Interior Designers
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Overview
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.
Highlights
Undergraduate program resulting in the highest median salary ($82K): Mechanical Engineering
Largest undergraduate program (38.1% of workers): Commercial Art and Graphic Design
Explore Pathways
Titles for this career often contain these words
DesignerInteriorKitchenConsultantDecoratorDesignHomeLightingCertifiedColorExpertDecoratingFurnitureArrangerAdviserHouseCoordinatorBathResidentialRoom
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Responsibilities and activities

Interior designers typically do the following:

  • Search for and bid on new projects
  • Determine the client’s goals and requirements for the project
  • Consider how the space will be used and how people will move through the space
  • Sketch preliminary design plans, including electrical and partition layouts
  • Specify materials and furnishings, such as lighting, furniture, wall finishes, flooring, and plumbing fixtures
  • Create a timeline for the interior design project and estimate project costs
  • Place orders for materials and oversee the installation of the design elements
  • Oversee construction and coordinate with general building contractors to implement the plans and specifications for the project
  • Visit the site after the project is complete, to ensure that the client is satisfied

Interior designers work closely with architects, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, and construction laborers and helpers to determine how interior spaces will function, look, and be furnished. Interior designers read blueprints and must be aware of building codes and inspection regulations.

Although some sketches may be freehand, most interior designers use computer-aided design (CAD) software for most of their drawings. Throughout the design process, interior designers often use building information modeling (BIM) software to create three-dimensional visualizations that include construction elements such as walls or roofs.

Many designers specialize in particular types of buildings, such as homes, hospitals, or hotels; specific rooms, such as bathrooms or kitchens; or a specific style. Some designers work for home-furnishings stores, providing design services to help customers choose materials and furnishings.

Some interior designers produce designs, plans, and drawings for construction and installation. These products may include information for construction and demolition, electrical layouts, and building permits. Interior designers may draft the preliminary design into documents ranging from simple sketches to construction schedules and attachments.

The following are examples of types of interior designers:

Corporate designers create interior designs for professional workplaces in a variety of settings, from small offices to large buildings. They focus on creating spaces that are efficient, functional, and safe for employees. In their designs, they may incorporate elements of a company’s brand.

Healthcare designers plan and renovate healthcare centers, clinics, doctors’ offices, hospitals, and residential care facilities. They specialize in evidence-based design, which uses data and research in design decisionmaking to achieve positive results for patients, residents, and facilities.

Kitchen and bath designers specialize in kitchens and bathrooms and have expert knowledge of cabinet, fixture, appliance, plumbing, and electrical solutions for these rooms.

Sustainable designers suggest strategies to improve energy and water efficiencies and indoor air quality as well as environmentally sustainable products, such as bamboo and cork for floors. They may obtain certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the U.S. Green Building Council. Such certification indicates expertise in designing buildings and spaces with sustainable practices in mind.

Universal designers renovate spaces in order to make them more accessible. Often, these designs are used to renovate spaces for elderly people and people with special needs; however, universal designs benefit everyone. For example, an entryway without steps may be necessary for someone in a wheelchair, but it is also helpful for someone pushing a baby stroller.

Salary
Median salary: $57,060 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $43,570 and $74,720.
$57K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for interior designers
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
$50K$51K$57K$32K$52K$44K$52K$52K$50K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K$120K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
Number employed
02K4K6K8K10K12K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
About Interior Designers
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of interior designers who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
  • Time Pressure (96%)
  • Responsible for Others' Health (57%)
  • High Conflict Frequency (38%)
  • Consequence of Error (33%)
SOURCES:
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Interior Designers? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Artistic ability
Interior designers use their sense of style to develop aesthetically pleasing designs.
Creativity
Interior designers need to be imaginative in selecting furnishings and fabrics and in creating functional spaces that serve the client’s needs and fit the client’s lifestyle.
Detail oriented
Interior designers need to be precise in measuring interior spaces and creating drawings, so that their drawings can be used by workers such as engineers or other designers.
Interpersonal skills
Interior designers need to be able to communicate effectively with clients and others. They spend much of their time soliciting new clients and new work and collaborating with other designers, engineers, and general building contractors on ongoing projects.
Problem-solving skills
Interior designers must address challenges, such as construction delays or unavailability of certain materials, while keeping the project on time and within budget.
Visualization
Interior designers need a strong sense of proportion and visual awareness in order to understand how the pieces of a design will fit together to create the intended environment.
Injury and Illness
About 15 interior designers become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 50% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
Bruises and contusions
Soreness and pain
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by interior designers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), interior designers typically hold a bachelor's degree.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as interior designers as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for interior designers

Interior designers entering the occupation usually need a bachelor’s degree in any field. Coursework should include classes in interior design, drawing, and computer-aided design (CAD).

