Interior Designers
Also called: Designer, Interior Design Consultant, Interior Design Coordinator, Interior DesignerPlan, 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.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 9 of its 15 rated tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 2.7% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 2.0% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.9 hires for every 10 job openings in professional and business services, which employs about 66% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.9 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $61,050 | $41,240 to $75,430 | 620 |
| Alaska | $63,320 | $60,150 to $83,960 | 40 |
| Arizona | $61,460 | $55,150 to $81,110 | 1,600 |
| Arkansas | $69,990 | $57,560 to $99,850 | 740 |
| California | $80,230 | $63,370 to $102,940 | 8,500 |
| Colorado | $78,390 | $61,790 to $102,510 | 2,300 |
| Connecticut | $67,330 | $53,780 to $82,750 | 630 |
| Delaware | $60,360 | $57,400 to $71,490 | 190 |
| District of Columbia | $98,450 | $75,980 to $127,070 | 620 |
| Florida | $60,860 | $47,270 to $79,300 | 7,410 |
| Georgia | $71,760 | $52,750 to $94,530 | 3,050 |
| Hawaii | $63,780 | $52,040 to $79,990 | 270 |
| Idaho | not published | not published | 350 |
| Illinois | $76,290 | $59,870 to $93,090 | 2,570 |
| Indiana | $62,580 | $49,060 to $76,950 | 1,020 |
| Iowa | $58,040 | $47,830 to $74,590 | 510 |
| Kansas | $61,090 | $49,110 to $79,590 | 400 |
| Kentucky | $59,240 | $44,430 to $75,630 | 490 |
| Louisiana | $60,610 | $45,990 to $69,120 | 350 |
| Maine | $63,830 | $52,630 to $72,520 | 230 |
| Maryland | $65,070 | $59,310 to $80,110 | 1,440 |
| Massachusetts | $80,110 | $61,640 to $95,410 | 1,580 |
| Michigan | $59,340 | $47,620 to $75,640 | 1,930 |
| Minnesota | $73,270 | $54,070 to $83,920 | 1,220 |
| Mississippi | $43,740 | $34,250 to $55,280 | 330 |
| Missouri | $59,610 | $49,340 to $79,700 | 1,010 |
| Montana | $61,770 | $43,750 to $78,850 | 290 |
| Nebraska | $64,870 | $50,870 to $86,310 | 430 |
| Nevada | not published | not published | 590 |
| New Hampshire | $64,140 | $47,580 to $75,760 | 300 |
| New Jersey | $74,020 | $58,810 to $104,060 | 1,670 |
| New Mexico | $60,850 | $47,990 to $72,800 | 90 |
| New York | $75,580 | $48,980 to $93,100 | 5,340 |
| North Carolina | $61,400 | $49,490 to $78,210 | 2,610 |
| North Dakota | $59,190 | $47,740 to $64,730 | 160 |
| Ohio | $61,410 | $51,160 to $83,880 | 2,180 |
| Oklahoma | $68,520 | $46,670 to $82,060 | 490 |
| Oregon | $66,350 | $58,320 to $84,310 | 1,030 |
| Pennsylvania | $62,400 | $50,560 to $81,330 | 1,820 |
| Puerto Rico | $32,150 | $30,200 to $41,140 | 130 |
| Rhode Island | $58,100 | $50,290 to $76,810 | 550 |
| South Carolina | $63,790 | $48,610 to $84,510 | 940 |
| South Dakota | $65,220 | $58,620 to $77,420 | 150 |
| Tennessee | $63,660 | $48,260 to $79,730 | 1,530 |
| Texas | $65,160 | $49,180 to $81,850 | 6,450 |
| Utah | $61,740 | $52,830 to $74,660 | 1,110 |
| Vermont | $63,870 | $54,190 to $78,670 | 110 |
| Virginia | $62,560 | $49,980 to $81,680 | 1,550 |
| Washington | $76,570 | $63,370 to $96,470 | 1,330 |
| West Virginia | $49,800 | $39,850 to $59,610 | 90 |
| Wisconsin | $62,740 | $48,670 to $77,460 | 1,200 |
| Wyoming | $96,100 | $64,300 to $105,160 | 90 |
Nationally: $67,190. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 9 of its 15 rated tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Design plans to be safe and to be compliant with the American Disabilities Act (ADA). | Not published |
| Not rated | Research health and safety code requirements to inform design. | Not published |
| AI + software | Confer with client to determine factors affecting planning of interior environments, such as budget, architectural preferences, purpose, and function. | Not published |
| AI alone | Advise client on interior design factors, such as space planning, layout and use of furnishings or equipment, and color coordination. | 0.03% |
| Not much | Coordinate with other professionals, such as contractors, architects, engineers, and plumbers, to ensure job success. | Not published |
| AI + software | Review and detail shop drawings for construction plans. | Not published |
See all 16 tasks
| Not much | Inspect construction work on site to ensure its adherence to the design plans. | Not published |
| AI + software | Use computer-aided drafting (CAD) and related software to produce construction documents. | Not published |
| AI + software | Render design ideas in form of paste-ups or drawings. | Not published |
| Not much | Select or design, and purchase furnishings, art work, and accessories. | Not published |
| AI alone | Research and explore the use of new materials, technologies, and products to incorporate into designs. | Not published |
| AI + software | Estimate material requirements and costs, and present design to client for approval. | 0.01% |
| AI + software | Design spaces to be environmentally friendly, using sustainable, recycled materials when feasible. | Not published |
| Not much | Formulate environmental plan to be practical, esthetic, and conducive to intended purposes, such as raising productivity or selling merchandise. | Not published |
| Not much | Subcontract fabrication, installation, and arrangement of carpeting, fixtures, accessories, draperies, paint and wall coverings, art work, furniture, and related items. | Not published |
| AI + software | Plan and design interior environments for boats, planes, buses, trains, and other enclosed spaces. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 2 of the 16 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 16 tasks fall under 13 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- #7 Explain technical details of products or services
- #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- and 3 more, in the table below
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design structures or facilities | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Create visual designs or displays | |||
| Confer with clients to determine needs or order specifications | |||
| Direct construction or extraction activities | |||
| Explain technical details of products or services | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Create artistic designs or performances |
Show all 13 activities
| Select materials or equipment for operations or projects | |||
| Estimate project development or operational costs | |||
| Inspect facilities or equipment | |||
| Investigate the environmental impact of industrial or development activities | |||
| Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Advice or a recommendation17%
- A chart or visualization15%
- A design mockup15%
- A document or report13%
- A plan or strategy10%
How they worked with Claude
32% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for interior designers specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 21,831 moves out
- 1 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 7%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 3 Designers, All Other High +1.2% 5%
- 4 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 4%
- 5 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 25,074 moves in
- 1 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 8%
- 2 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 7%
- 3 Designers, All Other High +1.2% 5%
- 4 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 5 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 4% some college
- 4% associate's
- 84% bachelor's
- 4% master's
- 4% professional doctorate
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 25 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 1% less than high school
- 6% high school
- 13% some college
- 12% associate's
- 55% bachelor's
- 11% master's
- 2% professional degree
- 1% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 1,186 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
7 programs, such as Healthcare Environment Design/Architecture, Interior Architecture and Facilities Planning and Management.
See all
- Healthcare Environment Design/Architecture
- Interior Architecture
- Facilities Planning and Management
- Housing and Human Environments, Other
- Textile Science
- Design for Human Health
- Interior Design
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (INTERIOR DESIGNER). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Interior Designers” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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