How much do industrial designers make in 2026?
Industrial designers are reported in SOC 27-1021, commercial and industrial designers, which BLS OEWS May 2025 puts at a national median of $83,910 a year, or $40.34 an hour, with a P10 to P90 range of $53,460 to $139,770 across 33,490 workers. This is a close match, and the code covers designers of manufactured products across every sector, which is where the variation comes from. Pay tracks the economics of the product. Designers working on medical devices, automotive interiors, aerospace cabins and capital equipment sit in the upper half of this band, because the products carry high margins, long development cycles and regulatory constraints that make design expertise expensive to replace. Designers working on consumer housewares, toys, furniture and packaging-adjacent products sit lower, in sectors where tooling cost discipline and speed matter more than design depth. The second variable is whether the designer works in-house for a manufacturer, where the role includes design for manufacture and sustained engagement with engineering, or in a consultancy, where the work is more concept-weighted and the compensation more project-driven. BLS projects 3.2% growth through 2034 with roughly 2,500 openings a year. → Full industrial designer career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $83,910 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Industrial Designers earn a national median $83,910/yr ($40.34/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 27-1021); the P10 to P90 range is $53,460 to $139,770.
- Sector economics set the range: medical device, automotive, aerospace and capital equipment design sit in the upper half of this band, consumer housewares, toys and furniture below it.
- In-house manufacturer roles reward design-for-manufacture depth and engineering fluency; consultancy roles reward concept range and are more project-driven in compensation.
- This is a small occupation with roughly 2,500 openings a year, so geography and sector concentration matter more for finding work than the modeled state spread suggests.
US Industrial Designer Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do industrial designers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 27-1021; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 27-1021, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does an industrial designer earn at each career stage?
Industrial design pay follows product economics and engineering depth. Each median below is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 27-1021.
By State
Which states pay industrial designers the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates, not BLS state observations: the national median for SOC 27-1021 scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index. Industrial design follows manufacturing and product development sites rather than general wage levels, so Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota and North Carolina hold concentrations this cost-of-living model does not reflect.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($96,500), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay industrial designers the most?
Metro figures are modeled, national median times state wage index times published metro index, not BLS metropolitan observations. The relevant map for this occupation is where products are developed, which includes several mid-sized manufacturing metros absent from a general cost index.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise an industrial designer’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does industrial designer pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Industrial Designers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify industrial designer wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does an industrial designer actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Industrial Designer Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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