National Salary Info » Fashion Designers

Highest Paying Industries for Fashion Designers

The top 44 highest paying industries 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 in those industries are also shown. As shown in the table, with an average annual salary of $80,470, management of companies and enterprises is the highest paying industry for fashion designers. It is followed by clothing stores industry (average annual salary $69,560). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2015 [1]. For more information about salaries of fashion designers in a specific industry, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 44 Highest Paying Industries for Fashion Designers

Rank	Industry	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$80,470	$43,890	2,370
2	Clothing Stores	$69,560	$23,040	n/a
3	Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores	$68,930	$23,130	n/a
4	Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing	$68,110	$36,310	2,840
5	Apparel Manufacturing	$67,080	$35,710	3,010
6	Temporary Help Services	$66,600	$35,310	340
7	Manufacturing	$66,430	$35,450	3,330
8	Employment Services	$66,200	$35,030	350
9	Administrative and Support Services	$66,200	$35,030	350
10	Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	$66,200	$35,030	350
11	Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services	$65,570	$33,830	n/a
12	Footwear Manufacturing	$65,240	$41,710	n/a
13	Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing	$63,430	$19,330	30
14	Miscellaneous Manufacturing	$63,430	$19,330	30
15	Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers	$62,120	$33,770	7,320
16	Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods	$62,050	$33,690	7,590
17	Wholesale Trade	$61,860	$33,430	8,140
18	Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing	$60,390	$37,550	230
19	Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers	$60,100	$29,430	450
20	Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers	$59,430	$32,130	270
21	Apparel Knitting Mills	$58,220	$35,200	40
22	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$57,540	$27,420	1,540
23	Specialized Design Services	$57,020	$27,060	1,430
24	Retail Trade	$56,350	$23,710	420
25	Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods	$55,510	$32,130	100
26	Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers	$55,180	$32,080	100
27	Other schools and instruction - Privately owned	$53,830	$29,810	n/a
28	Other Schools and Instruction	$53,830	$29,810	n/a
29	Educational Services - Privately owned	$52,410	$30,530	150
30	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - Privately owned	$52,080	$31,670	80
31	Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses	$51,570	$25,850	260
32	Other Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing	$51,430	$35,640	100
33	Nonstore Retailers	$51,080	$24,700	260
34	Educational Services	$45,930	$27,910	220
35	Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing	$44,660	$32,260	120
36	Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	$43,100	$27,130	140
37	Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	$39,770	$21,720	330
38	Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries	$38,450	$20,790	290
39	Performing Arts Companies	$38,230	$22,680	260
40	Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters	$37,310	$22,700	230
41	Public sector -- Federal, state, and local government, including government owned schools and hospit	$37,160	$26,020	90
42	State government, including schools and hospitals	$32,370	$25,910	60
43	Educational Services - State government owned	$32,100	$25,860	60
44	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - State government owned	$32,040	$25,850	60