Talent Maps / San Antonio / Architects

San Antonio Architect Talent Map (2026)

What architects earn in San Antonio, which firms employ them and the arena, airport, hospital and school projects shaping the market.

Hiring architects in San Antonio?

A talent map shows where a group of professionals works, what they are paid and who else is trying to hire them. This one covers architects in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro area. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and firm and market data from 2025 and 2026. Our San Antonio architectural recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our San Antonio CAD designer, structural engineer and civil engineer talent maps.

$84,130Median architect pay in San AntonioBLS, May 2025

$78,880Median landscape architect pay in San AntonioBLS, May 2025

$1.3BNew downtown Spurs arena, approved by Bexar County voters in November 2025Construction Dive

18Gates in the airport’s new Terminal C, opening mid-2028San Antonio International Airport

$1.53BCombined budget for University Health’s Retama and Palo Alto hospitalsUniversity Health

8 yearsNAAB accreditation term UTSA’s M.Arch received in November 2025UT San Antonio

Architect salaries in San Antonio

The median architect in metro San Antonio earns $84,130 a year, about $10,400 below the Texas median of $94,490 and about $15,200 below the national median of $99,280. San Antonio pays less than Austin, where the median is $96,600, and Houston at $97,590. The middle half earn between $74,070 and $105,910, and the top 10% earn $135,180 or more.

Annual pay percentile	San Antonio metro	Texas	United States
10th percentile	$59,770	$60,730	$62,300
25th percentile	$74,070	$76,730	$77,960
Median	$84,130	$94,490	$99,280
75th percentile	$105,910	$121,670	$126,550
90th percentile	$135,180	$142,130	$161,420

Architects, except landscape and naval (SOC 17-1011). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine.

Related roles in San Antonio: landscape architects earn a median of $78,880, interior designers $61,510 and architectural and civil drafters $58,750.

Where San Antonio’s architects work

Founded in San Antonio

Lake Flato, founded in 1984, was the 2004 AIA Firm of the Year and has won 17 AIA COTE Top Ten awards. Its founders, David Lake and Ted Flato, received the 2024 AIA Gold Medal.

Alamo Architects, also founded in 1984, has nearly 70 people. Ford, Powell & Carson traces its roots to O’Neil Ford, who arrived in San Antonio in 1939.

Long-running local practices

Alta Architects, founded in 1927, was known as Kell Muñoz and then Muñoz & Company before taking its current name in 2020. RVK (Rehler Vaughn & Koone), founded in 1971, has over 45 employees and is the largest woman-owned architecture firm in San Antonio.

Overland Partners had 90 employees across five offices in 2023.

Firms with San Antonio and Austin offices

Marmon Mok, Clayton Korte, O’Connell Robertson (in San Antonio since 2000) and Pfluger Architects work from both cities. Gensler also has a San Antonio office.

Owners

University Health, UT Health San Antonio, Bexar County, the airport, Port San Antonio and the school districts hire architects and manage design contracts.

Where the talent sits: San Antonio submarkets

Downtown and Hemisfair

SportsCivic

Lake Flato’s office on Third Street, the planned Spurs arena and Civic Park at Hemisfair, designed by GGN with Alamo Architects.

The Pearl and central city

K-12Design studios

Pfluger’s office at the Pearl. San Antonio ISD has a $600 million bond on the November 2026 ballot.

North Central and the airport

AviationHealthcare

Marmon Mok on NE Loop 410, near San Antonio International Airport and its Terminal C program.

Northside and Northeast

K-12Public sector

North East ISD passed $483 million of a $495 million bond in 2025, and Northside ISD has about $886 million on the November 2026 ballot.

Port San Antonio

Mixed useDevelopment

The Innovation Tower, designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners, is about 300,000 square feet and due to be finished by 2028.

What’s shaping the San Antonio architecture market

Spurs arena. Bexar County voters approved Proposition B on November 4, 2025, by 128,642 votes to 118,068. The $1.3 billion arena is funded by about $311 million from the county, $489 million from the city and $500 million from the Spurs. In May 2026 the Spurs named Overland International as arena architect, Sasaki as district planner and Pape-Dawson as civil engineer. Mortenson and Bartlett Cocke are the construction managers.
Airport. Terminal C, designed by Corgan with Lake Flato, will have 18 gates and more than 850,000 square feet. It broke ground in December 2024 and is due to open in mid-2028.
Hospitals. University Health’s Retama hospital opens in February 2027 and its Palo Alto hospital in April 2027, growing to 167 and 227 beds in 2028, on a combined $1.53 billion budget. ESa is design architect and Marmon Mok architect of record. UT Health San Antonio’s 144-bed hospital, designed by Alamo Architects with Page, opened in December 2024.
Schools. North East ISD voters approved $483 million of a $495 million bond in November 2025. Northside ISD (about $886 million) and San Antonio ISD ($600 million) have proposed bonds on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Port San Antonio. The Pelli Clarke & Partners Innovation Tower is targeted to break ground in 2026.
Landscape work. Civic Park at Hemisfair, by GGN with Alamo Architects, won a 2026 ASLA Honor Award.

The talent pipeline

UT San Antonio. UTSA’s M.Arch received an eight-year NAAB term in November 2025, with its next visit in 2033.
Texas A&M and UT Austin. Texas A&M’s M.Arch has an eight-year NAAB term, with its next visit in 2031. UT Austin has a NAAB-accredited B.Arch and two M.Arch tracks.

What this means if you’re hiring

Healthcare and aviation run through 2028. The new hospitals and Terminal C keep architects with those portfolios busy.
Expect Austin pay comparisons. San Antonio’s median is $12,470 below Austin’s, and candidates from Austin firms will expect more.
K-12 work may grow. Two large district bonds are on the November 2026 ballot.
Recruit from UTSA. Its newly renewed M.Arch is the metro’s main source of new architects.

Need architects in San Antonio?

Apollo Technical has recruited for architecture and engineering firms since 2010. Our recruiting teams place architects, project architects and designers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 512.686.1181 or see our San Antonio architectural recruiters page.

Hire architects in San Antonio

Frequently asked questions

How much do architects make in San Antonio?

The median architect salary in metro San Antonio is $84,130 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $74,070 and $105,910, and the top 10% earn $135,180 or more.

Do architects earn more in San Antonio or Austin?

Austin. The median architect in metro Austin earns $96,600, against $84,130 in metro San Antonio. Both are below the national median of $99,280.

Who is designing the new Spurs arena?

The Spurs named Overland International as arena architect in May 2026, with Sasaki as district planner and Pape-Dawson as civil engineer. Overland International is a different firm from San Antonio’s Overland Partners.

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