Highest-paying Cities for Fashion Designers

The top 74 highest paying cities for fashion designers (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of fashion designers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $115,180, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California is the highest paying city for fashion designers. It is followed by Portsmouth, New Hampshire (average annual salary $99,030). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of fashion designers in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 74 Highest-paying cities/areas for Fashion Designers

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$115,180	$61,630	450
2	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	$99,030	$61,070	80
3	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$97,700	$41,030	100
4	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$92,490	$54,540	120
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$90,350	$66,980	210
6	Salt Lake City, Utah	$89,980	$42,230	50
7	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$84,600	$50,120	120
8	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$82,830	$42,950	60
9	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$82,810	$50,730	7,150
10	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$82,800	$52,490	450
11	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$81,940	$46,290	310
12	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$81,370	$46,040	220
13	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$81,240	$46,050	5,060
14	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$80,500	$42,030	140
15	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$80,120	$57,800	50
16	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$79,840	$54,080	120
17	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$75,190	$29,100	50
18	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tennessee	$75,020	$38,370	50
19	Rochester, New York	$74,600	$44,430	60
20	San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo, Puerto Rico	$73,700	$48,980	110
21	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$73,220	$37,080	n/a
22	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$71,040	$41,330	140
23	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$69,440	$23,840	90
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$69,020	$42,380	180
25	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$68,960	$44,300	n/a
26	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$68,850	$45,030	30
27	St Louis, Missouri	$68,740	$40,040	260
28	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$68,590	$55,890	40
29	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$68,470	$27,080	4,340
30	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$68,310	$37,870	7,030
31	Framingham, Massachusetts	$68,000	$52,610	50
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$66,630	$33,710	4,650
33	Syracuse, New York	$66,170	$38,760	40
34	Boulder, Colorado	$65,720	$46,270	50
35	Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina	$64,300	$51,810	70
36	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$63,610	$43,170	140
37	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$63,380	$40,900	330
38	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$62,600	$30,310	520
39	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$62,570	$45,690	60
40	Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan	$62,450	$44,170	40
41	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$62,180	$36,960	40
42	Columbus, Ohio	$62,050	$22,150	140
43	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$61,010	$39,120	50
44	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$60,960	$47,630	80
45	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$60,450	$41,340	110
46	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$60,390	$41,020	200
47	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$59,780	$48,490	70
48	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$59,250	$35,930	560
49	Jacksonville, Florida	$59,150	$28,040	30
50	Fort Wayne, Indiana	$58,940	$32,440	30
51	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$58,730	$38,460	40
52	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$58,120	$38,010	100
53	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$55,390	$27,040	30
54	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$54,160	$33,640	60
55	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Missouri	$53,950	$34,440	30
56	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$53,250	$41,520	150
57	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$52,370	$28,290	260
58	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$52,000	$26,520	40
59	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$51,440	$35,230	230
60	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$51,320	$37,430	220
61	Kansas City, Missouri	$50,800	$39,470	80
62	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pennsylvania	$50,690	$33,950	40
63	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$50,420	$23,230	210
64	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Florida	$50,070	$18,200	50
65	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$49,610	$37,320	60
66	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$49,380	$25,440	60
67	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$49,050	$28,990	60
68	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$47,270	$29,490	40
69	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$46,080	$34,140	60
70	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$45,440	$20,660	30
71	Honolulu, Hawaii	$41,670	$29,780	40
72	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida	$37,370	$18,320	190
73	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$34,820	$32,240	60
74	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$23,050	$18,760	n/a

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for fashion designers.