ForgeApply
Try it free

Salary Explorer · Designer Salary in San Francisco

Designer Salary in San Francisco (2026)

Computed from 164 live job postings where the employer disclosed pay — not self-reported surveys. Refreshed daily.

Median

$194,750

Typical range (25th–75th percentile)

$175k$216k

Postings with disclosed pay

164

Where the typical range sits

$175k · 25th$195k · median$216k · 75th

Top-paying companies in San Francisco

Median of disclosed midpoints; companies with at least 3 disclosed salaries. Bars share the same scale as the range chart above.

OpenAI$277,500 · 6 disclosed
Brex$240,250 · 4 disclosed
PayPal$222,863 · 4 disclosed
Oura$215,525 · 5 disclosed
Baseten$215,000 · 3 disclosed
Mercury$212,825 · 4 disclosed
Coderabbit$212,500 · 3 disclosed
Sierra$207,500 · 3 disclosed

Recent Designer jobs with disclosed pay

See all design & ux jobs in San Francisco

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Designer make in San Francisco in 2026?

The median disclosed base salary for Designer roles in San Francisco is $194,750, computed from 164 live job postings where the employer published the pay range (as of 2026-08-28).

What is the typical Designer salary range in San Francisco?

The middle half of disclosed postings falls between $174,988 and $216,144 (25th to 75th percentile). Posted ranges often span multiple seniority levels, so the top of a band usually maps to the highest level the company would hire for.

Which companies pay Designers the most in San Francisco right now?

Among companies with at least 3 disclosed postings currently live, the top payers are OpenAI (median $278k), Brex (median $240k), PayPal (median $223k). This reflects current openings, not historical offers.

Where does this salary data come from?

From base-salary ranges employers disclose directly on live job postings tracked by ForgeApply, refreshed daily — not self-reported surveys. We take the midpoint of each disclosed range and report the median and 25th–75th percentile band. Postings without disclosed pay are excluded, which can skew toward companies in pay-transparency states.

Applying for Designer roles?

ForgeApply autofills each application and tailors your resume to the posting. You review every submit.

Try ForgeApply free

Methodology

Figures are computed from base-salary ranges that employers disclose directly on live job postings tracked by ForgeApply (as of 2026-08-28). For each posting we take the midpoint of the disclosed range, then report the median and the 25th–75th percentile band across all matching postings. Postings without disclosed pay are excluded, which can skew results toward companies and states with pay transparency requirements. This is marketplace data about current openings, not an estimate of total compensation or of any individual offer.

Related