SalaryExplorer

SOC 27-1024 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Graphic Designers — Clarksville

Clarksville, TN-KY · 9 metro areas compared

$48,520 /year
$23.33per hour
−22.9%vs US median

The median wage for Graphic Designers in Clarksville, TN is $48,520 per year, 22.9% below the national median of $62,960.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $62,96010TH$30,160MEDIAN$48,52075TH$63,78090TH$83,270

How pay has moved

$50,528$38,483201920202021202220232025$48,520
$43,540 in 2019 to $48,520 in 2025, +11.4% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow about as fast as average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+2.1%
Openings per year
20,000
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

17.7% of people in this occupation work for themselves.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Clarksville, TN-KY.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage for Graphic Designers in Clarksville, TN is $48,520 per year, 22.9% below the national median of $62,960. Pay ranges from under $30,160 at the tenth percentile to more than $83,270 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $35,020 to $63,780.

Nashville leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $60,370. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 163rd of 311 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Clarksville, TN-KY · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$30,160−52.1%
25th$35,020−44.4%
Median (50th)$48,520−22.9%
75th$63,780+1.3%
90th$83,270+32.3%
Mean$53,110−15.6%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Tennessee

Median annual wage for Graphic Designers, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Nashville$60,3701,590
2Memphis$59,000590
3Cleveland$57,29030
4Knoxville$56,720470
5Chattanooga$55,250300
6Kingsport$49,570100
7Johnson City$48,69050
8Jackson$48,04040
9Morristown$47,340—

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Clarksville run 9.1% below the national average, so the median of $48,520 goes as far as $53,377 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 15.2% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$48,520as reported by BLS

Local price level

90.9US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$53,377US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $48,520 a year, 22.9% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $30,160 to $83,270 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Nashville, at $60,370.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Graphic Designers in Clarksville, TN?

The median annual wage is $48,520, or $23.33 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $62,960, so pay in Clarksville, TN is 22.9% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Clarksville, TN earns more than $83,270 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $30,160 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Nashville, at $60,370 per year.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.

Graphic Designers Salary in Clarksville, TN (2025): $48,520 Median | Salary Explorer