450+ Design & UX Jobs in Chicago, IL

Chicago pays decently, but pay splits sharply by sub-role. The broad arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media group averaged $37.33 per hour in May 2025, versus $35.28 across all Chicago occupations, and the broader media/design occupational family had a mean annual wage of $77,650, median $66,320, 75th percentile $97,420, and 90th percentile $128,740. Older occupation-specific BLS data put Chicago-area web and digital interface designers at a $87,930 median and graphic designers at $62,970. Recent posted salary ranges in the local sample centered on about $72k to $116k, with a broader 25th-75th band of about $63k to $143k.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 380 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $67,500 at the 25th percentile, $89,375 at the median and $115,000 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of October 15, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 250+ openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

Chicago is still a workable market for Design, Creative & UX, but it is not an easy one. The metro unemployment rate was 5.2% in August 2026, up 15.5556% year over year, while total metro nonfarm employment grew only 0.2241%. At the same time, Illinois design, creative, and UX postings were up 2.9% year over year even as statewide employment in the category slipped 1.0%, which points to selective replacement hiring more than broad expansion. In the local posting sample, we observed more than 100 postings across more than 75 companies over the last 90 days, but only about 10% were remote and only about 10% were entry level.

Best positioned: The best odds right now go to mid-to-senior candidates who can show Figma, design systems, prototyping, and Adobe fluency in portfolios aimed at software, agency, and financial-services employers.

Main caution: The biggest mistake is assuming Chicago's size automatically means broad junior-friendly hiring; most sampled openings skewed mid or senior, and remote options were only about 10%.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 487 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Jacobs Engineering Group: 9 open roles
2. Sargent & Lundy: 9 open roles
3. Adelphi Group: 6 open roles
4. Exelon: 6 open roles
5. The Heist: 5 open roles
6. Thinkingbox: 5 open roles
7. V3 Companies, Ltd.: 5 open roles
8. AbbVie Inc.: 4 open roles
9. ComEd: 4 open roles
10. Nordstrom, Inc.: 4 open roles

Where the openings are

• Chicago: 267
• Oak Brook: 17
• Naperville: 16
• Schaumburg: 9
• Skokie: 8
• Libertyville: 7
• Lisle: 7
• Joliet: 6

Work arrangement

on-site 270 (57%), hybrid 186 (39%), remote 18 (4%)

Where the demand is

Opportunity is spread across a long tail rather than a few dominant employers. In the last 90 days, the local sample showed more than 100 postings across more than 75 companies, and hiring was fragmented rather than concentrated. The named employers include Publicis Groupe ANZ, One North, Publicis Groupe, tastytrade, Salt XC, Grand Studio, AgileEngine, and Fallingoffacliff, which fits a market where agencies, consultancies, and in-house digital teams all compete for similar portfolios. The strongest clusters sit in software development and advertising services, each at about 25% of sampled postings, followed by financial services at about 15% and technology at about 10%. That mix matters because metro Information employment was down 3.7179% year over year, while Professional and Business Services edged up 0.3794%, so pure tech teams look softer than agency, consulting, and service-heavy buyers right now. Because remote roles were only about 10%, Chicago rewards candidates who can work hybrid or on-site and who can translate design into shipping work across product, brand, and cross-functional environments.

• Agency and consultancy design (high): Advertising services account for about 25% of sampled postings, and active employers include Publicis Groupe ANZ, Publicis Groupe, One North, Salt XC, and Grand Studio.
• Software and digital product teams (moderate): Software development also accounts for about 25% of sampled postings, but the broader Chicago Information sector was down 3.7179% year over year, so these roles exist but are harder to win than the raw share suggests.
• Financial-services in-house design (moderate): Financial services make up about 15% of sampled postings, and the local employer mix includes tastytrade, which makes finance-oriented digital design a credible niche for Chicago applicants.

Where to focus: Focus on hybrid-ready portfolios that show both Figma-based product work and polished brand or campaign execution for software, agency, and financial-services buyers.

