Median pay for interior designers runs from $32,150 in San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas to $101,250 in Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area — a 3.15× range across 215 metropolitan areas. The national median of $67,190 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
The top tenth of interior designers earn $114,140 or more; the bottom tenth earn under $41,420. That is a 2.76× gap within the same occupation, in the same year. A spread this wide means the job title is not what determines pay — specialisation, employer type, seniority or book of business is. Expect the early years to sit near the bottom of the band rather than the middle, and treat the $67,190 median as a waypoint, not a destination.
Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area () leads and San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas (PR) trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area | $101,250 | $48.68 | 1.53 | 70 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $87,460 | $42.05 | 1.66 | 1,810 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $85,140 | $40.93 | 0.65 | 340 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $81,480 | $39.17 | 1.04 | 1,290 |
| Boulder CO | $80,850 | $38.87 | 1.03 | 90 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $80,640 | $38.77 | 1.16 | 820 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $80,150 | $38.53 | 2.03 | 1,500 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $80,000 | $38.46 | 1.35 | 3,880 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas NV | $79,720 | $38.33 | 0.89 | 460 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $79,590 | $38.27 | 1.27 | 1,840 |
| Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area | $79,480 | $38.21 | 2.91 | 60 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara CA | $78,960 | $37.96 | 1.2 | 110 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $78,810 | $37.89 | 1.01 | 970 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos TX | $78,390 | $37.69 | 1.84 | 1,090 |
| Huntsville AL | $78,250 | $37.62 | 0.63 | 80 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA | $78,000 | $37.50 | 0.84 | 50 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $77,970 | $37.49 | 1.19 | 110 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $77,690 | $37.35 | 0.6 | 300 |
| Burlington NC | $77,590 | $37.31 | 1.02 | 30 |
| Fort Collins-Loveland CO | $76,800 | $36.92 | 1.46 | 110 |
| Bakersfield-Delano CA | $76,780 | $36.91 | 0.35 | 50 |
| Fresno CA | $76,770 | $36.91 | 0.37 | 80 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $76,580 | $36.82 | 1.25 | 5,460 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $76,570 | $36.81 | 1.08 | 2,250 |
| Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area | $76,310 | $36.69 | 2.1 | 100 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $32,150 | $15.46 | 0.35 | 110 |
| West Delta Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $32,810 | $15.78 | 0.77 | 30 |
| Upper East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $43,540 | $20.94 | 0.71 | 70 |
| Gulfport-Biloxi MS | $45,070 | $21.67 | 0.46 | 30 |
| Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area | $45,940 | $22.09 | 0.41 | 30 |
| Waco TX | $46,530 | $22.37 | 0.71 | 40 |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area | $46,810 | $22.51 | 0.25 | 40 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX | $46,850 | $22.52 | 0.33 | 40 |
| Wilmington NC | $47,750 | $22.96 | 1.54 | 140 |
| Columbus GA-AL | $47,780 | $22.97 | 0.72 | 40 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naples-Marco Island FL | $75,210 | $36.16 | 4.96 | 400 |
| Wasatch Front Fringe Utah nonmetropolitan area | $63,780 | $30.66 | 4.65 | 140 |
| Bozeman MT | $61,710 | $29.67 | 3.79 | 130 |
| Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area | $79,480 | $38.21 | 2.91 | 60 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $60,860 | $29.26 | 2.39 | 3,090 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota FL | $58,270 | $28.01 | 2.37 | 370 |
| Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor FL | $61,740 | $29.68 | 2.15 | 60 |
| Sussex Delaware nonmetropolitan area | $60,470 | $29.07 | 2.13 | 100 |
| Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area | $76,310 | $36.69 | 2.1 | 100 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $80,150 | $38.53 | 2.03 | 1,500 |
| Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal SC | $62,200 | $29.91 | 2.03 | 80 |
| Barnstable Town MA | $67,660 | $32.53 | 1.98 | 90 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $76,580 | $36.82 | 1.25 | 5,460 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $80,000 | $38.46 | 1.35 | 3,880 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $60,860 | $29.26 | 2.39 | 3,090 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $72,490 | $34.85 | 1.83 | 2,430 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $65,160 | $31.33 | 1.3 | 2,420 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $76,570 | $36.81 | 1.08 | 2,250 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $79,590 | $38.27 | 1.27 | 1,840 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $87,460 | $42.05 | 1.66 | 1,810 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $80,150 | $38.53 | 2.03 | 1,500 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $61,220 | $29.43 | 0.96 | 1,460 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $61,810 | $29.72 | 1.21 | 1,320 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $81,480 | $39.17 | 1.04 | 1,290 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 27-1025. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates are published for 215 of 528 metropolitan areas; the remaining 313 had too few survey responses for BLS to publish without risking disclosure, so they are absent here rather than estimated. For a specialised role that is normal. Read the methodology.