Interior Designers Career, Salary and Skills
Interior Designers have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $67,190 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 71,500. Wage data is published for 234 locations.
Occupation description
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.
O*NET code
27-1025.00
Job zone
4
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
Experience
Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$67,190
Hourly median
$32.31
Employment
71,500
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Active Listening | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Speaking | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Coordination | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Service Orientation | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.75 | 3.25 |
| Writing | 3.62 | 3.88 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.62 | 3.75 |
| Persuasion | 3.50 | 3.62 |
Typical tasks
- 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, and function.
- Advise client on interior design factors, such as space planning, layout and use of furnishings or equipment, and color coordination.
- Coordinate with other professionals, such as contractors, architects, engineers, and plumbers, to ensure job success.
- Review and detail shop drawings for construction plans.
- Inspect construction work on site to ensure its adherence to the design plans.
Technology
- 20-20 Technologies 20-20 Design
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Autodesk 3ds Max
- Autodesk Architectural Desktop
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Autodesk Revit
- Autodesk Revit Architecture
- Autodesk VIZ
- AutoDesSys form Z
- Chaos Enscape
Interior Designers salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Interior Designers Salary in CAMedian $80,230 · Employment 8,500
- Interior Designers Salary in FLMedian $60,860 · Employment 7,410
- Interior Designers Salary in TXMedian $65,160 · Employment 6,450
- Interior Designers Salary in New York, NYMedian $76,580 · Employment 5,460
- Interior Designers Salary in NYMedian $75,580 · Employment 5,340
- Interior Designers Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $80,000 · Employment 3,880
- Interior Designers Salary in Miami, FLMedian $60,860 · Employment 3,090
- Interior Designers Salary in GAMedian $71,760 · Employment 3,050
- Interior Designers Salary in NCMedian $61,400 · Employment 2,610
- Interior Designers Salary in ILMedian $76,290 · Employment 2,570
- Interior Designers Salary in Atlanta, GAMedian $72,490 · Employment 2,430
- Interior Designers Salary in Dallas, TXMedian $65,160 · Employment 2,420
Related careers
- Lighting TechniciansNational median $68,060
- Painting, Coating, and Decorating WorkersNational median $41,600
- Furniture FinishersNational median $44,540
- Layout Workers, Metal and PlasticNational median $63,870
- Plasterers and Stucco MasonsNational median $57,660
- Carpet InstallersNational median $50,340
- CarpentersNational median $60,580
- Tile and Stone SettersNational median $55,690
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.