Average Fashion Designer Salary in United States for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Fashion Designer salary for 2024 in United States and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the United States dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the USD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does a Fashion Designer Make in United States?

A Fashion Designer working in United States will typically earn around 127,600 USD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 66,400 USD to the highest average salary of 193,400 USD.

Average Annual Salary
127,600 USD
Average Monthly Salary
10,633 USD

Lowest Annual Salary
66,400 USD
Lowest Monthly Salary
5,533 USD

Highest Annual Salary
193,400 USD
Highest Monthly Salary
16,116 USD

These are average salaries for a Fashion Designer in United States and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Fashion Designer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Fashion Designer salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Fashion Designer Salaries in United States

So we've looked at the average salaries a Fashion Designer will earn in United States. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Fashion Designer can earn between 66,400 USD and 193,400 USD on average in United States. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Fashion Designer in United States is 119,700 USD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 119,700 USD, and 50% of the population earn more than 119,700 USD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Fashion Designer salary in United States, 25% of the population are earning less than 85,100 USD while 75% of the population earn more than 85,100 USD.

75% of the population earn less than 148,300 USD, and 25% of the population earn more than 148,300 USD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Fashion Designer Salary by Experience Level in United States

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average fashion designer salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Fashion Designer in United States that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 78,100 USD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Fashion Designer salary would increase to 94,400 USD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Fashion Designer, the average salary would be 134,700 USD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 158,900 USD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Fashion Designer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 172,200 USD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Fashion Designer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 183,600 USD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
78,100 USD
2-5 Years +23%
94,400 USD
5-10 Years +42%
134,700 USD
10-15 Years +17%
158,900 USD
15-20 Years +10%
172,200 USD
20+ Years +6%
183,600 USD

Fashion Designer Salary by Education Level in United States

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Fashion Designer in United States based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Fashion Designer in United States with a high school education can earn an average salary of 94,400 USD.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Fashion Designer in United States with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 132,000 USD.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Fashion Designer in United States with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 187,500 USD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
94,400 USD
Certificate or Diploma +40%
132,000 USD
Bachelor's Degree +42%
187,500 USD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United States is around 39,500 to 118,000 USD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Fashion Designer Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In United States, a male fashion designer will earn an average of 125,400 USD, while a female fashion designer will earn around 130,500 USD.

This means that a male fashion designer earns approximately 4% less than a female fashion designer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in United States

Male
125,400 USD
Female +4%
130,500 USD

Fashion Designer Average Pay Raise in United States

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Fashion Designer in United States is around 11% every 18 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United States is around 8% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 11 ÷ 18 ) × 12  = 7%

What this means is that a Fashion Designer in United States can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 7% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in United States for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United States.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
4%
Energy
8%
Information Technology
3%
Healthcare
7%
Travel
2%
Construction
6%
Education
1%

Fashion Designer Bonus and Incentive Rates in United States

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Fashion Designer is a moderate bonus based job, with 54% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

46% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5%.

Received Bonus
54%
No Bonus
46%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United States earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
98,800 USD
Private Sector -6%
93,100 USD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Fashion Designer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Fashion Designer in United States.

