First Insights from the 2025 Service Design Salary(+) Report
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
The 2024 survey had over 1,000 participants from 61 countries, but is not fully representative of the global service design community.
-
•
Median salaries vary significantly by country, with the US median at $161K and the Netherlands at $73K, but these figures are influenced by seniority distribution.
-
•
Salary satisfaction is decreasing in some countries like the US and Netherlands despite rising median salaries.
-
•
Having 'service design' in an official job title does not necessarily lead to higher salary.
-
•
Men report higher median salaries than women year over year, indicating a persistent gender pay gap.
-
•
In-house positions generally pay more and yield greater salary satisfaction compared to agency or freelance roles.
-
•
Work experience strongly correlates with higher salary and satisfaction; service design-specific experience is tracked separately from general experience.
-
•
Senior executives, such as VPs, tend to negotiate salaries more frequently and work longer hours.
-
•
Remote work prevalence has declined from 79% in 2022 to 66% in 2024 among service designers working remotely, with freelancers working mostly remotely.
-
•
Design maturity of the organization correlates with higher median salaries, suggesting organizational context influences compensation.
Notable Quotes
"We have over a thousand participants from 61 countries, but remember this is only a sliver of the broader service design community."
"Salary is the most objective data point we have, but many questions here are subjective, like satisfaction and design maturity."
"Correlation does not equal causation; we're spotting patterns, not proving them."
"The average salary in the Netherlands might be high because there are more senior participants skewing the data."
"Men consistently report higher incomes than women across years, but don't jump to conclusions without digging deeper."
"People who work in-house tend to be more satisfied with their salary compared to those on the agency side."
"Having 'service design' in your official job title does not give you an advantage in salary globally."
"The more experienced you are, the more satisfied you tend to be with your salary; it can almost be double compared to beginners."
"Senior roles like VP require negotiating your salary almost by default."
"Remote work is less frequent now than it was two years ago among service designers, except for freelancers who mostly work remotely."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"If you put garbage in, garbage comes out – AI reflects the biases in its training data."
Nancy DouyonWe'll Figure That Out in the Next Launch: Enterprise Tech's Nobility Complex
June 15, 2018
"Using Merge we’re closing the loop of documentation and empowering stakeholders to communicate via common jargon and components."
Jack BeharHow to Build Prototypes that Behave like an End-Product
December 6, 2022
"Steve Jobs’ product matrix simplified Apple’s sprawling portfolio and refocused their efforts, which arguably saved the company."
Jorge ArangoMeeting of the Waters: Designing for Successful Inorganic Growth
August 12, 2021
"Curated communication means linking, not explaining — think of your messages as a doorway, not the destination."
Jon White Erin MayUnsticking Research for Better Information Flow
March 11, 2026
"Give a why of why you’ve made this design decision. It helps your team understand and reduces defensiveness."
Jessamyn EdwardsSurviving Your UX Career in Enterprise Design
December 2, 2021
"It can be hard for designers to immediately understand or advocate for the real value of design at deeper technical layers."
Stefanie OwensOptimizing for Outcomes: Transformation Design in Systems at Scale
December 4, 2024
"Attention theft is when experiences are designed to siphon away your focus aggressively."
Ron BronsonDesign, Consequences & Everyday Life
November 18, 2022
"Peter van D**e really pushed us to think about the bot as part of a conversation, not just a query-response machine."
Louis RosenfeldThe Rosenbot and the Rosenverse: An AMA with Lou Rosenfeld
June 5, 2024
"Every small initiative can lead to significant change when multiplied across communities."
Ash BrownSilver Linings: What DesignOps Learned in the Shift to WFH
October 23, 2020
