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Salary · Architect · United States

Architect salary: $99,280 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$99,280median ($47.73/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for architects, except landscape and naval in the United States was $99,280 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $62,300 and the top 10% earned more than $161,420. That median is 1.9 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was Wyoming ($120,580).

Data Government data groups this job as Architects, Except Landscape and Naval (O*NET-SOC 17-1011.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

10th percentile
$62,300
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$77,960
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$126,550
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$161,420
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Architect salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 51 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. Wyoming$120,580
  2. Massachusetts$117,330
  3. Maryland$114,550
  4. Alaska$108,730
  5. California$108,540
Most people employed
  1. California13,270
  2. New York10,360
  3. Texas7,820
  4. Florida5,580
  5. Illinois5,130
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
Wyoming$120,580$74,890–$179,070130
Massachusetts$117,330$82,920–$163,0604,590
Maryland$114,550$68,320–$182,3701,800
Alaska$108,730$60,980–$143,340210
California$108,540$75,640–$171,16013,270
Rhode Island$105,160$65,270–$135,170550
Connecticut$103,540$75,440–$152,0201,200
South Dakota$102,500$61,350–$162,160180
Colorado$102,400$67,990–$170,0403,290
Hawaii$102,340$61,080–$128,680600
District of Columbia$102,040$75,900–$163,4401,700
Arizona$102,000$68,260–$138,1701,550
Nevada$101,570$64,590–$161,080530
South Carolina$101,550$62,010–$162,2401,030
New Hampshire$101,100$63,200–$133,970250
Georgia$100,420$65,820–$184,8702,440
Oklahoma$100,350$55,040–$165,790910
Washington$100,190$70,020–$130,3803,720
Minnesota$99,940$59,500–$138,6902,340
New Jersey$99,800$72,870–$207,6502,390
New York$99,280$63,920–$165,66010,360
Oregon$98,800$68,820–$129,8802,050
Wisconsin$98,510$66,710–$143,3301,230
Missouri$98,490$60,190–$153,8602,150
Kentucky$97,680$60,980–$130,490630
Virginia$97,680$65,910–$164,1902,130
Montana$97,290$61,500–$139,640550
North Dakota$97,110$75,000–$137,140290
Delaware$97,030$76,780–$146,490120
Pennsylvania$97,030$61,690–$149,9503,760
Iowa$96,810$60,760–$153,330650
West Virginia$96,470$66,240–$137,19080
Florida$96,240$59,990–$138,2305,580
Indiana$96,060$50,790–$221,4301,430
Alabama$95,990$62,980–$174,870990
North Carolina$95,700$64,730–$164,2702,980
Utah$95,590$53,250–$155,9801,520
Ohio$94,960$59,550–$163,5903,480
Texas$94,490$60,730–$142,1307,820
Tennessee$94,030$62,930–$146,2902,570
Idaho$93,710$51,790–$152,460850
Nebraska$91,530$48,790–$167,680620
Michigan$88,430$59,850–$135,5202,630
Kansas$85,490$61,100–$131,600840
Vermont$82,400$56,990–$121,530320
Illinois$81,780$59,890–$130,6705,130
Mississippi$80,870$53,860–$163,970330
Louisiana$79,580$51,720–$154,5901,200
Maine$78,600$51,920–$123,790500
Arkansas$78,190$59,230–$117,630720
New Mexico$77,720$47,840–$120,090600
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$129,640
  2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$126,550
  3. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$125,980
  4. Barnstable Town, MA$120,460
  5. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$120,040
  6. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$119,120
  7. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$115,960
  8. Bakersfield-Delano, CA$111,070
  9. Trenton-Princeton, NJ$109,140
  10. Anchorage, AK$108,720
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Construction Manager$114,990
  2. Industrial Engineer$102,440
  3. Project Manager$102,320
  4. Civil Engineer$100,840
  5. Architect$99,280
  6. Home Inspector$74,690
  7. Interior Designer$67,190
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
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