Interior Designers pay range in Santa Maria
New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $47,590 a year or less, while the top 10% make $125,910 or more. The middle half of interior designers in Santa Maria earn between $65,480 and $98,100.
- $48K10th
- $65K25th
- $79KMedian
- $98K75th
- $126K90th
median average · bar = middle 50% of workers
| Pay level | Per year | Per month | Per hour* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average | $85,050 | $7,088 | $40.89 |
| Median | $78,960 | $6,580 | $37.96 |
| Entry level (25th percentile) | $65,480 | $5,457 | $31.48 |
| Experienced (75th percentile) | $98,100 | $8,175 | $47.16 |
*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.
Interior Designers salary after taxes in Santa Maria
On the average salary of $85,050, a single filer in Santa Maria takes home about $64,845 a year, or $5,404 a month and $2,494 every two weeks. Taxes take 24% 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 Santa Maria a good place for interior designers? Pay vs. cost of living
Prices in the Santa Maria area are 9% above the U.S. average (BEA price parity 108.8), so the average $85,050 buys what about $78,172 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 1.5 times the median wage of all jobs in Santa Maria ($51,690). A typical home costs $1,005,339, or 11.8 years of this average salary before tax.
Interior Designers salary in other California cities
Santa Maria ranks 5th 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 Santa Maria: questions
How much do interior designers make an hour in Santa Maria?
$40.89 an hour on average, and $37.96 at the median (BLS, May 2025).
What is the entry-level interior designers salary in Santa Maria?
The lowest-paid 10% earn about $47,590 a year and the 25th percentile is $65,480, a fair guide to starting pay.
What is the interior designers take-home pay in Santa Maria?
About $64,845 a year ($5,404 a month) for a single filer on the average salary of $85,050. California State Disability Insurance (1.3% of wages, paid by employees) is not included.
Do interior designers earn more in Santa Maria than elsewhere?
The average here is 13% 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 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA (42200). Relative standard error of the mean wage: 2.9%.
- 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 1.20, this job is about as common as in the U.S. overall.
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