Architect Salary (2026)
Typical pay is $99,280 a year, with most architects earning between $77,960 and $126,550. Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Salary Calculator›Architect
Nationally, the typical architect earns $99,280 a year. Early-career pay starts around $77,960, experienced architects earn $126,550 or more, and the top 10% make over $161,420. About 106,770 people work in this occupation in the US. Pay is highest in Wyoming ($120,580) and, among metro areas, in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($129,640).
Architect salary in the United States
Annual pay, BLS survey of May 2025
What architects do
Architects design buildings and spaces, from concept through construction documents, and coordinate engineers and consultants. A professional degree, years of supervised experience and a state license are required to practice as an architect.
Architect salary by state
Typical annual pay for architects in every state where BLS publishes figures, highest first.
| State | Typical | Early career | Experienced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | $120,580 | $78,910 | $123,500 |
| Massachusetts | $117,330 | $87,050 | $127,780 |
| Maryland | $114,550 | $81,280 | $148,700 |
| Alaska | $108,730 | $79,330 | $129,990 |
| California | $108,540 | $85,990 | $152,430 |
| Rhode Island | $105,160 | $79,810 | $126,030 |
| Connecticut | $103,540 | $78,510 | $124,150 |
| South Dakota | $102,500 | $76,890 | $128,200 |
| Colorado | $102,400 | $80,660 | $128,950 |
| Hawaii | $102,340 | $73,690 | $107,370 |
| District of Columbia | $102,040 | $78,110 | $130,200 |
| Arizona | $102,000 | $84,080 | $124,390 |
| Nevada | $101,570 | $79,470 | $129,230 |
| South Carolina | $101,550 | $75,140 | $130,570 |
| New Hampshire | $101,100 | $75,850 | $108,020 |
| Georgia | $100,420 | $83,210 | $130,810 |
| Oklahoma | $100,350 | $75,630 | $121,050 |
| Washington | $100,190 | $80,960 | $114,430 |
| Minnesota | $99,940 | $79,030 | $122,290 |
| New Jersey | $99,800 | $84,400 | $132,670 |
| New York | $99,280 | $76,950 | $128,690 |
| Oregon | $98,800 | $80,100 | $117,290 |
| Wisconsin | $98,510 | $79,920 | $120,520 |
| Missouri | $98,490 | $77,530 | $128,380 |
| Kentucky | $97,680 | $75,420 | $116,460 |
| Virginia | $97,680 | $78,300 | $125,750 |
| Montana | $97,290 | $74,700 | $127,900 |
| North Dakota | $97,110 | $79,110 | $123,210 |
| Delaware | $97,030 | $91,700 | $118,530 |
| Pennsylvania | $97,030 | $73,550 | $121,530 |
| Iowa | $96,810 | $67,830 | $122,050 |
| West Virginia | $96,470 | $79,240 | $105,520 |
| Florida | $96,240 | $76,550 | $122,940 |
| Indiana | $96,060 | $63,040 | $127,440 |
| Alabama | $95,990 | $76,340 | $133,150 |
| North Carolina | $95,700 | $79,010 | $122,960 |
| Utah | $95,590 | $77,630 | $124,660 |
| Ohio | $94,960 | $64,450 | $122,590 |
| Texas | $94,490 | $76,730 | $121,670 |
| Tennessee | $94,030 | $76,070 | $118,090 |
| Idaho | $93,710 | $68,860 | $107,990 |
| Nebraska | $91,530 | $60,460 | $113,530 |
| Michigan | $88,430 | $67,360 | $108,300 |
| Kansas | $85,490 | $73,320 | $103,490 |
| Vermont | $82,400 | $63,400 | $99,990 |
| Illinois | $81,780 | $65,110 | $105,090 |
| Mississippi | $80,870 | $67,410 | $114,170 |
| Louisiana | $79,580 | $61,110 | $110,950 |
| Maine | $78,600 | $65,460 | $101,150 |
| Arkansas | $78,190 | $64,170 | $100,490 |
| New Mexico | $77,720 | $61,040 | $97,870 |
Highest-paying metro areas
| Metro area | Typical |
|---|---|
| 1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $129,640 |
| 2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $126,550 |
| 3. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $125,980 |
| 4. Modesto, CA | $124,810 |
| 5. Barnstable Town, MA | $120,460 |
| 6. Redding, CA | $120,060 |
| 7. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $120,040 |
| 8. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $119,120 |
| 9. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $115,960 |
| 10. Rapid City, SD | $115,600 |
| 11. Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | $114,880 |
| 12. Glens Falls, NY | $111,200 |
| 13. Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $111,070 |
| 14. Appleton, WI | $110,990 |
| 15. Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $109,140 |
Pay in Apollo's markets
| Metro | Typical |
|---|---|
| Atlanta | $103,330 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $93,840 |
| Houston | $97,590 |
| Austin | $96,600 |
| Charlotte | $98,620 |
| Raleigh | $91,570 |
| San Antonio | $84,130 |
| Chicago | $81,790 |
| Orlando | $96,190 |
| Tampa | $94,610 |
| Miami | $97,500 |
| Jacksonville | $99,230 |
| Greenville-Spartanburg | $103,090 |
| Columbia, SC | $100,200 |
| Charleston, SC | $102,880 |
| Savannah | $99,560 |
Related engineering salaries
Architect salary FAQs
How much does a architect make in the US?
The typical (median) architect in the US earns $99,280 a year, or about $47.73 an hour (BLS, May 2025). Half earn more and half earn less.
What is the entry-level salary for a architect in the US?
Early-career architects in the US typically earn around $77,960 (the 25th percentile), and the lowest-paid 10% earn under $62,300. Degree, internships, licenses and the industry all move starting pay.
How much do experienced architects earn in the US?
Experienced architects in the US earn $126,550 or more (the 75th percentile), and the top 10% earn over $161,420.
Which state pays architects the most?
Wyoming has the highest typical pay for architects at $120,580 a year. The highest-paying metro area is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $129,640 (BLS, May 2025).
Are architects in demand?
BLS projects employment in this occupation to grow 4.3% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% for all jobs, with about 6,900 openings a year nationally as people retire, change jobs or the field grows.
Hiring architects?
Where these numbers come from
Pay figures come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (OEWS), which surveys about 1.1 million employer locations and is the government's main source of pay by occupation and location. This page uses the May 2025 survey, released in 2026, and updates itself when BLS publishes the next year's figures. Job outlook comes from the BLS Employment Projections for 2025–35. Cost of living comes from the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024, where the US average is 100.
Pay is base wages and salary before tax. It does not include bonuses, overtime, benefits or equity. Early career is the 25th percentile (a quarter of workers earn less), Typical is the median and Experienced is the 75th percentile. The bar shows the full range from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The salary rank check estimates a percentile by drawing straight lines between those five published points.
BLS groups some job titles together. Controls engineers, for example, are counted with electrical engineers, and CAD designers with drafters. Each result names the BLS occupation it uses so you can see exactly what is being measured. BLS does not publish every occupation in every area, for example when too few people in a job were surveyed or when a figure does not meet its reliability standards. When a metro figure is missing, the calculator shows the state figure, or the national figure if the state is also missing, and says so.
BLS occupation used on this page: Architects, Except Landscape and Naval (SOC 17-1011).