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Salary · Fashion Designer · United States

Fashion Designer salary: $80,960 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
$80,960median ($38.92/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for fashion designers in the United States was $80,960 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $39,490 and the top 10% earned more than $146,870. That median is 1.6 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was Massachusetts ($103,520).

10th percentile
$39,490
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$51,940
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$106,470
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$146,870
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Fashion Designer salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 23 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. Massachusetts$103,520
  2. New Jersey$101,610
  3. New Hampshire$100,160
  4. New York$98,640
  5. Colorado$94,140
Most people employed
  1. New York5,760
  2. Texas1,850
  3. Florida1,100
  4. Massachusetts540
  5. North Carolina460
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
Massachusetts$103,520$57,710–$174,250540
New Jersey$101,610$65,790–$132,470160
New Hampshire$100,160$64,430–$131,92040
New York$98,640$62,610–$177,4305,760
Colorado$94,140$59,180–$132,990360
Virginia$94,120$50,410–$118,490100
Ohio$82,050$43,820–$93,07090
Washington$82,030$55,080–$136,830n/a
Connecticut$81,510$45,040–$194,57050
Vermont$79,610$50,940–$99,81060
Georgia$78,340$48,860–$152,970120
North Carolina$74,990$32,280–$195,590460
Pennsylvania$63,840$48,520–$133,820320
Michigan$63,430$31,800–$102,33040
Kansas$59,150$48,860–$104,62040
Wisconsin$57,030$37,950–$75,770120
Maine$49,530$31,770–$124,21030
Hawaii$47,990$43,100–$74,990n/a
Arizona$45,720$38,830–$61,650n/a
Florida$43,020$27,710–$82,3301,100
Minnesota$42,110$42,110–$56,080420
Indiana$40,740$39,190–$85,580120
Texas$40,040$28,170–$98,6201,850
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. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$106,630
  2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$102,370
  3. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$99,560
  4. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO$99,420
  5. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA$96,760
  6. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC$82,130
  7. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$82,010
  8. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD$78,890
  9. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX$63,210
  10. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL$61,810
Similar roles

How the pay compares

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

  1. Creative Director$114,850
  2. Fashion Designer$80,960
  3. Interior Designer$67,190
  4. Graphic Designer$62,960
  5. Sales Associate$35,410
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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