Occupations · Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Interior Designers
Plan, design, and furnish the internal space of rooms or buildings. Design interior environments or create physical layouts that are practical, aesthetic, and conducive to the intended purposes. May specialize in a particular field, style, or phase of interior design.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 27-1025.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 58% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $76,880 | 5,660 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $76,970 | 4,030 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $61,820 | 2,810 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $69,990 | 2,340 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $65,280 | 2,100 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $74,860 | 1,930 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | $74,120 | 1,910 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $78,660 | 1,860 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $76,340 | 1,680 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | $63,970 | 1,340 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $67,140 | 1,320 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $77,420 | 1,280 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: Bachelor's degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- 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.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2024-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2024-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Review contractor bids to subcontract fabrication, installation, and arrangement of carpeting, fixtures, accessories, draperies, paint and wall coverings, art work, furniture, and related items.
O*NET 30.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 3 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 13
No longer listed 6
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| interior designer | 3432.1 | exact |
| interior architect | 2161.1.1 | close |
| interior planner | 3432.1.1 | close |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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