Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 27-1022

Fashion Designers

The published band from $39,490 to $146,870 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 Fashion Designers: Art Directors ($115K) , Media and Communication Workers, All Other ($74K) , Technical Writers ($90K) , Editors ($78K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Fashion Designers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 27-1022 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Sketch rough and detailed drawings of apparel or accessories, and write specifications such as color schemes, construction, material type…
  2. 2. Examine sample garments on and off models, modifying designs to achieve desired effects
  3. 3. Determine prices for styles
  4. 4. Confer with sales and management executives or with clients to discuss design ideas
  5. 5. Select materials and production techniques to be used for products
  6. 6. Provide sample garments to agents and sales representatives, and arrange for showings of sample garments at sales meetings or fashion shows
  7. 7. Direct and coordinate workers involved in drawing and cutting patterns and constructing samples or finished garments
  8. 8. Develop a group of products or accessories, and market them through venues such as boutiques or mail-order catalogs
  9. 9. Identify target markets for designs, looking at factors such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status
  10. 10. Draw patterns for articles designed, cut patterns, and cut material according to patterns, using measuring instruments and scissors
  11. 11. Collaborate with other designers to coordinate special products and designs
  12. 12. Attend fashion shows and review garment magazines and manuals to gather information about fashion trends and consumer preferences

Fashion Designers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 27-1022 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Design. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.9
  2. 2. Speaking 3.9
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 3.9
  4. 4. Active Learning 3.8
  5. 5. Social Perceptiveness 3.8
  6. 6. Coordination 3.8
  7. 7. Judgment and Decision Making 3.8
  8. 8. Time Management 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Design 4.4
  2. 2. Computers and Electronics 3.4
  3. 3. Production and Processing 3.3
  4. 4. Sales and Marketing 3.2
  5. 5. English Language 3.1
  6. 6. Fine Arts 2.7
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$39,490 to $146,870
median $80,960 · ~3.7× spread
$81K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
2,300
Annual openings
21,450
Estimated US jobs
Art Directors
Highest-pay peer · $115K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Fashion Designers

1. Washington $82,030
2. Connecticut $81,510
3. Colorado $94,140
4. New York $98,640
5. Ohio $82,050
6. New Hampshire $100,160
7. Virginia $94,120
8. Vermont $79,610
9. Massachusetts $103,520
10. New Jersey $101,610

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

  1. 1. Technical Writers $90,390
  2. 2. Art Directors $114,850
  3. 3. Editors $77,920
  4. 4. Commercial and Industrial Designers $83,910
  5. 5. Special Effects Artists and Animators $102,030
  6. 6. Media and Communication Workers, All Other $73,620

The OEWS band for Fashion Designers runs from $39,490 (10th) to $146,870 (90th), about 3.7× wide, with median $80,960. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 2,300 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: Washington at $82,030. 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.

Fashion Designers pay-rank #6 in Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

Among 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations with a published OEWS median, Fashion Designers is pay-rank #6, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

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

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Fashion Designers is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Fashion Designers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 27-1022

Washington · top state for Fashion Designers

$82K published median

Connecticut · #2 state pay

$82K · behind Washington

Art Directors

Highest-pay peer vs Fashion Designers · $115K

Media and Communication Workers, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Fashion Designers · $74K

Compare Fashion Designers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Fashion 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

Which Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles sit near Fashion Designers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Fashion Designers is pay-rank #6 of 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Commercial and Industrial Designers ($84K), Editors ($78K), Writers and Authors ($77K), Film and Video Editors ($75K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do fashion designers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Fashion Designers. Leading ones include: Sketch rough and detailed drawings of apparel or accessories, and write specifications such as color schemes, construction, material type…; Examine sample garments on and off models, modifying designs to achieve desired effects; Determine prices for styles; Confer with sales and management executives or with clients to discuss design ideas. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for fashion designers? ▼
For SOC 27-1022, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.9), Speaking (3.9), Critical Thinking (3.9), Active Learning (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Design, Computers and Electronics, Production and Processing. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Fashion Designers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $39,490 and the 90th at $146,870 for Fashion Designers (3.7× spread). The national median is $80,960. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Fashion Designers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Fashion Designers is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 2,300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Fashion Designers? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Fashion Designers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Fashion Designers? ▼
Washington ($82,030), Connecticut ($81,510), Colorado ($94,140) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those 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

Federal sources on this Fashion Designers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 27-1022. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Fashion Designers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics