Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 27-1025

Interior Designers

The published band from $41,420 to $114,140 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 Interior Designers: Art Directors ($115K) , Public Relations Specialists ($75K) , Producers and Directors ($90K) , Commercial and Industrial Designers ($84K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Interior Designers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 27-1025 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Design plans to be safe and to be compliant with the American Disabilities Act (ADA)
  2. 2. Use computer-aided drafting (CAD) and related software to produce construction documents
  3. 3. Research health and safety code requirements to inform design
  4. 4. Confer with client to determine factors affecting planning of interior environments, such as budget, architectural preferences, purpose…
  5. 5. Advise client on interior design factors, such as space planning, layout and use of furnishings or equipment, and color coordination
  6. 6. Coordinate with other professionals, such as contractors, architects, engineers, and plumbers, to ensure job success
  7. 7. Review and detail shop drawings for construction plans
  8. 8. Inspect construction work on site to ensure its adherence to the design plans
  9. 9. Render design ideas in form of paste-ups or drawings
  10. 10. Subcontract fabrication, installation, and arrangement of carpeting, fixtures, accessories, draperies, paint and wall coverings, art work…
  11. 11. Select or design, and purchase furnishings, art work, and accessories
  12. 12. Estimate material requirements and costs, and present design to client for approval

Interior Designers: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 27-1025 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Design. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.0
  3. 3. Speaking 4.0
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 4.0
  5. 5. Social Perceptiveness 3.8
  6. 6. Coordination 3.8
  7. 7. Service Orientation 3.8
  8. 8. Writing 3.6

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Design 4.9
  2. 2. Customer and Personal Service 4.5
  3. 3. Building and Construction 4.2
  4. 4. English Language 4.1
  5. 5. Sales and Marketing 3.8
  6. 6. Administration and Management 3.6
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$41,420 to $114,140
median $67,190 · ~2.8× spread
$67K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
7,800
Annual openings
71,500
Estimated US jobs
Art Directors
Highest-pay peer · $115K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Interior Designers

1. New Jersey $74,020
2. District of Columbia $98,450
3. Illinois $76,290
4. Washington $76,570
5. California $80,230
6. Massachusetts $80,110
7. Minnesota $73,270
8. New York $75,580
9. Colorado $78,390
10. Wyoming $96,100

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

  1. 1. Producers and Directors $90,360
  2. 2. Commercial and Industrial Designers $83,910
  3. 3. Public Relations Specialists $74,750
  4. 4. Art Directors $114,850
  5. 5. Special Effects Artists and Animators $102,030
  6. 6. Set and Exhibit Designers $75,240

The OEWS band for Interior Designers runs from $41,420 (10th) to $114,140 (90th), about 2.8× wide, with median $67,190. 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 7,800 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: New Jersey at $74,020. 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.

Interior Designers pay-rank #20 in Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

Interior Designers sits at pay-rank #20 of 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table 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 Interior Designers is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Interior Designers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 27-1025

New Jersey · top state for Interior Designers

$74K published median

District of Columbia · #2 state pay

$98K · behind New Jersey

Art Directors

Highest-pay peer vs Interior Designers · $115K

Public Relations Specialists

Lower-pay peer beside Interior Designers · $75K

Compare Interior Designers

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

Is Interior Designers mid-table among Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #20 of 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Athletes and Sports Competitors ($67K), Lighting Technicians ($68K), Designers, All Other ($65K), Media and Communication Equipment Workers, All Other ($71K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do interior designers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Interior Designers. Leading ones include: Design plans to be safe and to be compliant with the American Disabilities Act (ADA); Use computer-aided drafting (CAD) and related software to produce construction documents; Research health and safety code requirements to inform design; Confer with client to determine factors affecting planning of interior environments, such as budget, architectural preferences, purpose…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for interior designers? ▼
For SOC 27-1025, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.0), Active Listening (4.0), Speaking (4.0), Critical Thinking (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Design, Customer and Personal Service, Building and Construction. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Interior Designers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $41,420 and the 90th at $114,140 for Interior Designers (2.8× spread). The national median is $67,190. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Interior Designers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Interior Designers is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 7,800. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Interior Designers? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Interior Designers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Interior Designers? ▼
New Jersey ($74,020), District of Columbia ($98,450), Illinois ($76,290) 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 Interior Designers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 27-1025. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Interior 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