Job Title Category Salary
Alterations Specialist Fashion and Apparel 36,400 USD
Barber Fashion and Apparel 38,900 USD
Bench Jeweler Fashion and Apparel 33,600 USD
Clothing and Textile Technologist Fashion and Apparel 83,000 USD
Cosmetology Educator Fashion and Apparel 94,200 USD
Diamond Setter Fashion and Apparel 44,700 USD
Diamond Worker Fashion and Apparel 50,100 USD
Fabric Manager Fashion and Apparel 91,700 USD
Fashion Design Manager Fashion and Apparel 151,800 USD
Fashion Merchandiser Fashion and Apparel 60,000 USD
Fashion Model Fashion and Apparel 83,200 USD
Freelance Fashion Stylist Fashion and Apparel 142,300 USD
Garment Technologist Fashion and Apparel 83,700 USD
Hairstylist Fashion and Apparel 43,800 USD
Jeweler Fashion and Apparel 71,900 USD
Jewelry Mold Maker Fashion and Apparel 54,300 USD
Jewelry Polisher Fashion and Apparel 28,900 USD
Jewelry Sales Fashion and Apparel 61,300 USD
Plating Manager Fashion and Apparel 103,600 USD
Product Development Manager Fashion and Apparel 172,200 USD
Sewing Machine Operator Fashion and Apparel 30,800 USD
Shoe Sales Fashion and Apparel 49,400 USD
Supply Chain Manager Fashion and Apparel 161,300 USD
Tailor / Fitter Fashion and Apparel 36,400 USD
Trend Forecaster Fashion and Apparel 98,800 USD
Visual Merchandising Coordinator Fashion and Apparel 63,500 USD
Visual Merchandising Projects Manager Fashion and Apparel 141,000 USD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United States, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Atlanta 123,000 USD
Austin 148,300 USD
Baltimore 121,800 USD
Boston 128,200 USD
Bristol 99,700 USD
Chicago 152,700 USD
Cincinnati 107,300 USD
Cleveland 114,300 USD
Dallas 142,300 USD
Denver 130,400 USD
Detroit 134,100 USD
Honolulu 107,700 USD
Houston 151,800 USD
Indianapolis 134,700 USD
Iowa City 107,700 USD
Jacksonville 147,900 USD
Kansas City 121,800 USD
Kent 102,700 USD
Las Vegas 130,500 USD
Long Beach 128,200 USD
Los Angeles 150,100 USD
Memphis 127,600 USD
Miami 117,100 USD
Minneapolis 116,400 USD
New Orleans 115,600 USD
New York 158,700 USD
Oakland 117,100 USD
Oklahoma City 130,400 USD
Orlando 112,700 USD
Philadelphia 153,700 USD
Phoenix 157,600 USD
Sacramento 123,800 USD
San Antonio 152,900 USD
San Diego 146,900 USD
San Francisco 142,100 USD
San Jose 139,100 USD
Seattle 142,300 USD
Tampa 115,600 USD
Vancouver 107,700 USD
Washington D.C. 132,000 USD

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United States.

City Average Salary
Alabama 139,100 USD
Alaska 114,900 USD
Arizona 140,200 USD
Arkansas 125,400 USD
California 150,100 USD
Colorado 128,200 USD
Connecticut 130,500 USD
Delaware 114,900 USD
District of Columbia 115,600 USD
Florida 153,800 USD
Georgia 142,100 USD
Hawaii 127,700 USD
Idaho 119,700 USD
Illinois 146,900 USD
Indiana 134,100 USD
Iowa 128,400 USD
Kansas 124,500 USD
Kentucky 132,000 USD
Louisiana 127,700 USD
Maine 121,800 USD
Maryland 128,400 USD
Massachusetts 137,100 USD
Michigan 148,300 USD
Minnesota 130,400 USD
Mississippi 128,400 USD
Missouri 130,400 USD
Montana 124,500 USD
Nebraska 119,700 USD
Nevada 127,600 USD
New Hampshire 114,300 USD
New Jersey 140,200 USD
New Mexico 118,900 USD
New York 147,900 USD
North Carolina 134,100 USD
North Dakota 116,400 USD
Ohio 150,100 USD
Oklahoma 127,600 USD
Oregon 134,100 USD
Pennsylvania 142,100 USD
Rhode Island 121,800 USD
South Carolina 127,600 USD
South Dakota 119,700 USD
Tennessee 130,400 USD
Texas 146,900 USD
Utah 118,900 USD
Vermont 114,300 USD
Virginia 148,300 USD
Washington 139,100 USD
West Virginia 127,600 USD
Wisconsin 132,000 USD
Wyoming 117,100 USD

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