Fashion Designers · SOC 27-1022

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Fashion Designerss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for fashion designers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (6 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 25 metro areas

Fashion Designers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$108,220	70	0.3
2	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$106,630	480	0.2
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$102,370	450	0.2
4	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$99,560	5,540	0.6
5	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$99,420	250	0.2
6	Boulder, CO	$98,680	60	0.3
7	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$96,760	180	0.1
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$85,220	Not published	Not published
9	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$82,130	110	0.1
10	Burlington-South Burlington, VT	$82,040	30	0.3
11	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$82,010	320	0.2
12	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$78,890	170	0.1
13	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$78,280	80	0.1
14	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$63,210	590	0.1
15	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$62,400	80	0.0
16	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$61,810	160	0.1
17	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$61,360	90	0.1
18	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$60,010	150	0.2
19	Kansas City, MO-KS	$59,150	50	0.0
20	Madison, WI	$57,030	70	0.2
21	Pittsburgh, PA	$53,950	50	0.0
22	Greensboro-High Point, NC	$52,840	70	0.2
23	Urban Honolulu, HI	$50,310	Not published	Not published
24	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$46,150	80	0.0
25	Logan, UT-ID	$44,680	30	0.5

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Fashion Designers overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.