Fashion designers

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2019 Workforce

28.9k

Average Age

38.1

Estimated Job Growth

−4.59%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$61,245

Average Male Salary

$77,597

Average Female Salary

$58,227

About

Fashion designers are most often employed by the Clothing stores industry. The average yearly wage for Fashion designers was $61,245 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Fashion designers by wage are Private detectives & investigators, Firstline supervisors of production & operating workers, and Conservation scientists & foresters.

Fashion designers are part of the Arts, design, entertainment, sports, & media occupations, along with Artists & related workers, Commercial and industrial designers, Fashion designers, Floral designers, Graphic designers, and 25 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Fashion designers are Greenpoint & Williamsburg PUMA, NY. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Fashion designers are Greenpoint & Williamsburg PUMA, NY.

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Education, legal, community service, arts, & media occupations Arts, design, entertainment, sports, & media occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Fashion designers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Clothing stores is the industry that employs the most Fashion designers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Fashion designers, by average wage, is Apparel, piece goods, & notions merchant wholesalers. Fashion designers are paid most in LA City (Mount Washington, Highland Park & Glassell Park) PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in Greenpoint & Williamsburg PUMA, NY.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$61,245

AVERAGE SALARY

± $10,302

In 2019, Fashion designers earned an average of $61,245, $5,721 more than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Conservation scientists & foresters make somewhat more than Fashion designers while Private detectives & investigators make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Fashion designers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.479

WAGE GINI

In 2019, Fashion designers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.479, which is higher than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly for Fashion designers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Fashion designers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Fashion designers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Fashion designers.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Fashion designers, by number of employees, are Clothing stores, Specialized design services, Cut and sew, and apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing, Apparel, piece goods, & notions merchant wholesalers, Department stores, Electronic shopping and mail-order houses, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Independent artists, writers, and performers, Motion pictures & video industries, and General merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Fashion designers, by average wage, are Apparel, piece goods, & notions merchant wholesalers, Specialized design services, and Cut and sew, and apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing.

Industries by Share

28.9k

2019 Workforce

± 4,170

45.6%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 15.6%

The number of people employed as Fashion designers has been growing at a rate of 45.6%, from 19,819 people in 2018 to 28,860 people in 2019.

This graphic shows the share of Fashion designers employed by various industries. Clothing stores employs the largest share of Fashion designers at 29.7%, followed by Specialized design services with 26.5% and Cut and sew, and apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing with 9.6%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Fashion designers in the US. The average age of male Fashion designers in the workforce is 38.7 and of female Fashion designers is 38, and the most common race/ethnicity for Fashion designers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

4.5k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 1,646

24.4k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 3,832

84.4% of Fashion designers are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Fashion designers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Fashion designers

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

56.4% of Fashion designers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 15.1% of Fashion designers, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Fashion designers.

Age by Sex

38.7

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 4.04

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.17

The median age of Fashion designers is 38.1, and Male employees are generally 0.722 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Fashion designers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Fashion designers is Visual & Performing Arts but a relatively high number of Fashion designers hold a major in Visual & Performing Arts.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Projections

Projections on job growth for Fashion Designers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Fashion Designers are expected to see a growth of −4.59% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

−4.59%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Fashion Designers. This profession is expected to grow less than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.