Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

27-1027 Set and Exhibit Designers

Design special exhibits and sets for film, video, television, and theater productions. May study scripts, confer with directors, and conduct research to determine appropriate architectural styles.

National estimates for Set and Exhibit Designers
Industry profile for Set and Exhibit Designers
Geographic profile for Set and Exhibit Designers

National estimates for Set and Exhibit Designers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Set and Exhibit Designers:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
10,980	9.6 %	$ 31.06	$ 64,610	2.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Set and Exhibit Designers:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 14.51	$ 18.65	$ 27.97	$ 39.80	$ 51.07
Annual Wage (2)	$ 30,180	$ 38,790	$ 58,180	$ 82,780	$ 106,230

Industry profile for Set and Exhibit Designers:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Set and Exhibit Designers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Motion Picture and Video Industries	4,800	1.45	$ 36.47	$ 75,850
Performing Arts Companies	1,090	1.07	$ 27.17	$ 56,500
Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions	800	0.55	$ 26.24	$ 54,570
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers	520	1.06	$ 30.15	$ 62,710
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	400	0.01	$ 25.90	$ 53,880

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Set and Exhibit Designers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Motion Picture and Video Industries	4,800	1.45	$ 36.47	$ 75,850
Performing Arts Companies	1,090	1.07	$ 27.17	$ 56,500
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers	520	1.06	$ 30.15	$ 62,710
Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions	800	0.55	$ 26.24	$ 54,570
Specialized Design Services	240	0.18	$ 27.93	$ 58,090

Top paying industries for Set and Exhibit Designers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations	30	0.01	$ 41.06	$ 85,400
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	280	0.01	$ 38.69	$ 80,480
Motion Picture and Video Industries	4,800	1.45	$ 36.47	$ 75,850
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers	520	1.06	$ 30.15	$ 62,710
Radio and Television Broadcasting	50	0.02	$ 29.89	$ 62,180

Geographic profile for Set and Exhibit Designers:

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

States with the highest employment level in Set and Exhibit Designers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	3,240	0.20	2.50	$ 34.51	$ 71,780
New York	2,060	0.24	3.01	$ 40.74	$ 84,730
Georgia	510	0.12	1.51	$ 23.86	$ 49,620
Texas	510	0.04	0.53	$ 19.49	$ 40,530
Florida	450	0.05	0.68	$ 23.66	$ 49,210

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

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	220	0.31	3.98	$ 36.63	$ 76,180
Nevada	320	0.25	3.20	$ 35.61	$ 74,060
New York	2,060	0.24	3.01	$ 40.74	$ 84,730
California	3,240	0.20	2.50	$ 34.51	$ 71,780
New Mexico	130	0.16	2.08	$ 23.99	$ 49,900

Top paying states for Set and Exhibit Designers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York	2,060	0.24	3.01	$ 40.74	$ 84,730
District of Columbia	220	0.31	3.98	$ 36.63	$ 76,180
Nevada	320	0.25	3.20	$ 35.61	$ 74,060
California	3,240	0.20	2.50	$ 34.51	$ 71,780
Maryland	140	0.06	0.73	$ 33.80	$ 70,310

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Set and Exhibit Designers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	2,730	0.47	5.93	$ 34.87	$ 72,530
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	1,950	0.22	2.79	$ 40.76	$ 84,770
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	430	0.16	2.09	$ 24.51	$ 50,980
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	390	0.13	1.62	$ 36.47	$ 75,870
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV	290	0.32	4.06	(8)	(8)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	280	0.14	1.79	$ 25.28	$ 52,590
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	260	0.06	0.75	$ 24.93	$ 51,860
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	200	0.06	0.72	$ 16.26	$ 33,820
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	170	0.07	0.92	$ 30.45	$ 63,330
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	150	0.05	0.65	$ 23.09	$ 48,030

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

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Santa Fe, NM	50	0.89	11.30	$ 25.22	$ 52,450
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	2,730	0.47	5.93	$ 34.87	$ 72,530
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL	100	0.35	4.49	$ 20.74	$ 43,140
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV	290	0.32	4.06	(8)	(8)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	1,950	0.22	2.79	$ 40.76	$ 84,770
Lancaster, PA	50	0.20	2.48	$ 20.91	$ 43,490
New Orleans-Metairie, LA	90	0.18	2.33	$ 23.71	$ 49,310
Fort Wayne, IN	40	0.17	2.17	$ 22.63	$ 47,080
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	30	0.17	2.10	$ 29.63	$ 61,630
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	430	0.16	2.09	$ 24.51	$ 50,980

Top paying metropolitan areas for Set and Exhibit 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	1,950	0.22	2.79	$ 40.76	$ 84,770
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	390	0.13	1.62	$ 36.47	$ 75,870
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT	40	0.10	1.26	$ 36.30	$ 75,510
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	2,730	0.47	5.93	$ 34.87	$ 72,530
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	80	0.07	0.87	$ 34.50	$ 71,760
Bakersfield, CA	(8)	(8)	(8)	$ 33.76	$ 70,220
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	150	0.15	1.96	$ 31.95	$ 66,450
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	170	0.07	0.92	$ 30.45	$ 63,330
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	40	0.03	0.32	$ 30.32	$ 63,060
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	30	0.17	2.10	$ 29.63	$ 61,630

About May 2020 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 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021