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Costs · Design

What graphic design work costs (context, not a price list)

Last checked: Nov 5, 2026 (America/Denver) · BLS employee wages · Not a freelance rate card

Page question. Roughly what should a small business expect to budget for graphic design help — without inventing marketplace “average prices”?
Important. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics describe employees. The survey does not cover most self-employed freelancers. Freelance quotes must cover taxes, benefits, tools, revisions, and unbilled sales time — so they often exceed a simple hourly conversion of the employee median.

BLS anchor (May 2025)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Graphic Designers (page visited/checked Nov 5, 2026; OOH cites May 2025 wages).

How to turn that into a project budget

  1. List assets and rounds (e.g. 8 social posts, 2 revisions each).
  2. Ask proposers for hours or fixed milestones tied to that list — not a vague “campaign.”
  3. Add marketplace client fees from the fee comparison (do not guess).
  4. Hold a contingency for stock licenses and font licensing if your brand kit is incomplete.

Where to hire

Venue fit belongs on where to hire a graphic designer. For logos only, see logo designer.

FAQ

Can I budget $30/hour because BLS says so?

Not safely. $30.27 is the May 2025 employee median hourly wage. Freelancers price projects differently. Use BLS as context, then collect real proposals against a written asset list.

Do you publish average Fiverr or Upwork graphic design prices?

No. Those fluctuate and are not official statistics. We link fee schedules, not invented averages.

Sources

  1. BLS OOH — Graphic Designers: www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/graphic-designers.htm (checked Nov 5, 2026)
  2. Best Freelance Platforms — Fee comparison: bestfreelanceplatforms.com/articles/fee-comparison (checked Nov 5, 2026)

No affiliate links on this page. Figures change; re-check the official page before you rely on them.

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