Interior Designer Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

Government estimates of jobs for interior designers total about 72,000. This career is ranked low for jobless rates in comparison to other careers. The unemployment rate for employees was about 4% in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Relative to population, you will find the most interior designers in Sebastian (Florida), Barnstable (Massachusetts), and Naples (Florida), and the least in Rochester (New York), Albany (New York), and Worcester (Massachusetts).

Statistics show that you can earn the most in this career in Anchorage (Alaska), San Francisco (California), and Newark (New Jersey), and will have the lowest earnings in Gary (Indiana), Jackson (Mississippi), and Hot Springs (Arkansas).

Training and Education

People often have an associate degree before landing a job in this field. Four year degrees are held by 55% of interior designers. About 31% of workers started college but did not get a 4 year degree. A high school education is the highest level achieved by 14% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Part-time workers represent 17% of all interior designers. Workers working on their own represent 26% of the total.

Interior Designers: An Introductory Video

Interior Designers Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of interior designers compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for interior designers.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Birmingham	$55,000	200
Montgomery	$45,000	60
Tuscaloosa	$40,000	30

Alaska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Anchorage	$66,000	30

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Phoenix	$46,000	730
Tucson	$44,000	70

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Little Rock	$45,000	100
Hot Springs	$24,000	30

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Santa Ana	$54,000	1,300
San Francisco	$68,000	700
San Diego	$51,000	660
Sacramento	$50,000	320
San Jose	$77,000	270
Oakland	$59,000	200
Fresno	$53,000	70
Santa Rosa	$65,000	70
Oxnard		60
Santa Barbara	$71,000	30

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Denver	$43,000	810
Colorado Springs	$36,000	80
Grand Junction	$38,000	40
Fort Collins	$44,000	30

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Bridgeport	$53,000	290
Hartford	$48,000	230
New Haven	$47,000	60
Danbury	$41,000	40

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$42,000	130

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$63,000	1,640

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Miami	$49,000	990
West Palm Beach	$54,000	550
Orlando	$53,000	510
Tampa	$44,000	470
Fort Lauderdale	$48,000	460
Jacksonville	$38,000	280
Naples	$54,000	170
Cape Coral	$38,000	110
Sebastian	$38,000	70
Gainesville	$40,000	40

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Atlanta	$54,000	1,640
Brunswick	$49,000	40
Savannah	$35,000	40
Augusta	$40,000	30

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$61,000	80

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Chicago	$52,000	2,210
Peoria	$34,000	40

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Indianapolis	$51,000	480
South Bend	$33,000	70
Fort Wayne	$37,000	60
Elkhart	$45,000	50
Gary	$29,000	50
Evansville	$34,000	30

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Des Moines	$38,000	170
Cedar Rapids	$36,000	40

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wichita	$47,000	90
Topeka	$42,000	40

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Baton Rouge	$41,000	90
Lafayette	$34,000	80

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$45,000	50

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Baltimore	$58,000	590
Bethesda	$61,000	300

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Boston	$64,000	1,340
Barnstable Town	$41,000	150
Springfield	$49,000	50
Worcester		30

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Warren	$58,000	490
Detroit	$52,000	150
Ann Arbor	$51,000	110
Kalamazoo	$36,000	50

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Minneapolis	$48,000	1,010

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Jackson	$28,000	190

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
St Louis	$44,000	780
Kansas City	$48,000	370

Nebraska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Omaha	$57,000	150
Lincoln		40

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Las Vegas	$71,000	430
Reno	$56,000	100

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Manchester	$54,000	40

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Newark	$59,000	550
Edison	$50,000	270
Camden	$49,000	150
Trenton	$62,000	60

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Albuquerque	$54,000	140

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New York	$69,000	2,750
Nassau	$59,000	540
Syracuse	$53,000	90
Rochester	$49,000	70
Albany		60
Utica	$37,000	50

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charlotte	$47,000	470
Greensboro	$43,000	260
Raleigh	$41,000	240
Winston Salem	$44,000	150
Asheville	$45,000	110

North Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Fargo	$33,000	60

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Cincinnati	$44,000	670
Cleveland	$35,000	450
Columbus	$49,000	370
Dayton	$44,000	110
Toledo	$41,000	50
Akron	$46,000	50

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Tulsa		100
Oklahoma City	$34,000	80

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$53,000	720

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Philadelphia	$47,000	900
Pittsburgh	$41,000	240
Lancaster	$42,000	130
Harrisburg	$48,000	70
Scranton	$47,000	40

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$47,000	180

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Columbia	$60,000	150
Charleston	$34,000	140
Greenville	$54,000	110
Myrtle Beach	$53,000	40

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Sioux Falls	$41,000	40

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Nashville	$45,000	370
Memphis	$45,000	110
Knoxville	$47,000	110
Chattanooga	$40,000	110
Kingsport	$38,000	50

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Dallas	$51,000	1,820
Houston	$48,000	1,330
Austin	$42,000	570
Fort Worth	$39,000	440
San Antonio	$38,000	370
El Paso	$36,000	60
Lubbock	$37,000	60

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Salt Lake City	$56,000	640

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$46,000	40

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Virginia Beach	$40,000	330
Richmond	$53,000	220

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Seattle	$53,000	800
Tacoma	$48,000	40
Spokane	$50,000	30

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Milwaukee	$48,000	320
Madison	$48,000	280
Green Bay	$51,000	50
Appleton	$40,000	30

Our interior designer career and school information is provided by CTI Career Search.