Roles worth searching next

• Front-end developer: There is strong overlap with Figma, prototyping, design systems, and design-to-dev handoff workflows.
• Product manager: It fits designers who already think in user problems, prioritization, and cross-functional delivery rather than pure craft.
• Creative project manager / producer: Agency and consultancy employers are a large part of the local market, so workflow, stakeholder, and delivery skills translate well.
• CRO / experimentation specialist: It suits designers who can connect interface decisions to testing, conversion, and business outcomes across software and financial-services contexts.

What postings ask for

• Figma (table_stakes | immediate): It appeared in about 50% of sampled postings, and current Figma AI features are increasingly tied to drafting, interaction, and developer-handoff workflows. Who: Everyone applying to UX, product, brand, or digital design roles.
• Adobe Creative Suite (table_stakes | immediate): Adobe Creative Suite showed up in about 35% of sampled postings, with Photoshop in about 25%, Illustrator in about 20%, and InDesign in about 15%, which keeps visual craft relevant even in more digital roles. Who: Visual designers, brand designers, agency candidates, and career switchers who need craft credibility fast.
• Design systems (differentiator | immediate): Design systems appeared in about 20% of sampled postings and are one of the clearest signals that you can work beyond one-off screens. Who: Mid-career UX, product, and digital designers.
• Prototyping (differentiator | immediate): Prototyping appeared in about 20% of sampled postings, which means employers still want candidates who can turn ideas into testable or handoff-ready flows. Who: UX, UI, product, and front-end-adjacent applicants.
• AI-assisted design workflow (premium | near-term): The share of U.S. creative postings explicitly listing AI skills rose from 10% to 15%, 91% of designers report using AI weekly, and 85% say AI makes them more efficient. Who: Mid-career designers, switchers, and anyone competing for product or digital roles.
• Adobe Certified Professional (differentiator | near-term): It was the certification most often required locally, but only about 5% of sampled postings asked for it, so it works best as a supporting signal rather than a ticket in by itself. Who: Entry-level and visual-design candidates who need an extra proof point.

Questions about this market

What do Design, Creative & UX roles pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Chicago pays decently, but pay splits sharply by sub-role. The broad arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media group averaged $37.33 per hour in May 2025, versus $35.28 across all Chicago occupations, and the broader media/design occupational family had a mean annual wage of $77,650, median $66,320, 75th percentile $97,420, and 90th percentile $128,740. Older occupation-specific BLS data put Chicago-area web and digital interface designers at a $87,930 median and graphic designers at $62,970. Recent posted salary ranges in the local sample centered on about $72k to $116k, with a broader 25th-75th band of about $63k to $143k. That points to a split market: UX and product-oriented work can clear the local family median, while general graphic and production design sit closer to the middle of the range.

Where is demand for Design, Creative & UX roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN concentrated?

Opportunity is spread across a long tail rather than a few dominant employers. In the last 90 days, the local sample showed more than 100 postings across more than 75 companies, and hiring was fragmented rather than concentrated. The named employers include Publicis Groupe ANZ, One North, Publicis Groupe, tastytrade, Salt XC, Grand Studio, AgileEngine, and Fallingoffacliff, which fits a market where agencies, consultancies, and in-house digital teams all compete for similar portfolios. The strongest clusters sit in software development and advertising services, each at about 25% of sampled postings, followed by financial services at about 15% and technology at about 10%. That mix matters because metro Information employment was down 3.7179% year over year, while Professional and Business Services edged up 0.3794%, so pure tech teams look softer than agency, consulting, and service-heavy buyers right now. Because remote roles were only about 10%, Chicago rewards candidates who can work hybrid or on-site and who can translate design into shipping work across product, brand, and cross-functional environments.

Which employers are hiring the most Design, Creative & UX talent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Recent postings show the most activity from Publicis Groupe ANZ (5 postings), One North (5 postings), Publicis Groupe (5 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Design, Creative & UX roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 10% are remote and 45% hybrid, with 45% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

Browse Illinois openings by job title

• General Manager: 145 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 78 open roles statewide

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