The Salary of a Set Designer Artist

Setting the Stage

Set designers numbered approximately 8,120 at the time of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Occupational Employment and Wages report, released in May 2010. The bureau’s report cited $46,680 as the midrange figure for the profession, with a pay scale of $25,580 in the 10th percentile and $84,180 in the 90th percentile.

The motion picture and video industry category of the BLS employed the most set designers in the country, paying an annual mean wage of $68,540, the second-highest for the profession. Only the amusement parks and arcades category paid higher – but employed far fewer set designers – with wages of $86,210. The second-largest employer of set designers, museums and historical sites, paid a slightly below-average wage of $45,130. Performing arts companies, employing the third-largest contingent of set designers, paid an even lower wage of $39,740 per year.

Maryland’s set designers had the highest salaries in the country, with annual wages of $63,930. Set designers in the District of Columbia had the second-highest wages, at $62,040. Louisiana’s set designers placed third, earning salaries of $61,050, followed by those in Massachusetts, taking in $59,800. Set designers in Oregon closed out the top five highest salaries in the bureau’s list, earning $59,710 annually.

California was named to the top of the bureau’s list of states with the highest employment level in the set design profession. California also paid a higher than average wage of $57,740. In second place for employment level, New York also had an above-average salary for the profession at $59,450. High employment didn’t always mean high salary. Texas, home to the third-highest employment level of set designers, had a below-average wage of $42,180. Pennsylvania, in fourth place for employment level, was significantly lower than average, with wages of $35,000. Virginia, with the fifth-highest employment level, just beat the national average with statewide wages of $46,760.