Explore national salary, projected growth, education requirements, and career opportunities across the United States.
A concise view of this occupation’s national scale, compensation, and projected demand.
National median annual wage for this occupation.
Estimated jobs currently supported nationwide.
Projected employment change through 2034.
Estimated openings created each year.
The typical education, prior experience, and on-the-job training associated with entry into this career.
Bachelor's degree
None
None
These are the highest-rated capabilities associated with success in this occupation. Scores are derived from occupational skill analysis and are measured on a 100-point scale.
Based on skills, knowledge, and work activities, these occupations are the closest match to your current career.
Explore the states and metropolitan areas offering the strongest combination of salary, employment, demand, and long-term opportunity.
Discover metro markets where compensation, hiring demand, and long-term momentum align.
Understand the salary, outlook, education, and geographic opportunities shaping this career.
Interior designers plan and design interior spaces, combining visual creativity with practical problem-solving. This career offers national employment of 87,000 positions and a national median salary of $63,490, indicating a substantial professional field with established earning potential. Projected employment growth of 3.2% and 8,000 annual openings suggest a steady flow of opportunities for both new entrants and experienced designers. Success in this career draws on a mix of creativity and innovation, project management, and strong interpersonal abilities. Skills in communication, customer service, and leadership help designers work effectively with clients and collaborators, while critical and analytical thinking, mathematics, and comfort with computers and information technology support planning and execution of design projects. This combination of artistic and analytical work can appeal to people who enjoy both visual design and structured, project-based tasks. For those interested in a design-focused profession that also involves organization, communication, and coordination, interior design offers a well-defined, skill-intensive path.
Interior designers earn a national median annual salary of $63,490, reflecting solid earning potential across the occupation. Pay can vary meaningfully by location. Among the top states by CareerGPS opportunity score, median salaries range from $75,580 in New York to $80,230 in California, with Massachusetts, Colorado, and Washington also above the national median. In key metro areas, earnings are even higher. Median salaries reach $87,460 in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area and $85,140 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro offers $76,580, while Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH also exceed the national median. These patterns show that location decisions can significantly influence income, and that several large metro areas provide especially strong salary potential for interior designers.
Interior designers have national employment of 87,000, with projected employment growth of 3.2%. This projection, paired with 8,000 annual openings, indicates a consistent level of demand in the field. The mix of ongoing positions and regular openings can support both new graduates and professionals looking to move or advance within the occupation. Because projected growth is positive, job seekers may find a range of opportunities over time rather than a shrinking market. The 8,000 annual openings also suggest turnover and movement within the field, which can create entry points for career changers as well as recent degree holders. For individuals planning a long-term path, this combination of current employment size, projected growth, and annual openings points to a career with continuing hiring activity rather than a short-lived or highly niche opportunity.
Location plays a significant role in opportunity for interior designers. Among states, California ranks highly with a median salary of $80,230, employment of 8,500, and the strongest opportunity score at 67.38. Massachusetts and New York also stand out, each combining median salaries above $75,000 with opportunity scores above 65. Colorado and Washington offer median pay in the high $70,000s and opportunity scores in the mid-50s, providing additional options for designers considering different regions. At the metro level, several areas show particularly strong conditions. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ both have opportunity scores above 77, the highest among listed metros. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA offers the highest median salary at $87,460, along with a strong opportunity score. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH also combine higher-than-national median pay with solid scores, giving interior designers multiple high-potential urban markets to target.
The typical education for interior designers is a bachelor’s degree, reflecting the need for both creative and analytical preparation. This level of education supports development across the broad skill set associated with the field. Key skills include creativity and innovation, which underpin the visual and conceptual side of design work, and project management, which helps coordinate timelines, resources, and deliverables. Comfort with computers and information technology is important for using digital tools and communicating effectively. Strong customer service, speaking and listening, and interpersonal skills support working closely with clients and stakeholders. Mathematics and critical and analytical thinking help with planning, measurements, and problem-solving, while writing and reading skills support documentation and professional communication. Together, these capabilities show that interior design education is not purely artistic; it blends design-focused learning with communication, organization, and analytical skill-building. Similar occupations to consider include business operations specialists, advertising and promotions managers, fundraising managers, logisticians, and fundraisers.
Use CareerGPS Pro to compare markets, understand the tradeoffs, and focus on the places with the strongest potential.
