Compared with the local labor market
Graphic Designer 1 pay vs. New York
Across all employers in New York, the median wage for Graphic Designers — about 14,530 people — is $77,340. New York State Thruway Authority pays a median base salary of $54,804 for this role, 29% below that figure — about the 21st percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where New York State Thruway Authority sits in the local pay range
$43,680
$58,610
$77,340
$100,370
$131,250
New York State Thruway Authority median · $54,804
The bar is the range of annual wages for Graphic Designers across every employer in New York, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows New York State Thruway Authority’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Graphic Designers — about 197,830 people — is $62,960. New York State Thruway Authority’s median base salary is 13% below that national figure, about the 35th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$39,520
$49,040
$62,960
$81,830
$104,910
New York State Thruway Authority median · $54,804
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the New York range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at New York State Thruway Authority is $56,812, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
Graphic Designer beyond New York Public Authorities
This role is reported in 6 jurisdictions. In New York Public Authorities, the median of $56,812 ranks #5 of 6. See Graphic Designer across all of New York Public Authorities →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Graphic Designer roles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.