Interior Designers Salary: $63,490 Median Pay (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
About 69,580 interior designers work nationally, and $63,490 is the BLS national median annual wage. Projections imply about 1.8% annual growth; much hiring sits in professional, scientific, and technical services.
Interior Designers: what the data shows
Common questions about interior designers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a interior designers?
Interior Designers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 27-1025.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 69,580 workers.
What does a interior designers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Thinking Creatively, Working with Computers, Getting Information, Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a interior designers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $63,490 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $87,978 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $47,805 |
| 25th percentile | $61,898 |
| Median (50th) | $79,462 |
| 75th percentile | $101,721 |
| 90th percentile | $135,454 |
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Critical Thinking, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, and knowledge areas including Design, Building and Construction, Customer and Personal Service, English Language. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is interior designers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.8% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 9.6%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 20.1%.
Current U.S. headcount: 69,580.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do interior designerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 69,580 | 20.1% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 68,850 | 19.9% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 43,100 | 12.4% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 43,100 | 12.4% |
| Specialized Design Services | 29,610 | 8.5% |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services | 13,230 | 3.8% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Interior 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 |
| Fashion Designers | 20,910 | $80,690 |
| Graphic Designers | 214,260 | $61,300 |
| Designers, All Other | 9,680 | $66,220 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Interior Designers workforce.
Employment Over Time
69,580 U.S. workforce (OEWS)
California employment for Interior Designers grew from 24,420 in 2009 to 32,740 in 2025 (34.1%).
Historical employment for Interior 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
$63,490 Median pay (BLS national)
Interior Designers earn $63,490 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 Interior Designers.
Salary distribution for Interior Designers.
Employment Growth Projections
1.8% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
35,881 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 9.6%
39,324 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 20.1%
This occupation is projected to grow at 1.8% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Interior Designers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Interior Designers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Interior Designers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Interior Designers.
Wage Trends by Industry
11.3% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Interior Designers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Interior 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:
- CA: 8,360 employees, $85,650 avg wage
- FL: 7,090 employees, $65,230 avg wage
- NY: 5,590 employees, $77,170 avg wage
- TX: 5,190 employees, $68,930 avg wage
- CO: 2,800 employees, $79,640 avg wage
- IL: 2,680 employees, $76,400 avg wage
- GA: 2,660 employees, $71,600 avg wage
- NC: 2,360 employees, $58,530 avg wage
- OH: 2,280 employees, $63,800 avg wage
- PA: 2,140 employees, $68,370 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Interior Designers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 5,660 employees, $79,880 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 4,030 employees, $81,420 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 2,810 employees, $66,600 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 2,340 employees, $77,030 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 2,100 employees, $75,130 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 1,930 employees, $76,760 avg wage
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO: 1,910 employees, $82,920 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 1,860 employees, $93,620 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 1,680 employees, $82,510 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 1,340 employees, $65,300 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Interior Designers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Interior Designers in the US.
Gender and Age
The U.S. workforce for Interior Designers is about 69,580 people in our OEWS extract.
Gender and age distribution for Interior 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 Interior Designers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Interior Designers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Interior Designers in 2023 were Business Administration, Visual Arts, Design.
Common majors for Interior Designers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Interior Designers workers.
Education level distribution for Interior Designers.
Skills
Interior Designers need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness.
Required skills for Interior Designers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Interior Designers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Interior Designers include Design, Building and Construction, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administration and Management.
Knowledge areas required for Interior Designers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Interior Designers include Originality, Near Vision, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression.
Required abilities for Interior Designers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Interior Designers.
Daily Activities
Interior Designers spend their time on activities such as Thinking Creatively, Working with Computers, Getting Information, Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment, Making Decisions and Solving Problems.
Most important work activities for Interior Designers.
About
Interior Designers
Interior Designers earn $63,490 as the BLS national median annual wage.
SOC Code
27-1025 - Interior Designers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Interior Designers reports an average salary of $87,978.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 69,580 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 1.8%, 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.