Occupation salary profile

Fashion Designers

SOC 27-1022 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

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

National median · BLS
$80,960
▲ +0.33% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$70,000
▼ -3.11% YoY · 86 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$91,230
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
21,450
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Fashion Designers

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 86 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$39,490$48,400
25th$51,940$56,575
Median (50th)$80,960$70,000
75th$106,470$85,000
90th — top pay$146,870$120,972
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $70,000 for Fashion Designers — 13.5% below the BLS national median of $80,960.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Fashion Designers

BLS projects employment of fashion designers to grow 0.1% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 2,500 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
32,700 → 32,800
+0 jobs
Projected change
+0.1%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
2,500
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
35.7% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 3)
Medium Preparation Needed. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $70,000
Change vs prior year -3.11%
After inflation (CPI-U) -6.05%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 50 58.1% $55,254 $61,277 $69,500
Level II 22 25.6% $77,798 $84,989 $88,750
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Fashion Designers

The 1 most-filed job titles inside SOC 27-1022, from 86 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Fashion Designer 24 27.91% $56,014 $62,691 $79,548 +13.98%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Fashion Designers

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Listening3.9
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Speaking3.9
  • Active Learning3.8
  • Coordination3.8
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.8
  • Social Perceptiveness3.8
  • Time Management3.8
  • Complex Problem Solving3.6
  • Negotiation3.6
Top knowledge areas
  • Design4.4
  • Computers and Electronics3.4
  • Production and Processing3.3
  • Sales and Marketing3.2
  • English Language3.1
  • Fine Arts2.7
  • Administration and Management2.6
  • Personnel and Human Resources2.4
Software and technology used
Adobe Creative Cloud softwareAdobe IllustratorAdobe InDesignAdobe PhotoshopMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft PowerPointAdobe AcrobatAutodesk RevitJavaScriptMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft WordSASTrimble SketchUp ProAutodesk AutoCAD Design SuiteAutodesk SketchBook ProC-DESIGN FashionCLO Virtual Fashion Marvelous Designer

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What fashion designers do

  • Sketch rough and detailed drawings of apparel or accessories, and write specifications such as color schemes, construction, material types, and accessory requirements.
  • Examine sample garments on and off models, modifying designs to achieve desired effects.
  • Confer with sales and management executives or with clients to discuss design ideas.
  • Select materials and production techniques to be used for products.
  • Provide sample garments to agents and sales representatives, and arrange for showings of sample garments at sales meetings or fashion shows.
  • Direct and coordinate workers involved in drawing and cutting patterns and constructing samples or finished garments.
  • Identify target markets for designs, looking at factors such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status.
  • Collaborate with other designers to coordinate special products and designs.
Also called
Apparel DesignerCostume DesignerDesignerFashion DesignerApparel and Accessories DesignerFashion Design ContractorFashion Graphic DesignerFashion StylistHandbag DesignerProduct Developer
More job titles for this occupation (36)
Accessories DesignerApparel Accessories SpecialistApparel Product DeveloperApparel Technical DesignerAthletic Shoe DesignerClothes DesignerClothing DesignerCostumerCustom FurrierDance Costume DesignerDenim DesignerDesign ManagerDress DesignerFashion AdvisorFashion ConsultantFashion IllustratorFootwear DesignerFur DesignerFur RemodelerFur StylistFurrier DesignerHat DesignerImage ConsultantJewelry AdvisorJewelry DesignerProduct DesignerShoe DesignerStyle AdvisorStylistSweater DesignerSwimwear DesignerTextile DesignerUniform DesignerWardrobe ConsultantWardrobe Image ConsultantWomen's Designer

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.