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Visual Merchandiser

$37,350
median pay per year
full range coming in the next data update

What the job actually is

Design and set up store displays and windows that draw shoppers in and show off featured products.

Where you work

Retail stores and showroom floors

The hours

Daytime hours, extra before holidays

By the numbers

May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$37,350
per year
What most earn
range coming soon
Openings a year
~20,800
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+3%
About average
Working in the U.S.
193,000
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

How you get in

Typical starting education

High school / no degree

Training path: On-the-job training, paid.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

What it takes

Visual designCreativityAttention to detailTrend awareness

The honest take

The creative side of retail, designing displays that sell — a rare art-leaning job you can enter without a degree.

Standard Occupational Classification 27-1026. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.