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The national median salary for Architects, Except Landscape and Naval is $99,278 per year ($47.73/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $77,958 and $126,547 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $161,429 per year. There are approximately 106,770 architects, except landscape and naval employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Plan and design structures, such as private residences, office buildings, theaters, factories, and other structural property.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+3.9%
About as fast as average
Annual openings
8K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
124K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
6% from new growth94% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Bachelor's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Internship/residency
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services
NAICS 541300
92K
$98,440
Residential Building Construction
NAICS 236100
2K
$89,580
Specialized Design Services
NAICS 541400
2K
$96,730
Nonresidential Building Construction
NAICS 236200
2K
$101,790
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999100
2K
$118,440
Wage range across top 5 industries: $89,580 to $118,440 (32% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$29.95
$62,296
P25
$37.48
$77,958
P50MEDIAN
$47.73
$99,278
P75
$60.84
$126,547
P90
$77.61
$161,429
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · professional sector
Cooling
Openings Rate
4.2%
Quits Rate
2.0%
Professional & Business Services openings tumbled 318K in March -- the largest single-sector drop in this release. Openings rate fell from 5.5% to 4.2%. Layoffs jumped to 527K (+99K). White-collar demand has cooled abruptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average architects, except landscape and naval salary?
The national median salary for Architects, Except Landscape and Naval is $99,278 per year ($47.73/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $77,958 and $126,547 annually.
How much do top-earning architects, except landscape and naval make?
The 90th percentile salary for Architects, Except Landscape and Naval is $161,429 per year ($77.61/hr). The 75th percentile is $126,547 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for architects, except landscape and naval?
Entry-level Architects, Except Landscape and Naval (10th percentile) earn approximately $62,296 per year ($29.95/hr). The 25th percentile is $77,958 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.