Programs in interior design are available at the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degree levels. Applicants to these programs may need to submit sketches and other examples of their artistic ability.

The National Association of Schools of Art and Design accredits more than 360 postsecondary colleges, universities, and independent institutes that have programs in art and design. The Council for Interior Design Accreditation accredits about 180 professional-level (bachelor’s or master’s degree) interior design programs.

Nearly 100 colleges and universities are affiliated with the National Kitchen & Bath Association. These schools offer programs on kitchen and bath design at the certificate, associate’s degree, and bachelor’s degree levels.

Details: Licensing and certification recommended for interior designers

Licensure requirements vary by state. In some states, only licensed designers may do interior design work. In other states, both licensed and unlicensed designers may do such work; however, only licensed designers may use the title “interior designer.” In still other states, both licensed and unlicensed designers may call themselves interior designers and do interior design work.

In states with laws restricting the use of the title ”interior designer,” only candidates who pass their state-approved exam, most commonly the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam, may call themselves registered interior designers. Candidate eligibility for taking the NCIDQ exam includes having at least a bachelor’s degree in interior design and 2 years of full-time work experience.

California requires a different exam, administered by the California Council for Interior Design Certification (CCIDC). To take this exam, eligible candidates must have a combination of education and experience.

Voluntary certification in an interior design specialty, such as environmental design, allows designers to demonstrate expertise in a particular area of the occupation. Interior designers often specialize to distinguish the type of design work they do and to promote their expertise. Certifications usually are available through professional and trade associations and are independent of the NCIDQ licensing examination.

Education level of Interior Designers
About 66% of interior designers have at least a bachelor's degree.
Education attained by interior designers
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Top college degrees
Here are the top college degrees held by the 65% of people in this job who have at least a bachelor's degree. Some of degrees may link to multiple programs due to the way Census classifies college majors. Click on a program to learn more about career opportunities for people who major in that field.
  1. Commercial Art and Graphic Design
  2. Visual and Performing Arts
  3. Architecture
  4. Communications
  5. Business/Commerce
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College majors held by interior designers
This table shows the college majors held by people working as interior designers. If you see "**" before the name of a degree/program, that means this field is one that the Department of Education believes is preparatory for this career. However, you can see from this list that those recommendations are far from your only path to this job!
Salary comparison for bachelor's only
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Career salary (tail) versus Career/Major salary (dot)
Does the bachelor's-only salary rise or fall with this major?
$50K$66K
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Median
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Salary for all workers
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Education for Career and Major
Bachelor's
Master's
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Workers with this career/major
Percentage in this career with this major
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The link between degrees and this career
With the following sankey diagram, you can follow the top ten bachelor's degrees held by people working as interior designers, and then, in turn, you can see the 10 occupations that hire the most of each degree's graduates. We hope this provides ideas for similar jobs and similar fields of study.
Expand degrees
Commercial Art and G...Fine ArtsArchitectureCommunicationsGeneral BusinessMarketingBusiness Management ...English Language and...Studio ArtsLiberal ArtsAll other degreesThis jobTop 10 majors
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Interior Designers per 1,000 workers (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most interior designers? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as interior designers. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where interior designers earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
  • In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for interior designers compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
  • Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for interior designers.
We hope the ratio allows perspective about how salaries may compare to the regional cost-of-living.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which interior designers earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Interior Designers (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Employment
23% of Interior designers are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 23% part-time workers, this occupation has a higher percentage of part-time workers than 74% of careers.
23%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of interior designers by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
$48K$50K$50K$41K$49K$47K$48K$0$50,000$100,000$150,000Self-employed not incorporatedSelf-employed incorporatedState governmentLocal governmentPrivate not-for-profitPrivate for-profitAll
Gender
Interior designers and gender
With 80% women, this occupation has a higher percentage of women than 90% of careers.
Gender of Interior designers
Men (20%)
Women (80%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
$46K$54K$0$100K$200K$300KWomenMen
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
80%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women by 19%. The situation is a little better for interior designers, with the median salary for men 16% higher than the median salary for women.
16%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Interior designers
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Interior designers.
Race/origin of interior designers
White (81% )
Asian (8% )
Black (5% )
Multiracial (3% )
Other (3% )
Hispanic (0% )
American Indian (0% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
$40K$41K$47K$47K$60K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K$120KOtherMultiracialBlackWhiteAsian
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.