Fashion Designers Salary: $80,690 Median Pay (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
About 20,910 fashion designers work nationally, and $80,690 is the BLS national median annual wage. Employment in the series shown rose about 13% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 2.4% annual growth.
Fashion Designers: what the data shows
Common questions about fashion designers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a fashion designers?
Fashion Designers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 27-1022.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 20,910 workers.
What does a fashion designers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Thinking Creatively, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Getting Information, Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People, Scheduling Work and Activities, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a fashion designers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $80,690 (May 2024 in our extract).
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Active Learning, Coordination, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, and knowledge areas including Design, English Language, Production and Processing, Administration and Management. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is fashion designers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 2.4% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 12.5%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 26.5%.
Current U.S. headcount: 20,910.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do fashion designerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 20,910 | 22.9% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 20,840 | 22.8% |
| Wholesale Trade | 5,930 | 6.5% |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods | 5,610 | 6.1% |
| Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers | 5,580 | 6.1% |
| Retail Trade | 4,540 | 5.0% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Fashion Designers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Floral Designers | 40,160 | $36,120 |
| Artists and Related Workers, All Other | 7,370 | $72,760 |
| Set and Exhibit Designers | 10,850 | $66,280 |
| Graphic Designers | 214,260 | $61,300 |
| Interior Designers | 69,580 | $63,490 |
| Designers, All Other | 9,680 | $66,220 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Fashion Designers workforce.
Employment Over Time
20,910 U.S. workforce (OEWS)
California employment for Fashion Designers grew from 14,960 in 2009 to 21,780 in 2025 (45.6%).
Historical employment for Fashion Designers from the California OEWS series, 2009–2025. The U.S. workforce figure is national and is not the endpoint of this line.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$80,690 Median pay (BLS national)
Fashion Designers earn $80,690 as the BLS national median annual wage.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Fashion Designers.
Salary distribution for Fashion Designers.
Employment Growth Projections
2.4% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
24,492 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 12.5%
27,543 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 26.5%
This occupation is projected to grow at 2.4% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Fashion Designers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Fashion Designers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Fashion Designers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Fashion Designers.
Wage Trends by Industry
45.4% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: 1.1% growth (Current: $244,803)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Fashion Designers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Fashion Designers.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- NY: 6,600 employees, $106,180 avg wage
- CA: 5,610 employees, N/A avg wage
- TX: 1,800 employees, N/A avg wage
- OR: 1,140 employees, $134,060 avg wage
- FL: 840 employees, $57,550 avg wage
- MA: 610 employees, $107,560 avg wage
- WA: 590 employees, $80,350 avg wage
- MN: 470 employees, $44,130 avg wage
- PA: 380 employees, $80,740 avg wage
- UT: 330 employees, $71,330 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Fashion Designers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 6,350 employees, $107,530 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 4,580 employees, N/A avg wage
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA: 930 employees, N/A avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 570 employees, $109,670 avg wage
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: 510 employees, $81,350 avg wage
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL: 290 employees, $65,480 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 280 employees, N/A avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 200 employees, $85,070 avg wage
- St. Louis, MO-IL: 190 employees, $90,260 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 160 employees, $65,760 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Fashion Designers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Fashion Designers in the US.
Gender and Age
The U.S. workforce for Fashion Designers is about 20,910 people in our OEWS extract.
Gender and age distribution for Fashion Designers.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Fashion Designers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Fashion Designers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Fashion Designers in 2023 were Business Administration, Visual Arts, Design.
Common majors for Fashion Designers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Fashion Designers workers.
Education level distribution for Fashion Designers.
Skills
Fashion Designers need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Active Learning, Coordination, Speaking.
Required skills for Fashion Designers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Fashion Designers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Fashion Designers include Design, English Language, Production and Processing, Administration and Management, Sales and Marketing.
Knowledge areas required for Fashion Designers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Fashion Designers include Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Originality, Written Comprehension, Deductive Reasoning.
Required abilities for Fashion Designers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Fashion Designers.
Daily Activities
Fashion Designers spend their time on activities such as Thinking Creatively, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Getting Information, Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People.
Most important work activities for Fashion Designers.
About
Fashion Designers
Fashion Designers earn $80,690 as the BLS national median annual wage.
SOC Code
27-1022 - Fashion Designers
Insights and Analysis
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 20,910 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 2.4%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.