How much does an interior designer make?
a year · about $32 an hour
A typical interior designer in the United States makes $67,190 a year, about $32 an hour, about the same as a typical US worker (median, May 2025, US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
What do they do?
They ask clients how a room should work, then use sketches or CAD to plan its layout, colors, and furniture. They visit sites, check construction, and coordinate with builders and architects.
Did you know? Interior designers may plan the inside spaces of boats, planes, buses, and trains—not just homes and offices.
Is that a lot?
Compared with jobs you knowIf 100 people had this job
Most earn between $41,420 and $114,140How do you become one?
In the US, most interior designers earn a bachelor’s degree and study design, drawing, and CAD. State rules differ; where required, designers gain work experience and pass an approved exam to use a protected title or do certain work.
School needed: Usually a bachelor's degree
Good for people who like creating and building and doing
Why does pay differ?
In the US, pay often changes with experience, responsibility, location, and employer or industry; BLS data show that industries pay differently. Education and credentials can matter, and specialized skills may help; client schedules can also bring evening or weekend work.
Where does it pay most?
Highest in District of Columbia ($98,450), lowest in Iowa ($58,040).
See every state
Top 5 and bottom 3 states, typical (median) yearly pay.
Jobs like this
Data table and sources
| Lower earner (10th from bottom) | Typical person (median) | Higher earner (10th from top) | People in this job |
|---|---|---|---|
| $41,420 | $67,190 | $114,140 | about 72,000 |
| State | Typical person (median) | People in this job |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $98,450 | about 620 |
| California | $80,230 | about 9,000 |
| Massachusetts | $80,110 | about 2,000 |
| Colorado | $78,390 | about 2,000 |
| Washington | $76,570 | about 1,000 |
Official definition: Plan, design, and furnish the internal space of rooms or buildings. Design interior environments or create physical layouts that are practical, aesthetic, and conducive to the intended purposes. May specialize in a particular field, style, or phase of interior design. Excludes “Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers” (27-1026).
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (bls.gov); descriptions and related jobs from O*NET 31.0. Figures as of May 2025, full-time yearly pay (hourly × 2,080 hours). bls.gov/oes · O*NET OnLine
Pages used for the text
- www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/interior-designers.htm
- www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-1025.00
- www.asid.org/news/new-asid-research-highlights-trends-in-interior-design-salarie
Data: US BLS OEWS, May 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY