Prevailing Wage for Fashion Designers
The prevailing wage for Fashion Designers (SOC 27-1022) sets the minimum hourly or annual pay a U.S. employer must offer when sponsoring an Apparel Designer, Apparel and Accessories Designer, or similar role for an H-1B, E-3, or green card. DOL establishes four experience-based wage levels, and the floor shifts considerably depending on which city the worksite is located in.
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Level 1 covers entry-level designers with limited professional experience, typically under two years, working under close supervision on defined tasks. Employers filing here are usually onboarding recent graduates or junior Apparel Designers with narrow responsibilities and no independent design authority.
Level 2 applies to qualified designers with moderate experience who work with some independence. This is the most common filing level for Fashion Designers, reflecting mid-career professionals who handle full design cycles but still operate within established brand guidelines.
Level 3 covers experienced designers who exercise substantial independent judgment, lead projects, and may mentor junior staff. Candidates at this level often have six or more years of specialized experience in apparel, accessories, or costume design and manage complex design briefs.
Level 4 is reserved for fully competent senior designers with recognized expertise, broad creative authority, and frequent supervisory responsibilities. Costume Designers or Fashion Graphic Designers directing entire collections or design teams typically fall here, commanding the highest prevailing wage floor.
Prevailing Wage for Fashion Designers by OES area
Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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Confirm your title maps to SOC 27-1022
Job postings for Costume Designers, Fashion Graphic Designers, or Apparel and Accessories Designers sometimes get filed under adjacent SOC codes, pulling the prevailing wage floor away from this occupation. Verify your offer letter title aligns with the LCA before accepting.
Account for New York versus Phoenix wage gaps
The prevailing wage floor for this occupation varies dramatically by worksite. A qualified designer in New York or Boston faces a significantly higher L2 floor than the same role in Phoenix or Minneapolis. Confirm the wage on your LCA matches the actual worksite city, not headquarters.
Exclude signing bonuses from your base wage calculation
DOL requires the prevailing wage be met through regular wages, not signing bonuses or project-based allowances common in fashion houses. A one-time signing payment does not count toward satisfying the annual wage floor on your LCA.
Find employers who have sponsored Fashion Designers before
On Migrate Mate, you can filter by role and see which companies have historical H-1B or E-3 sponsorship records specifically for design occupations, helping you target apparel and accessories employers with proven sponsorship track records rather than guessing from job postings.
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Find Jobs for Fashion DesignersPrevailing Wage by Reported Job Title
DOL classifies these titles under SOC 27-1022.00 alongside Fashion Designers, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.
Apparel and Accessories Designer Prevailing Wage
Apparel and Accessories Designer Prevailing Wage
Apparel and Accessories Designer positions fall under SOC 27-1022.00 (Fashion Designers). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Apparel Designer Prevailing Wage
Apparel Designer Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Apparel Designer for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 27-1022.00 (Fashion Designers). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Costume Designer Prevailing Wage
Costume Designer Prevailing Wage
Costume Designer is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 27-1022.00 (Fashion Designers). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Designer Prevailing Wage
Designer Prevailing Wage
Designer positions fall under SOC 27-1022.00 (Fashion Designers). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Fashion Design Contractor Prevailing Wage
Fashion Design Contractor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Fashion Design Contractor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 27-1022.00 (Fashion Designers). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Fashion Graphic Designer Prevailing Wage
Fashion Graphic Designer Prevailing Wage
Fashion Graphic Designer is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 27-1022.00 (Fashion Designers). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Fashion Stylist Prevailing Wage
Fashion Stylist Prevailing Wage
Fashion Stylist positions fall under SOC 27-1022.00 (Fashion Designers). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Handbag Designer Prevailing Wage
Handbag Designer Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Handbag Designer for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 27-1022.00 (Fashion Designers). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Product Developer Prevailing Wage
Product Developer Prevailing Wage
Product Developer is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 27-1022.00 (Fashion Designers). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Fashion Designers?
DOL calculates prevailing wages using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For SOC 27-1022, BLS collects wage data across participating metro areas and national aggregates. OFLC then publishes four wage levels derived from those surveys. Employers must certify on the Labor Condition Application that they will pay at least the applicable level for the worksite location.
What do the four wage levels mean, and how do I identify mine?
DOL uses levels tied to experience, supervision, and job complexity. Level 1 is entry-level with close supervision. Level 2 is a qualified professional working with moderate independence, which covers most sponsored fashion design roles. Level 3 reflects experienced practitioners with substantial judgment. Level 4 covers fully competent senior or lead designers. Your level should match the actual duties and required experience described in the job posting and LCA, not just your years of experience alone.
Why does the prevailing wage for the same role differ so much city to city?
OFLC bases wages on regional Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys, so local labor market conditions drive the floor. A metro with a high concentration of fashion employers, like New York, produces higher surveyed wages than a market with fewer design roles. The LCA rule requires employers to use the wage for the actual worksite location, so a designer working remotely from Phoenix cannot be paid at New York rates, and vice versa.
What happens if a job offer is below the prevailing wage for a sponsored position?
An employer cannot certify a compliant LCA if the offered wage falls below the DOL floor for the applicable level and worksite. USCIS will not approve an H-1B petition built on a deficient LCA. For green card PERM cases, OFLC will reject an application where the offered wage is below the prevailing wage determination. The employer must raise the offer or refile at the correct wage level before sponsorship can proceed.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for Fashion Designers in a specific U.S. city?
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool to look up SOC 27-1022 wages by metro area and wage level. Select the current survey year, enter the occupation code or title, and choose the worksite metro. You can also review the O*NET profile for this occupation to confirm the SOC code before searching. For finding employers with active sponsorship history, Migrate Mate lets you filter design roles by location and visa type to see which companies have sponsored the occupation before.
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