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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

27-1022 Fashion Designers

Design clothing and accessories. Create original designs or adapt fashion trends.


National estimates for Fashion Designers
Industry profile for Fashion Designers
Geographic profile for Fashion Designers

National estimates for Fashion Designers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Fashion Designers:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
19,940 5.1 % $ 46.65 $ 97,030 10.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Fashion Designers:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 17.83 $ 28.10 $ 38.12 $ 51.57 $ 77.33
Annual Wage (2) $ 37,090 $ 58,440 $ 79,290 $ 107,260 $ 160,850


Industry profile for Fashion Designers:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Fashion Designers are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Fashion Designers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Fashion Designers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers 7,820 5.40 $ 51.15 $ 106,400
Management of Companies and Enterprises 3,720 0.13 $ 47.94 $ 99,710
Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers 2,480 0.29 $ 40.72 $ 84,690
Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing 1,750 2.49 $ 40.27 $ 83,760
Specialized Design Services 920 0.59 $ 37.94 $ 78,900

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Fashion Designers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers 7,820 5.40 $ 51.15 $ 106,400
Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing 1,750 2.49 $ 40.27 $ 83,760
Footwear Manufacturing 120 1.10 $ 27.89 $ 58,010
Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing 80 0.60 $ 32.25 $ 67,080
Specialized Design Services 920 0.59 $ 37.94 $ 78,900

Top paying industries for Fashion Designers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers 7,820 5.40 $ 51.15 $ 106,400
Motion Picture and Video Industries 610 0.15 $ 47.98 $ 99,800
Management of Companies and Enterprises 3,720 0.13 $ 47.94 $ 99,710
Employment Services 230 0.01 $ 47.55 $ 98,910
Apparel Knitting Mills 30 0.46 $ 46.36 $ 96,430


Geographic profile for Fashion Designers:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Fashion Designers are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Fashion Designers, see the Create Customized Tables function.



Map of employment of fashion designers by state, May 2023


States with the highest employment level in Fashion Designers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 7,930 0.84 6.43 $ 47.61 $ 99,020
California 4,950 0.28 2.10 (8) (8)
Texas 920 0.07 0.52 $ 25.72 $ 53,500
Oregon 850 0.44 3.32 (8) (8)
Florida 760 0.08 0.61 $ 31.12 $ 64,740


Map of location quotient of fashion designers by state, May 2023


States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Fashion Designers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 7,930 0.84 6.43 $ 47.61 $ 99,020
Oregon 850 0.44 3.32 (8) (8)
California 4,950 0.28 2.10 (8) (8)
Washington 510 0.15 1.12 $ 38.36 $ 79,780
Arkansas 170 0.14 1.05 $ 45.43 $ 94,490


Map of annual mean wages of fashion designers by state, May 2023


Top paying states for Fashion Designers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Massachusetts 440 0.12 0.92 $ 50.10 $ 104,210
New York 7,930 0.84 6.43 $ 47.61 $ 99,020
New Hampshire 80 0.12 0.89 $ 46.37 $ 96,450
New Jersey 330 0.08 0.60 $ 46.29 $ 96,290
Arkansas 170 0.14 1.05 $ 45.43 $ 94,490



Map of employment of fashion designers by area, May 2023


Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Fashion Designers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 7,910 0.83 6.35 $ 47.91 $ 99,650
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 4,180 0.68 5.15 (8) (8)
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 710 0.59 4.50 (8) (8)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 480 0.23 1.74 $ 38.92 $ 80,950
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 410 0.15 1.13 $ 50.16 $ 104,330
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 320 0.23 1.77 $ 29.69 $ 61,760
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 250 0.10 0.79 (8) (8)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 230 0.06 0.44 $ 36.00 $ 74,890
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 230 0.08 0.63 $ 30.87 $ 64,210
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 150 0.10 0.77 (8) (8)


Map of location quotient of fashion designers by area, May 2023


Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Fashion Designers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 7,910 0.83 6.35 $ 47.91 $ 99,650
Portsmouth, NH-ME 60 0.70 5.31 (8) (8)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 4,180 0.68 5.15 (8) (8)
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 710 0.59 4.50 (8) (8)
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 70 0.34 2.55 (8) (8)
Greensboro-High Point, NC 120 0.32 2.47 $ 41.82 $ 86,980
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 320 0.23 1.77 $ 29.69 $ 61,760
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 480 0.23 1.74 $ 38.92 $ 80,950
Provo-Orem, UT 70 0.22 1.71 $ 39.84 $ 82,860
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 410 0.15 1.13 $ 50.16 $ 104,330


Map of annual mean wages of fashion designers by area, May 2023


Top paying metropolitan areas for Fashion Designers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 410 0.15 1.13 $ 50.16 $ 104,330
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 7,910 0.83 6.35 $ 47.91 $ 99,650
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (8) (8) (8) $ 43.98 $ 91,470
St. Louis, MO-IL 40 0.03 0.24 $ 42.67 $ 88,750
Salt Lake City, UT 70 0.09 0.68 $ 41.84 $ 87,030
Greensboro-High Point, NC 120 0.32 2.47 $ 41.82 $ 86,980
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 120 0.04 0.31 $ 41.11 $ 85,510
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 70 0.02 0.12 $ 40.74 $ 84,730
Austin-Round Rock, TX 40 0.03 0.26 $ 40.03 $ 83,270
Provo-Orem, UT 70 0.22 1.71 $ 39.84 $ 82,860


About May 2023 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2023 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2023 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2023 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 3, 2024