Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 27-1021

Commercial and Industrial Designers

The published band from $53,460 to $139,770 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Art Directors.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Commercial and Industrial Designers: Art Directors ($115K) , Artists and Related Workers, All Other ($71K) , Sound Engineering Technicians ($73K) , Technical Writers ($90K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Commercial and Industrial Designers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 27-1021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Prepare sketches of ideas, detailed drawings, illustrations, artwork, or blueprints, using drafting instruments, paints and brushes, or c…
  2. 2. Modify and refine designs, using working models, to conform with customer specifications, production limitations, or changes in design tr…
  3. 3. Evaluate feasibility of design ideas, based on factors such as appearance, safety, function, serviceability, budget, production costs/met…
  4. 4. Confer with engineering, marketing, production, or sales departments, or with customers, to establish and evaluate design concepts for ma…
  5. 5. Present designs and reports to customers or design committees for approval and discuss need for modification
  6. 6. Develop industrial standards and regulatory guidelines
  7. 7. Research production specifications, costs, production materials, and manufacturing methods and provide cost estimates and itemized produc…
  8. 8. Coordinate the look and function of product lines
  9. 9. Direct and coordinate the fabrication of models or samples and the drafting of working drawings and specification sheets from sketches
  10. 10. Investigate product characteristics such as the product's safety and handling qualities, its market appeal, how efficiently it can be pro…
  11. 11. Develop manufacturing procedures and monitor the manufacture of their designs in a factory to improve operations and product quality
  12. 12. Participate in new product planning or market research, including studying the potential need for new products

O*NET skills and knowledge for Commercial and Industrial Designers

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 27-1021 - entity-keyed; sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.0
  2. 2. Reading Comprehension 3.9
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 3.8
  4. 4. Complex Problem Solving 3.8
  5. 5. Speaking 3.5
  6. 6. Operations Analysis 3.3
  7. 7. Judgment and Decision Making 3.3
  8. 8. Time Management 3.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Design 4.7
  2. 2. Engineering and Technology 4.7
  3. 3. Production and Processing 4.0
  4. 4. Mechanical 4.0
  5. 5. Computers and Electronics 3.9
  6. 6. Mathematics 3.7
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$53,460 to $139,770
median $83,910 · ~2.6× spread
$84K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
2,500
Annual openings
33,490
Estimated US jobs
Art Directors
Highest-pay peer · $115K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Commercial and Industrial Designers

1. Michigan $102,160
2. Louisiana $98,040
3. Rhode Island $101,140
4. Georgia $91,360
5. Washington $94,280
6. Arkansas $92,540
7. Kansas $104,870
8. Massachusetts $101,720
9. Minnesota $94,370
10. California $100,770

Other Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles

  1. 1. Sound Engineering Technicians $73,130
  2. 2. Technical Writers $90,390
  3. 3. Media and Communication Workers, All Other $73,620
  4. 4. Special Effects Artists and Animators $102,030
  5. 5. Art Directors $114,850
  6. 6. Artists and Related Workers, All Other $71,240

The OEWS band for Commercial and Industrial Designers runs from $53,460 (10th) to $139,770 (90th), about 2.6× wide, with median $83,910. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 2,500 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Michigan at $102,160. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Art Directors at $114,850. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

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Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024–2034.

Dive into Commercial and Industrial Designers in more depth or explore nearby career data.

Full Salary Details

State, metro, and percentile breakdown

Jobs in Michigan

Top-paying state for this role

Jobs in Louisiana

Second-highest state pay

Art Directors

Highest-pay peer · $115K

Artists and Related Workers, All Other

Lower-pay peer · $71K

All Career Cards

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Highest-Paying Rankings

Top careers nationwide

Compare Side-by-Side

Head-to-head with another role
Compare Commercial and Industrial Designers with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

What do commercial and industrial designers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Commercial and Industrial Designers. Leading ones include: Prepare sketches of ideas, detailed drawings, illustrations, artwork, or blueprints, using drafting instruments, paints and brushes, or c…; Modify and refine designs, using working models, to conform with customer specifications, production limitations, or changes in design tr…; Evaluate feasibility of design ideas, based on factors such as appearance, safety, function, serviceability, budget, production costs/met…; Confer with engineering, marketing, production, or sales departments, or with customers, to establish and evaluate design concepts for ma…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for commercial and industrial designers? ▼
For SOC 27-1021, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.0), Reading Comprehension (3.9), Critical Thinking (3.8), Complex Problem Solving (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Design, Engineering and Technology, Production and Processing. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How does Commercial and Industrial Designers sit next to other Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles? ▼
On this card, neighboring same-major-group titles include Art Directors, Artists and Related Workers, All Other, Sound Engineering Technicians, Technical Writers. Among those peers, Art Directors holds the highest published national median ($114,850). Artists and Related Workers, All Other sits lower at $71,240. Peer titles are hash-ordered per card so adjacent SOC pages do not share an identical ladder.
What is the median salary for Commercial and Industrial Designers? ▼
The median salary for Commercial and Industrial Designers is $83,910 per year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 OEWS data). This means half of workers in this occupation earn more and half earn less. The full range is $53,460 (10th percentile) to $139,770 (90th percentile). For context beside Art Directors ($114,850), this role's median is the OEWS national figure above.
Is Commercial and Industrial Designers a growing occupation? ▼
The BLS projects +3% employment change for Commercial and Industrial Designers from 2024 to 2034. There are approximately 2,500 projected annual openings. This is about as fast as average relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%.
What education do you need to become a commercial and industrial designers? ▼
BLS assigns Commercial and Industrial Designers to Bachelor's degree for typical education needed for entry. These occupation-level categories are not requirements for every employer or worker.
Which states pay commercial and industrial designers the most? ▼
The highest published state medians in this ranking for Commercial and Industrial Designers are Michigan ($102,160), Louisiana ($98,040), Rhode Island ($101,140). The table does not identify why state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024–2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

All federal data sources used on this page
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - wage estimates by area + occupation. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - occupation task statements (importance-ranked). onetcenter.org
  • BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) - quarterly employment and wage totals by industry. bls.gov/cew
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for metro/state aggregates. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) - monthly nonfarm payroll baselines. bls.gov/ces
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context. irs.gov/statistics
  • BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) - unemployment context for labor-market comparisons. bls.gov/lau