According to the BLS, as of May 2013, interior designers in America made a mean annual wage of $54,200, with the lowest-paid 10 percent earning an annual wage of $26,490 or less, and those in the 90th percentile or above making an annual wage of at least $89,060.

However, keep in mind that the industry in which an interior designer is employed may affect those salary numbers. According to the BLS, the top-paying industries for interior designers in America as of May 2013 were:

• Federal executive branch: $73,980 annual mean wage

• Other personal services (may include self-employed designers or those in small design firms): $64,710 annual mean wage

• Management of Companies and Enterprises (business/commercial clients): $62,700 annual mean wage

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Pay also varies by location. The top-paying states for interior designers in America, as of May 2013, were:

1. District of Columbia: $78,390 annual mean wage

2. Massachusetts: $68,400 annual mean wage

3. New York: $64,610 annual mean wage

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The top-paying metropolitan areas for interior designers in America as of May 2013, according to the BLS, were:

• Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA: $77,100 annual mean wage

• San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA $75,700 annual mean wage (This is also the area that the BLS says also had the second-highest concentration of employment of interior designers)

• Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division: $71,880 annual mean wage.