | €21,871 | €21,871 | 46.9 | 72.7% |
| 60 | Shanghai | ¥171,058 | ¥171,058 | 46.2 | 67.4% |
| 61 | Taipei | NT$779,277 | NT$779,277 | 44.8 | 87.9% |
| 62 | Beijing | ¥161,061 | ¥161,061 | 43.5 | 68.0% |
| 63 | Riyadh | SAR 87,862 | SAR 87,862 | 42.6 | 90.2% |
| 64 | Panama City | $23,265 | $23,265 | 42.3 | 82.3% |
| 65 | Barcelona | €19,633 | €19,633 | 42.1 | 72.8% |
| 66 | Shenzhen | ¥155,137 | ¥155,137 | 41.9 | 68.4% |
| 67 | São Paulo | R$115,989 | R$115,989 | 41.8 | 68.9% |
| 68 | Guangzhou | ¥143,289 | ¥143,289 | 38.7 | 69.3% |
| 69 | Madrid | €17,721 | €17,721 | 38.0 | 73.2% |
| 70 | Bangkok | ฿634,091 | ฿634,091 | 37.2 | 91.1% |
| 71 | Cancún | MX$333,603 | MX$333,603 | 35.8 | 81.9% |
| 72 | Lisbon | €16,182 | €16,182 | 34.7 | 71.9% |
| 73 | Valencia | €15,622 | €15,622 | 33.5 | 73.6% |
| 74 | Santiago | CLP 17,118,750 | CLP 17,118,750 | 33.2 | 78.6% |
| 75 | Kuala Lumpur | RM 73,355 | RM 73,355 | 32.8 | 83.1% |
| 76 | Mexico City | MX$302,852 | MX$302,852 | 32.5 | 82.5% |
| 77 | Montevideo | $U 751,073 | $U 751,073 | 32.5 | 77.6% |
| 78 | Split | €14,830 | €14,830 | 31.8 | 60.0% |
| 79 | Málaga | €14,550 | €14,550 | 31.2 | 73.9% |
| 80 | San José (CR) | ₡8,683,373 | ₡8,683,373 | 31.2 | 89.3% |
| 81 | Playa del Carmen | MX$287,011 | MX$287,011 | 30.8 | 82.8% |
| 82 | Athens | €14,270 | €14,270 | 30.6 | 73.2% |
| 83 | Prague | Kč 387,800 | Kč 387,800 | 30.6 | 74.0% |
| 84 | Phuket | ฿519,886 | ฿519,886 | 30.5 | 92.4% |
| 85 | Porto | €14,037 | €14,037 | 30.1 | 72.7% |
| 86 | Tallinn | €13,477 | €13,477 | 28.9 | 90.0% |
| 87 | Cape Town | R 284,642 | R 284,642 | 28.4 | 80.6% |
| 88 | Warsaw | zł 61,163 | zł 61,163 | 28.4 | 80.2% |
| 89 | Lagos | ₦23,743,599 | ₦23,743,599 | 27.3 | 68.9% |
| 90 | Manila | ₱826,905 | ₱826,905 | 26.8 | 81.8% |
| 91 | Ho Chi Minh City | ₫363,000,000 | ₫363,000,000 | 26.4 | 75.0% |
| 92 | Budapest | Ft 5,156,126 | Ft 5,156,126 | 26.1 | 66.5% |
| 93 | Lima | S/52,571 | S/52,571 | 25.8 | 83.4% |
| 94 | Buenos Aires | AR$15,691,566 | AR$15,691,566 | 25.6 | 53.4% |
| 95 | Bali (Denpasar) | Rp 214,802,334 | Rp 214,802,334 | 25.3 | 82.8% |
| 96 | Riga | €11,798 | €11,798 | 25.3 | 69.5% |
| 97 | Phnom Penh | $13,640 | $13,640 | 24.8 | 100.0% |
| 98 | Nairobi | KSh 1,754,388 | KSh 1,754,388 | 24.7 | 67.6% |
| 99 | Jakarta | Rp 208,010,166 | Rp 208,010,166 | 24.5 | 82.9% |
| 100 | Hanoi | ₫331,375,000 | ₫331,375,000 | 24.1 | 75.5% |
| 101 | Krakow | zł 51,256 | zł 51,256 | 23.8 | 81.3% |
| 102 | Istanbul | ₺406,598 | ₺406,598 | 23.1 | 63.3% |
| 103 | Bogotá | COP 52,352,711 | COP 52,352,711 | 22.9 | 89.8% |
| 104 | Chiang Mai | ฿385,227 | ฿385,227 | 22.6 | 93.5% |
| 105 | Bucharest | lei 52,370 | lei 52,370 | 22.5 | 55.0% |
| 106 | Mumbai | ₹1,020,544 | ₹1,020,544 | 22.3 | 92.7% |
| 107 | Casablanca | MAD 118,072 | MAD 118,072 | 22.1 | 74.3% |
| 108 | Bangalore | ₹951,898 | ₹951,898 | 20.8 | 93.0% |
| 109 | Medellín | COP 46,637,349 | COP 46,637,349 | 20.4 | 91.8% |
| 110 | Delhi | ₹892,404 | ₹892,404 | 19.5 | 93.2% |
| 111 | Marrakech | MAD 102,578 | MAD 102,578 | 19.2 | 76.5% |
| 112 | Chennai | ₹864,945 | ₹864,945 | 18.9 | 93.3% |
| 113 | Cairo | E£450,867 | E£450,867 | 16.8 | 69.6% |
Data covers 113 cities. Local market = verified / OECD / COLI badge (same as /is-my-salary-good/). Lifestyle equivalent = NYC baseline × city COLI / 100 — not market pay. Updated 2026.
Typical graphic designer salary range (New York baseline, USD):
The mid-career graphic designer New York baseline is $55,000. Each city shows two numbers: local-market pay (verified national stats, OECD estimate, or COLI fallback) and a lifestyle equivalent (NYC baseline scaled by city COLI). The equivalent is not what someone earns locally.
The highest COLI-scaled lifestyle equivalent for a graphic designer is Zurich at $67,320 USD. That figure is purchasing-power scaled from the New York baseline, not local market pay. See both columns in the table for all 113 cities.
Local-market pay uses the same country multipliers as /is-my-salary-good/ (verified national statistics, OECD wage ratios, or COLI fallback). Lifestyle equivalent starts from the New York baseline and scales by city COLI (NYC = 100). Take-home percentage is tax and social contributions on the local-market figure.