Interior Designers
Also called: Bathroom Designer (Bath Designer), Certified Kitchen Designer, Color and Materials Designer, Commercial Interior Designer, Decorating Consultant, Decorator, Design Consultant, Designer
Plan, design, and furnish the internal space of rooms or buildings.
What interior designers do
Typical tasks
- Design plans to be safe and to be compliant with the American Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Use computer-aided drafting (CAD) and related software to produce construction documents.
- Research health and safety code requirements to inform design.
- Confer with client to determine factors affecting planning of interior environments, such as budget, architectural preferences, purpose, and function.
- Advise client on interior design factors, such as space planning, layout and use of furnishings or equipment, and color coordination.
- Coordinate with other professionals, such as contractors, architects, engineers, and plumbers, to ensure job success.
- Review and detail shop drawings for construction plans.
- Inspect construction work on site to ensure its adherence to the design plans.
- Render design ideas in form of paste-ups or drawings.
- Subcontract fabrication, installation, and arrangement of carpeting, fixtures, accessories, draperies, paint and wall coverings, art work, furniture, and related items.
- Select or design, and purchase furnishings, art work, and accessories.
- Estimate material requirements and costs, and present design to client for approval.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Interior Designers salary
The median annual wage for interior designers is $67,190 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $41,420 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $114,140. The mean annual wage is $74,540.
The mean hourly wage of $35.00 is 4.8× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Interior Designers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $67,190 → in 3 years $72,300 → in 5 years $75,900 → in 10 years $85,600 (10-year range $73,600–$99,400). The model assumes pay growth of +2.5% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Interior Designers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Interior Designers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Interior Designers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Interior Designers United States | インテリアコーディネーター Japan | インテリアデザイナー Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $67,190 | ¥5.40M ≈ $34,314 | ¥5.40M ≈ $34,314 |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $85,600 | ¥6.24M | ¥6.13M |
| Outlook score | 52 | 32 | 34 |
| AI replacement risk | 66% High | 49% Moderate | 56% Moderate |
| Workers | 72K | — | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Interior Designers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★★☆☆ Moderate (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become interior designers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as interior designers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.