Average Pay for Interior Designers
- Average Interior Designer Yearly Salary in the United States is $51,914.
- Starting pay is around $24,311 a year
- High end incomes are close to $92,504.
How many years does it take to be a interior designer?
A degree in interior design takes 2-4 years of schooling
- Bachelors 3-4
- Associates 2-3
Future Outlook
2008 to 2018 had 19% growth but Job Outlook as of 2018 says 2016-26 4% (Slower than average)
Average Before Tax Pay
$51,500 per year
$24.76 per hour
Most interior designers are female and dominate the industry in a 9-1 ratio to men
Average Age of Active Interior Designers is 41
13% of current interior design students are Asian
The Innovators Guide suggests that the reason for the slower rate of growth is linked to the economy: the services of a private designer are considered a luxury purchase, and in a slower economy, consumers are less likely to pay for them. Growth statistics from the decade leading up to 2018 would seem to support this: the website reports that the expected growth rate for interior designers between 2008 and 2018 was 19%, higher than the average for all other occupations. Employment opportunities in the healthcare industry also account for the high rate of growth in the 2008-2018 period: as the population ages and moves into facilities like nursing homes and assisted living, those facilities want to make themselves as homelike and comfortable as possible for residents. There is also increasing competition for interior design work these days, as the number of jobs becomes fewer and more people become drawn to the profession. There is some good news: The Innovators Guide reports that designers with experience in energy-efficient design are expected to have better job prospects.
More information is available at .
Sokanu explores these statistics a bit further: according to data available on its website, the United States will need 8,600 interior designers over the next decade, with an estimated 5,600 existing interior designers expected to retire. For this reason, Sokanu assigned a D employability rating to interior designers, indicating poor employment opportunities for the near future. The website reports that most interior design jobs are concentrated in California, Florida, and Texas. The fewest opportunities for interior design jobs are in Wyoming, Alaska, West Virginia, and Vermont. Read more about interior design employment at
The All Art Schools website reminds interior designers that these growth statistics are only estimates, and that in places like the ones mentioned above, it may be easier to obtain a job in the interior design industry. There is also a difference in employment as a freelance designer versus working for a design firm: self-employed interior designers may find more flexible hours, but design firms will have access to more state-of-the-art equipment and an established network of clients. Read more about the differences at
The website Recruiter looks at this distinction more thoroughly: according to Recruiter statistics, only 27% of interior designers were self-employed, with the rest employed at design firms or corporations. Recruiter lists Hawaii, Nebraska, and Oklahoma as having the highest job vacancies, and Utah, Oregon, and Massachusetts as having the fewest job openings in the interior design industry. Find out more at
The RaiseMe website provides a basic overview of the kind of work an interior designer does and how much an interior designer might make. According to RaiseMe, the average annual salary for an interior designer is $49,810, or $23.95 an hour. The website lists architects, art directors, fashion designers, and landscape architects as having similar careers, although these jobs pay higher than the interior design industry. There are many things an interior designer can do: sketch design plans, place orders for materials, oversee construction, consider how a space will be used, or decide on furnishings like lighting, wall fixtures, or flooring. Some designers specialize in a particular type of building, such as a hospital or hotel, while others are more generalized. Read more at
