Interior Designers pay range in San Francisco
New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $62,220 a year or less, while the top 10% make $149,760 or more. The middle half of interior designers in San Francisco earn between $76,620 and $124,420.
- $62K10th
- $77K25th
- $87KMedian
- $124K75th
- $150K90th
median average · bar = middle 50% of workers
| Pay level | Per year | Per month | Per hour* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average | $99,350 | $8,279 | $47.76 |
| Median | $87,460 | $7,288 | $42.05 |
| Entry level (25th percentile) | $76,620 | $6,385 | $36.84 |
| Experienced (75th percentile) | $124,420 | $10,368 | $59.82 |
*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.
Interior Designers salary after taxes in San Francisco
On the average salary of $99,350, a single filer in San Francisco takes home about $73,575 a year, or $6,131 a month and $2,830 every two weeks. Taxes take 26% of gross pay.
Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2025 rules). California State Disability Insurance (1.3% of wages, paid by employees) is not included.
Is San Francisco a good place for interior designers? Pay vs. cost of living
Prices in the San Francisco area are 16% above the U.S. average (BEA price parity 115.6), so the average $99,350 buys what about $85,933 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 1.2 times the median wage of all jobs in San Francisco ($74,260). A typical home costs $1,149,215, or 11.6 years of this average salary before tax.
Interior Designers salary in other California cities
San Francisco ranks 2nd of 14 California metro areas for this job; San Jose pays the most ($100,980).
- San Jose$100,980
- San Francisco$99,350
- Los Angeles$88,370
- San Diego$86,370
- Santa Maria$85,050
- Salinas$84,840
- Santa Rosa$84,560
- San Luis Obispo$83,690
- Sacramento$83,160
- Riverside$82,060
Highest-paying cities for interior designers
San Jose, CA pays this job the most of the metro areas we cover ($100,980).
- San Jose, CA$100,980
- San Francisco, CA$99,350
- Las Vegas, NV$92,760
- Denver, CO$89,330
- Los Angeles, CA$88,370
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Interior Designers salary in San Francisco: questions
How much do interior designers make an hour in San Francisco?
$47.77 an hour on average, and $42.05 at the median (BLS, May 2025).
What is the entry-level interior designers salary in San Francisco?
The lowest-paid 10% earn about $62,220 a year and the 25th percentile is $76,620, a fair guide to starting pay.
What is the interior designers take-home pay in San Francisco?
About $73,575 a year ($6,131 a month) for a single filer on the average salary of $99,350. California State Disability Insurance (1.3% of wages, paid by employees) is not included.
Do interior designers earn more in San Francisco than elsewhere?
The average here is 32% more than the U.S. metro average for this job ($75,508).
Sources and how to read this page
- Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates for metropolitan areas. SOC code 27-1025; area San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA (41860). Relative standard error of the mean wage: 3.5%.
- Cost of living: Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities (RPP), 2024; 100 = U.S. average.
- Home value: Zillow Home Value Index. Typical-wage figure: OEWS all occupations, same metro.
- Take-home pay: Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2025 rules). California State Disability Insurance (1.3% of wages, paid by employees) is not included.
- Job concentration: location quotient 1.66, this job is 1.7 times as concentrated as in the U.S. overall.
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