Average Salary

• Fashion designers across all different industries earned an average annual salary of $74,440 per year in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both StateUniversity.com and FashionDesignerSalaryData.com indicate that the average salary for independent or self-employed fashion designers is typically less than that earned by fashion stylists who work for others. The BLS indicates that those who worked in the specialized design services field made an average salary of $66,600 per year in 2010.
  
  

Pay Scale

• Placing the average salary of independent and other employed fashion stylists within the larger pay scale for all fashion stylists nationwide can provide some additional context. According to the BLS, fashion designer salaries can range from as low as $32,500 to as high as $130,890 or more per year, as of 2010. The medians salary for those working in this field was $64,530 per year, with those in the middle half of the pay scale making between $44,150 and $90,590 on an annual basis.
  
  

Location

• Where the fashion stylist is employed provides further indication of how much she can generally expect to make, in terms of average salary. The BLS reports that fashion stylists in New Hampshire were the highest earners in the fashion design field in 2010, making nearly $88,000 per year, on average. However, larger numbers of fashion stylists worked in California and New York, earning salaries of $72,500 and $82,000 per year, respectively.
  
  

Job Outlook

• Breaking into the fashion industry is no easy feat. The fashion world is one that depends heavily upon networking and knowing people within the industry to get your foot in the door. The job forecast for those working in this field from 2008 to 2018 appears less than favorable, based on job growth projections made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau indicates that that the number of jobs in this field will grow by very little or not all during this period. Fashion design is a highly competitive industry that requires not only connections, but also creative vision, talent, education and even a little bit of luck.