Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

27-1022 Fashion Designers

Design clothing and accessories. Create original designs or adapt fashion trends.


National estimates for Fashion Designers
Industry profile for Fashion Designers
Geographic profile for Fashion Designers

National estimates for Fashion Designers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Fashion Designers:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
21,050 5.4 % $ 41.93 $ 87,210 2.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for Fashion Designers:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 18.54 $ 26.19 $ 36.45 $ 48.90 $ 70.34
Annual Wage (2) $ 38,570 $ 54,470 $ 75,810 $ 101,700 $ 146,300


Industry profile for Fashion Designers:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Fashion Designers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers 7,090 5.39 $ 40.99 $ 85,260
Management of Companies and Enterprises 3,600 0.15 $ 42.84 $ 89,120
Motion Picture and Video Industries 2,870 0.87 $ 43.65 $ 90,790
Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing 1,640 2.22 $ 44.01 $ 91,550
Specialized Design Services 1,540 1.14 $ 52.56 $ 109,320

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Fashion Designers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers 7,090 5.39 $ 40.99 $ 85,260
Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing 1,640 2.22 $ 44.01 $ 91,550
Specialized Design Services 1,540 1.14 $ 52.56 $ 109,320
Apparel Knitting Mills 80 0.90 $ 38.39 $ 79,840
Motion Picture and Video Industries 2,870 0.87 $ 43.65 $ 90,790

Top paying industries for Fashion Designers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing 70 0.03 $ 53.26 $ 110,780
Specialized Design Services 1,540 1.14 $ 52.56 $ 109,320
Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing 1,640 2.22 $ 44.01 $ 91,550
Motion Picture and Video Industries 2,870 0.87 $ 43.65 $ 90,790
Management of Companies and Enterprises 3,600 0.15 $ 42.84 $ 89,120


Geographic profile for Fashion Designers:

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





States with the highest employment level in Fashion Designers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 8,100 0.93 6.16 $ 44.08 $ 91,690
California 6,340 0.39 2.55 $ 46.76 $ 97,270
Oregon 920 0.51 3.36 $ 40.08 $ 83,360
Florida 620 0.07 0.49 $ 30.08 $ 62,570
Washington 560 0.18 1.16 $ 37.84 $ 78,710




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

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 8,100 0.93 6.16 $ 44.08 $ 91,690
Oregon 920 0.51 3.36 $ 40.08 $ 83,360
California 6,340 0.39 2.55 $ 46.76 $ 97,270
New Hampshire 130 0.20 1.34 $ 40.86 $ 84,990
Vermont 50 0.19 1.28 $ 43.58 $ 90,640




Top paying states for Fashion Designers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 6,340 0.39 2.55 $ 46.76 $ 97,270
New York 8,100 0.93 6.16 $ 44.08 $ 91,690
Vermont 50 0.19 1.28 $ 43.58 $ 90,640
New Hampshire 130 0.20 1.34 $ 40.86 $ 84,990
Massachusetts 250 0.07 0.49 $ 40.62 $ 84,480





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Fashion 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 8,120 0.92 6.08 $ 43.82 $ 91,140
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 5,360 0.92 6.08 $ 47.91 $ 99,650
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 850 0.74 4.92 $ 40.06 $ 83,330
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 550 0.28 1.86 $ 37.96 $ 78,960
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 510 0.22 1.45 $ 41.50 $ 86,320
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 310 0.12 0.77 $ 35.28 $ 73,380
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 200 0.14 0.94 $ 37.86 $ 78,740
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 190 0.07 0.49 $ 41.65 $ 86,640
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 180 0.12 0.80 (8) (8)
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 160 0.09 0.57 $ 35.83 $ 74,530




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

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Portsmouth, NH-ME 100 1.09 7.20 $ 43.85 $ 91,210
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 5,360 0.92 6.08 $ 47.91 $ 99,650
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 8,120 0.92 6.08 $ 43.82 $ 91,140
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 850 0.74 4.92 $ 40.06 $ 83,330
Boulder, CO 50 0.30 2.00 $ 32.41 $ 67,420
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 550 0.28 1.86 $ 37.96 $ 78,960
Portland-South Portland, ME 50 0.24 1.58 $ 37.90 $ 78,840
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 510 0.22 1.45 $ 41.50 $ 86,320
Fort Wayne, IN 30 0.16 1.05 $ 33.42 $ 69,500
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 200 0.14 0.94 $ 37.86 $ 78,740




Top paying metropolitan areas for Fashion 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 5,360 0.92 6.08 $ 47.91 $ 99,650
Portsmouth, NH-ME 100 1.09 7.20 $ 43.85 $ 91,210
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 8,120 0.92 6.08 $ 43.82 $ 91,140
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 110 0.03 0.20 $ 43.78 $ 91,060
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 110 0.07 0.49 $ 42.36 $ 88,120
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 190 0.07 0.49 $ 41.65 $ 86,640
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 510 0.22 1.45 $ 41.50 $ 86,320
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 850 0.74 4.92 $ 40.06 $ 83,330
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN (8) (8) (8) $ 39.07 $ 81,270
Salt Lake City, UT 40 0.06 0.40 $ 38.98 $ 81,090


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