Interior Designer Salary

If there is a theme for aspiring interior designers to note, it's this: an interior design career offers many rewards (financial and otherwise), but you have to be willing to pay your dues in entry-level jobs before you work your way up.

It's not only experience that will put you on the path toward a higher interior design salary. There are a number of factors that employers look at, including the following:

• Geographic location – Urban areas tend to have a higher cost of living, which means that your interior design salary may be higher if you live and work in a metropolitan area.
   
• Job title/description – If you manage other employees or have "senior" appended to your job title, you'll probably earn more than an assistant.
   
• Self-employment – If you are well-established and have a good client base, working for yourself may mean that you get to keep more of the profits. On the other hand, if you're just starting out, you may have to tighten your belt until your business takes off.
   
• Education level – Your education level may also make you more attractive to employers, and that can mean higher pay.

The following table shows the salary range of the middle 50 percent of U.S. interior designers:*

_{*Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010}