Industrial Designer Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

How many industrial designers are there? About 48,000 in all. Workers can most likely expect a low rate of unemployment. Note that 4% of employees were without work in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Niles (Michigan), Detroit (Michigan), and Wausau (Wisconsin) boast the most industrial designers for their size population. Fort Worth (Texas), Tampa (Florida), and Fort Lauderdale (Florida) have the fewest.

The highest salaries for workers are in and around San Jose (California), Lowell (Massachusetts), and Warren (Michigan). The lowest-paying areas are Waterloo (Iowa), Boise (Idaho), and Sioux Falls (South Dakota).

Training and Education

Expect to get a bachelor's degree for this occupation. The share of industrial designers with a bachelor's degree or higher is 55%. About 31% of workers got additional education after high school, but did not have to get a college degree. There was no need to go beyond high school for 14% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

It is estimated that 17% of industrial designers work less than full time. Self-employment is the choice of 30% of workers.

Career Video for Industrial Designers

Industrial Designers by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)

In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.

Alabama

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Birmingham	$49,000	60	-49%
Huntsville	$50,000	30	-33%
Montgomery	$55,000	40	+9%

Arizona

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Phoenix	$57,000	550	+31%

California

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Oakland	$75,000	300	+29%
Oxnard	$71,000	50	-24%
Riverside	$56,000	170	-41%
San Diego	$62,000	310	+3%
San Francisco	$93,000	680	+202%
San Jose	$102,000	580	+180%
Santa Ana	$72,000	430	+25%

Colorado

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boulder	$59,000	80	+132%
Denver	$57,000	320	+14%

Connecticut

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bridgeport	$74,000	200	+106%
Hartford	$43,000	200	+54%
New Haven	$55,000	40	-35%

Florida

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Fort Lauderdale	$61,000	30	-82%
Tampa	$48,000	60	-78%

Georgia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Atlanta	$57,000	300	-44%
Augusta	$57,000	40	-10%

Hawaii

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Honolulu	$47,000	40	-59%

Idaho

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boise	$37,000	50	-15%

Illinois

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Chicago	$47,000	940	+9%

Indiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Elkhart	$52,000	90	+230%
Evansville	$49,000	50	+34%
Fort Wayne	$58,000	40	-13%
Indianapolis	$52,000	410	+104%
Terre Haute	$48,000	30	+114%

Iowa

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Des Moines	$46,000	70	-3%
Waterloo	$36,000	60	+242%

Kansas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Wichita	$51,000	80	+19%

Kentucky

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Lexington	$56,000	50	-6%
Louisville	$55,000	80	-42%

Louisiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Baton Rouge	$44,000	120	+47%

Maine

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Portland	$69,000	110	+150%

Maryland

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Baltimore	$43,000	150	-49%

Massachusetts

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boston	$71,000	290	-25%
Framingham	$73,000	130	+273%
Lowell	$79,000	40	+57%
Springfield	$70,000	50	-24%
Worcester	$46,000	30	-45%

Michigan

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Ann Arbor	$77,000	240	+575%
Detroit		1,330	+736%
Grand Rapids	$64,000	490	+482%
Holland	$60,000	50	+137%
Niles	$63,000	120	+870%
Warren	$77,000	2,110	+711%

Minnesota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Minneapolis	$80,000	900	+123%

Missouri

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Kansas City		200	-14%
Springfield	$51,000	100	+137%
St Louis	$59,000	230	-25%

Nebraska

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Omaha	$42,000	50	-52%

New Jersey

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Camden	$55,000	150	+27%
Edison	$61,000	270	+16%
Newark	$64,000	150	-34%
Trenton	$62,000	50	+7%

New York

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albany	$65,000	120	+23%
Buffalo	$54,000	130	+8%
Nassau	$55,000	490	+73%
New York	$68,000	1,840	+59%
Poughkeepsie	$60,000	60	+15%
Rochester	$63,000	130	+16%
Syracuse	$58,000	110	+61%
Utica	$50,000	60	+123%

North Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Asheville	$63,000	60	+56%
Charlotte	$61,000	110	-45%
Greensboro	$87,000	150	+82%
Hickory	$74,000	40	+15%
Raleigh	$65,000	50	-56%

Ohio

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Akron	$51,000	180	+142%
Canton	$46,000	30	-20%
Cincinnati	$58,000	310	+33%
Cleveland	$55,000	290	+21%
Columbus	$61,000	290	+38%
Dayton	$62,000	130	+50%
Toledo	$46,000	120	+74%

Oklahoma

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Oklahoma City	$43,000	180	+42%
Tulsa	$45,000	210	+116%

Oregon

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Eugene	$42,000	60	+89%
Portland	$60,000	310	+33%

Pennsylvania

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Erie	$44,000	60	+127%
Philadelphia	$55,000	460	+8%
Pittsburgh	$48,000	660	+158%
Reading	$52,000	60	+70%
York	$54,000	100	+158%

Rhode Island

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Providence	$59,000	490	+287%

South Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Greenville	$51,000	90	+34%

South Dakota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Sioux Falls	$35,000	40	+36%

Tennessee

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Chattanooga	$47,000	40	-21%
Knoxville	$68,000	50	-32%
Nashville	$46,000	110	-36%

Texas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Austin	$65,000	270	+58%
Dallas	$51,000	360	-24%
Fort Worth	$47,000	50	-74%
Houston	$57,000	210	-64%

Utah

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Ogden	$78,000	140	+224%
Salt Lake City	$60,000	170	+21%

Vermont

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Burlington	$67,000	80	+248%

Virginia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Virginia Beach	$52,000	60	-65%

Washington

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Seattle	$67,000	570	+76%

Wisconsin

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Appleton	$56,000	60	+151%
Eau Claire	$57,000	30	+93%
Green Bay	$51,000	80	+123%
Madison	$62,000	240	+226%
Milwaukee	$57,000	380	+99%
Racine	$59,000	50	+220%
Wausau	$55,000	110	+717%

Salary and employment data obtained from the United States Department of Labor. Individual salaries depend on location, education and career background. Thanks to CityTownInfo.com for this industrial designer schools and jobs info.

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