2027 Salary Guide · Technology
User experience research has no federal occupation code of its own, so this guide uses the closest BLS occupation, Web and Digital Interface Designers, whose median was $104,000 in May 2025, about $110,500 in 2027 terms. That group's range is unusually wide, from $53,750 at the 10th percentile to $201,550 at the 90th, because it includes webmasters as well as senior product teams. Dedicated UX researchers, a specialized role within that group, tend to sit in its upper half.
What moves pay
BLS does not measure UX research pay directly. These are the factors that most often separate a researcher at the median from one near the 90th percentile.
Researchers who can run surveys, analyze product data and design experiments, as well as interviews and usability tests, are useful to more teams and are often hired at senior levels.
Many UX researchers come from psychology, human-computer interaction, anthropology or other social sciences. O*NET's education data cover the whole proxy occupation, not researchers: there, 30% of respondents said a new hire needs a post-baccalaureate certificate.
Dedicated in-house research teams are a different market from agencies and web shops, where research is often one part of a designer's job. The occupation's lower half includes many of those blended roles.
Researchers who set research strategy, run research operations or manage other researchers move toward the top of the range.
Local pay
The San Francisco Bay Area median is $163,810, about $30,000 above Seattle's $133,760. New York has the largest workforce in the occupation, about 14,990, followed by Seattle at 10,330. In Nashville the median is $63,510, the lowest of the 29 metros.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Bay Area | $163,810 +58% | $81,120 – $230,700 | 6,630 |
| Seattle | $133,760 +29% | $60,580 – $217,800 | 10,330 |
| San Diego | $123,850 +19% | $54,060 – $205,400 | 1,270 |
| Boston | $122,270 +18% | $72,860 – $178,250 | 2,330 |
| Portland | $120,640 +16% | $62,180 – $187,920 | 880 |
| Austin | $119,950 +15% | $63,160 – $180,440 | 1,080 |
| New York City | $119,190 +15% | $64,360 – $204,510 | 14,990 |
| Atlanta | $118,190 +14% | $64,360 – $182,310 | 1,890 |
| Los Angeles | $106,550 +2% | $58,100 – $201,320 | 9,220 |
| Phoenix | $104,940 +1% | $59,800 – $183,000 | 640 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | $104,840 +1% | $55,760 – $164,990 | 1,420 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $104,150 +0% | $61,740 – $164,290 | 2,380 |
| Raleigh | $102,860 -1% | $58,860 – $170,680 | 770 |
| Buffalo | $99,990 -4% | $52,240 – $166,980 | 460 |
| Detroit | $99,450 -4% | $45,760 – $160,770 | 790 |
| Albany | $99,210 -5% | $51,990 – $164,290 | 310 |
| Denver | $98,330 -5% | $60,300 – $164,790 | 2,120 |
| Washington, DC | $97,000 -7% | $57,580 – $170,790 | 1,900 |
| Baltimore | $96,760 -7% | $60,810 – $158,760 | 500 |
| Houston | $96,750 -7% | $55,060 – $165,700 | 830 |
| Charlotte | $94,290 -9% | $43,800 – $162,420 | 1,070 |
| Providence | $93,020 -11% | $60,830 – $166,310 | 290 |
| Chicago | $87,920 -15% | $59,450 – $162,050 | 1,470 |
| Pittsburgh | $85,900 -17% | $46,750 – $132,100 | 600 |
| Hartford | $82,870 -20% | $51,990 – $127,070 | 310 |
| Tampa | $82,480 -21% | $48,640 – $128,680 | — |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $81,730 -21% | $51,680 – $140,320 | 970 |
| Miami | $77,730 -25% | $50,180 – $143,730 | 1,250 |
| Nashville | $63,510 -39% | $57,890 – $74,470 | 2,500 |
BLS metro estimates, May 2025. Percent compares the metro median with the national median. "Jobs" is BLS estimated employment in the metro; blank where BLS does not publish it.
Career path
BLS does not report pay by level for this role. These stages map common research ladders onto the proxy occupation's percentiles.
About $73,000 to $104,000 (25th percentile to median)
Runs usability tests and interviews under a senior researcher's plan, and writes up findings. Many enter from graduate programs or adjacent design and analysis roles.
About $104,000 to $159,000 (median to 75th percentile)
Plans and runs studies for a product area, chooses methods and works directly with product managers and designers.
About $159,000 to $202,000+ (75th to 90th percentile)
Sets research priorities across products, mentors other researchers and influences roadmap decisions.
About the data
The federal wage survey has no occupation for user experience research. This guide uses Web and Digital Interface Designers (15-1255) as the closest match because O*NET's task list for that occupation includes conducting user research to determine design requirements and analyzing user feedback. The occupation's sample titles, though, are mostly design and development roles: UX Developer, UI Developer, Web Designer, Webmaster.
That makes the figures a proxy. They show the market researchers are hired into, not a measured researcher wage. The gap between the 25th and 75th percentile, $73,290 to $158,820, is one of the widest of any occupation in this guide, which is why the page uses percentile bands instead of a single number.
For a specific offer, the city table and the band above are a better guide than the national median.
Pay distribution
These are BLS figures for Web and Digital Interface Designers, the closest occupation, not a measured UX researcher wage. The shaded band, median to 90th percentile, is where dedicated research roles typically fall.
Typical for the UX Researcher title: $104,000 to $201,550 (50th to 90th percentile of Web and Digital Interface Designers)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $53,750 | $57,000 |
| 25th percentile | $73,290 | $78,000 |
| Median | $104,000 | $110,500 |
| 75th percentile | $158,820 | $169,000 |
| 90th percentile | $201,550 | $214,000 |
BLS has no UX researcher category. This guide benchmarks the title to Web and Digital Interface Designers and places it in the upper half.
Outlook
BLS projects faster than average growth for the occupation, about 8,300 openings a year on a base of 132,700 jobs. Dedicated research roles are a small, unmeasured share of those openings.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Web and Digital Interface Designers as a whole.
Compare
UX and product designers share the same BLS occupation, so the national figures match. Product managers, whom researchers work alongside, are a management occupation with a $166,790 median.
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| UX Researcher | $104,000 | $110,500 | Faster than average |
| UX Designer | $104,000 | $110,500 | Faster than average |
| Product Designer | $104,000 | $110,500 | Faster than average |
| Product Manager | $166,790 | $177,500 | Much faster than average |
FAQ
UX researchers have no published BLS wage. The closest BLS occupation is Web and Digital Interface Designers, whose median was $104,000 in May 2025. Dedicated UX researchers usually fall between that median and the 90th percentile of $201,550. The 2027 planning median is about $110,500.
For associate researcher roles, the proxy occupation's 25th percentile, $73,290, is a reasonable starting marker. The 10th percentile, $53,750, mostly reflects entry-level web design and content roles rather than research jobs. Entry pay is higher in the Bay Area, where the 25th percentile is $110,100.
BLS cannot answer this, because both are reported in the same occupation with the same national figures. Pay differences between the two titles come from the employer, seniority and methods rather than from the job category.
Senior and lead researchers typically sit in the 75th to 90th percentile of the proxy occupation, $158,820 to $201,550 in May 2025. In the San Francisco Bay Area the 75th percentile is $211,120, the highest of the 29 metros in this guide.
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