Fashion Designers
SOC 27-1022 · 2024-2034
Design clothing and accessories. Create original designs or adapt fashion trends.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
Shrinking -3.7%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- Not reported
- Projected openings
- 6,620
- Projected change
- -3.7%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Active Learning
- Time Management
- Social Perceptiveness
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $102,954 | 120 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $99,309 | 140 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $96,014 | 4,130 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $93,473 | 620 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $85,922 | 160 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | Not reported | 150 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | Not reported | 190 |
What the pay actually ranges across
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial and Industrial Designers | $103,591 | 4,320 | +1.9% |
| Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers | $45,372 | 6,190 | -9.6% |
| Costume Attendants | $73,855 | 4,480 | +12.5% |
| Graphic Designers | $77,233 | 24,970 | +1.2% |
| Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers | $48,326 | 19,470 | +2.7% |
Programs that train for this job — 3
Patternmaking Certificate of Achievement
City College of San Francisco · San Francisco · $2,016
Apparel Construction
City College of San Francisco · San Francisco · $1,007
Fashion Design Certificate of Achievement
City College of San Francisco · San Francisco · $2,120