Floral Designers: Salary Overview
Floral designers, also called florists, make decorative floral displays using live, dried, and silk flowers.
They also help customers choose flowers, containers, and accessories.
A floral designer’s job description typically includes buying flowers and other products from manufacturers, determining what arrangement the client wants, recommending plants to clients, and designing the floral displays.
Floral designers may create a single arrangement for an occasion or multiple arrangements for weddings, funerals, or other events.
They need skills in a variety of areas, they should know the properties of flowers and other plants, color varieties of flowers, and how to combine flowers into an arrangement.
Florists need artistic skills, creativity, but also organizational abilities and customer-serving skills.
Floral designers also give instructions and advice to customers on how to care for flowers and other plants, what the ideal temperature is and how often should the flower be watered.
Some floral designers own their own shop and have to also complete business tasks, such as pricing, advertising, taxes, and inventory.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for floral designers in the United States was $28,040 in May 2019.
Salaries for this profession vary depending on a wide range of factors, including the florist’s level of experience and skills, the region of employment, and the employer.
The lowest 10 percent earned less than $19,710 a year while the highest 10 percent made more than $41,400 per year, according to the report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As an entry-level trainee, you will typically earn somewhere close to the minimum for this profession and start earning more as you gain experience and improve your artistic and customer-service skills.
Floral Designer Salary by Industry
As a floral designer you can be employed at a local florist shop, or you can work for a grocery store, for a wholesaler, or for a store.
Some experienced floral designers have their own florist shop.
Salaries for floral designers vary widely depending on their industry of employment.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics floral designers held about 55,500 jobs in the U.S. in 2018; 49% of them worked for florist shops and many (24%) were self-employed workers.
Floral Designers who worked for florist shops earned an average annual wage of $29,470 a year as of May 2019.
Those who worked for food and beverage stores made a mean annual wage of $30,670 and those who worked for merchant wholesalers earned an average annual salary of $28,570 per year.
The highest average salary was reported by floral designers who worked for promoters of performing arts, sports, and similar events- a field where the annual mean wage was $51,420.
Some floral designers own their own floral shop and their earnings vary depending on the region the shop is located, on the local economy, and on the time of the year, among other factors.
During busy times floral designers may work overtime to complete the orders.
They may sell more floral arrangements during holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or Mother’s Day.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for floral designers is projected to decline 14 percent from 2018 to 2028.
This is caused, in part, by the fact that the floral industry, in general, is projected to decline.
Nowadays, many people prefer to buy flowers from grocery stores that provide floral decorations or to order them online.
Local floral shops often fulfill orders that are received online from flower delivery services.
Employment opportunities for floral designers are expected to grow in grocery stores and to decline in florist shops.
Having training in this field and a certificate offered by the American Institute of Floral Designers may improve your chances of finding employment as a floral designer.
* Based on information from the May 2021 salary report from the BLS. The figures represent accumulated data for all states of employment for Floral Designers. BLS data represents averages and medians for workers at all levels of education and experience. This data doesn't represent starting salaries.
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.