Official pay data
Updated October 8, 2026
Salary guide
Official annual estimates for the whole country, mapped to the closest published occupation.
United States · annual wage estimate
25th percentile
$51,940
Median
$80,960
75th percentile
$106,470
BLS covers wage and salary employees, including part-time workers, but excludes self-employed workers and owners or partners in unincorporated firms. Wages include commissions and production bonuses, but exclude overtime premiums, employer benefits, and non-production bonuses; this is not a base-pay-only or total-compensation measure. Annual wage estimates generally convert hourly rates using a full-time, year-round schedule of 2,080 hours. Actual annual earnings on a shorter schedule can be lower.
This is a country-level occupation benchmark, not a local offer estimate. Pay can differ by location, employer, duties, and working pattern.
Source: BLS, 2025-05-01. Mapped to Fashion designers; the occupation is broader than the page role. Figures are estimates, not advertised salaries.
This national benchmark fits Fashion Designers because it covers the named occupation of fashion designers. It is most useful when your work involves developing clothing or accessory designs, then turning concepts into product-ready details. The title can still cover different mixes of concept work, technical specification, fabric selection, sample production, and production coordination.
Benchmark fit
The benchmark is a useful comparison for a Fashion Designer offer because it is reported for fashion designers as an occupation. Compare it with a role that owns clothing or accessory design work, rather than relying on the job title alone.
Do not treat the occupation benchmark as proof that every Fashion Designer has the same remit. Check whether the offer includes the design, technical, sampling, sourcing, or production work you expect to compare.
Role scope
Fashion Designers develop original clothing and accessory designs by combining technical skill with creative judgment.
Identify trends in fabrics, colors, prints, and shapes, then develop concepts and mood boards. · Visualize and develop concepts by hand or with design software. · Develop patterns and detailed specifications for garment construction. · Work with sales, buying, and production teams so products fit the target market, price point, and brand identity. · Some roles include sourcing fabrics or overseeing sample production.
Clothing and accessory designs. · Concept visuals and mood boards that refine or present an idea. · Patterns and detailed garment-construction specifications.
Read the range
Use the benchmark to compare a Fashion Designer role that develops concepts into clothing or accessory designs and can translate them into patterns or specifications. A role focused on only one part of that work may not be a like-for-like match.
One quarter of employees earn below this figure.
Half of employees earn below this figure and half above it; it is not the arithmetic midpoint of the displayed range.
One quarter of employees earn above this figure.
Beyond salary
Compare the offer's fixed cash pay with any conditional cash payments separately. Then ask which commissions or production bonuses are included, whether overtime premiums apply, and what benefits sit outside cash pay.
Ask for the stated salary or hourly rate and the working schedule it covers before comparing annual amounts.
Ask whether they are offered, how they are calculated, and whether they are conditional.
Ask for the terms of any health coverage, pension contribution, leave, equity, or non-production bonus; these are separate from the wage measure.
Offer review
Questions
Source
Source: BLS, 2025-05-01. The figures cover Fashion designers (27-1022) and all employment. Updated October 8, 2026. This broad occupation benchmark may not match every Fashion Designer vacancy.
Put the benchmark to work
Use the salary range as context. Tailor your resume around the experience that supports your target level.
