# Interior Designers

> 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.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/interior-designers
- SOC code: 27-1025.00
- Career family: Arts, design and media
- Median annual pay: $67,190 (10th percentile $41,420, 90th percentile $114,140)
- Projected growth: As fast as average, +2.7%
- Openings a year: 7,700
- Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code ARC)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 52 |
| Investigative (I) | 35 |
| Artistic (A) | 76 |
| Social (S) | 28 |
| Enterprising (E) | 45 |
| Conventional (C) | 47 |

## What you'd do

- Thinking Creatively (importance 95/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 91/100)
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships (importance 87/100)
- Getting Information (importance 86/100)
- Working with Computers (importance 86/100)
- Communicating with People Outside the Organization (importance 83/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 83/100)
- Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment (importance 81/100)
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work (importance 81/100)
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards (importance 77/100)

## Skills

Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Coordination, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Complex Problem Solving, Writing, Judgment and Decision Making

## Knowledge

Design, Customer and Personal Service, Building and Construction, English Language, Sales and Marketing, Administration and Management, Computers and Electronics, Public Safety and Security, Fine Arts, Administrative

## Also called

Bathroom Designer (Bath Designer), Certified Kitchen Designer, Color and Materials Designer, Commercial Interior Designer, Decorating Consultant, Decorator, Design Consultant, Designer, Furniture Arranger, Home Decorator

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Design and Applied Arts](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/5004) (CIP 5004, 1,175 colleges)
- [Apparel and Textiles](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1909) (CIP 1909, 135 colleges)
- [Environmental Design](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/0404) (CIP 0404, 65 colleges)
- [Interior Architecture](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/0405) (CIP 0405, 55 colleges)
- Housing and Human Environments (CIP 1906, 38 colleges)
- Design for Human Health (CIP 3037, 1 college)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Carnegie Mellon University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/carnegie-mellon-university-406) | Design and Applied Arts | $91,413 | $138,588 | $21,000 |
| [Lawrence Technological University-Michigan](https://www.collegesref.com/college/lawrence-technological-university-michigan-1459) | Design and Applied Arts | $62,595 | $99,444 | $27,000 |
| [Cornell University-New York](https://www.collegesref.com/college/cornell-university-new-york-710) | Apparel and Textiles | $60,834 | $94,967 | not reported |
| [University of Washington-Seattle Main Campus](https://www.collegesref.com/college/university-of-washington-seattle-main-campus-3075) | Design and Applied Arts | $51,789 | $89,193 | $15,000 |
| [University of Southern California USC](https://www.collegesref.com/college/university-of-southern-california-usc-3050) | Design and Applied Arts | $52,814 | $89,022 | $18,250 |
| [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute RPI](https://www.collegesref.com/college/rensselaer-polytechnic-institute-rpi-2221) | Design and Applied Arts | $34,202 | $87,358 | $25,500 |
| [Northeastern University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/northeastern-university-1923) | Design and Applied Arts | $61,815 | $87,336 | $19,500 |
| [University of Notre Dame-South Bend IN](https://www.collegesref.com/college/university-of-notre-dame-south-bend-in-3005) | Design and Applied Arts | $56,560 | $83,414 | $19,750 |

## Related careers

- [Commercial and Industrial Designers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/commercial-and-industrial-designers): $83,910 median pay
- [Craft Artists](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/craft-artists): $46,080 median pay
- [Landscape Architects](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/landscape-architects): $79,870 median pay
- [Fashion Designers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/fashion-designers): $80,960 median pay
- [Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/merchandise-displayers-and-window-trimmers): $39,390 median pay
- [Set and Exhibit Designers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/set-and-exhibit-designers): $75,240 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

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. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.