Production designer demographics and statistics in the US
Production designer demographics research summary. Zippia estimates production designer demographics and statistics in the United States by using a database of 30 million profiles. Our production designer estimates are verified against BLS, Census, and current job openings data for accuracy. Zippia's data science team found the following key facts about production designers after extensive research and analysis:
- There are over 58,057 production designers currently employed in the United States.
- 44.6% of all production designers are women, while 55.4% are men.
- The average production designer age is 38 years old.
- The most common ethnicity of production designers is White (70.2%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (10.6%), Asian (10.4%) and Unknown (5.0%).
- In 2022, women earned 95% of what men earned.
- 13% of all production designers are LGBT.
- Production designers are 65% more likely to work at private companies in comparison to public companies.
On this page
Production designer demographics by:
Production designer gender statistics
44.6% of production designers are women and 55.4% of production designers are men.
- Male, 55.4%
- Female, 44.6%
Production designer gender ratio
| Gender | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Male | 55.4% |
| Female | 44.6% |
Production designer gender pay gap
Women earn 95¢ for every $1 earned by men
Male income
$55,344
Female income
$52,335
Production designer gender ratio over time
This data breaks down the percentage of men and women in production designer positions over time. Currently, 44.6% of production designers are female.
Production designer gender ratio by year
| Year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 57.77% | 42.23% |
| 2011 | 58.02% | 41.98% |
| 2012 | 57.22% | 42.78% |
| 2013 | 59.62% | 40.38% |
| 2014 | 57.48% | 42.52% |
| 2015 | 58.21% | 41.79% |
| 2016 | 57.12% | 42.88% |
| 2017 | 56.16% | 43.84% |
| 2018 | 58.34% | 41.66% |
| 2019 | 55.19% | 44.81% |
| 2020 | 55.25% | 44.75% |
| 2021 | 55.39% | 44.61% |
Production designer related jobs gender ratio
We compared production designers with similar job titles to see how gender ratios vary. As you can see, exhibit builder and senior industrial designer have the biggest gender ratio gaps.
| Job title | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Decorating Consultant | 9% | 91% |
| Floral Designer | 11% | 89% |
| Floral Manager | 11% | 89% |
| Production Designer | 55% | 45% |
| Craftsman | 88% | 12% |
| Senior Industrial Designer | 91% | 9% |
| Exhibit Builder | 93% | 7% |
Male
Female
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Production designer demographics by race
The most common ethnicity among production designers is White, which makes up 70.2% of all production designers. Comparatively, 10.6% of production designers are Hispanic or Latino and 10.4% of production designers are Asian.
- White, 70.2%
- Hispanic or Latino, 10.6%
- Asian, 10.4%
- Unknown, 5.0%
- Black or African American, 3.4%
- American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
Production designer race
| Production designer race | Percentages |
|---|---|
| White | 70.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 10.6% |
| Asian | 10.4% |
| Unknown | 5.0% |
| Black or African American | 3.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.4% |
Production designer race and ethnicity over time
See how production designer racial and ethnic diversity trended since 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau data.
Production designer race and ethnicity by year
| Year | White | Black or African American | Asian | Hispanic or Latino |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 80.32% | 3.37% | 6.45% | 8.15% |
| 2011 | 79.15% | 3.38% | 7.00% | 8.33% |
| 2012 | 78.60% | 3.42% | 6.69% | 9.26% |
| 2013 | 79.01% | 3.39% | 7.37% | 8.05% |
| 2014 | 78.43% | 3.15% | 7.37% | 8.85% |
| 2015 | 77.58% | 3.31% | 7.11% | 9.89% |
| 2016 | 77.09% | 3.54% | 7.72% | 9.34% |
| 2017 | 77.04% | 3.17% | 8.01% | 9.29% |
| 2018 | 74.98% | 3.33% | 8.26% | 10.34% |
| 2019 | 76.12% | 3.50% | 7.60% | 10.19% |
| 2020 | 74.32% | 3.04% | 7.13% | 10.91% |
| 2021 | 70.17% | 3.42% | 10.42% | 10.63% |
Production designer wage gap by race
According to our data, asian production designers have the highest average salary compared to other ethnicities. White production designers have the lowest average salary at $52,934.
| Ethnicity | Salary |
|---|---|
| Unknown | $57,332 |
| White | $52,934 |
| Black or African American | $53,098 |
| Asian | $59,778 |
| Hispanic or Latino | $53,902 |
Average production designer age
See how the average age of production designers varies based on ethnicity and gender.
Male
Female
Production designer age by race and gender
| Race | Male age | Female age |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 40 | 33 |
| White | 40 | 35 |
| Black or African American | 38 | 34 |
| Asian | 36 | 33 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 36 | 31 |
Production designer age breakdown
The average age of production designers is 40+ years years old, representing 42% of the production designer population.
Production designer age breakdown
| Production Designer Years | Percentages |
|---|---|
| 40+ years | 42% |
| 30-40 years | 35% |
| 20-30 years | 24% |
Production designer educational attainment
The most common degree for production designers is bachelor's degree, with 72% of production designers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 18% and associate degree degree at 5%.
- Bachelor's, 72%
- Associate, 18%
- Master's, 5%
- High School Diploma, 2%
- Other Degrees, 3%
Production designers by degree level
| Production designer degree | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's | 72% |
| Associate | 18% |
| Master's | 5% |
| High School Diploma | 2% |
| Other Degrees | 3% |
Production designer jobs you might like
Production designer wage gap by degree level
According to the data, production designers with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $66,726 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, production designers earn a median annual income of $60,237 compared to $53,075 for production designers with an Associate degree.
| Education | Salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $66,726 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $60,237 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $53,075 |
Production designer employment statistics
Most production designers work for a private in the media industry.
Company size where production designers work
Below, you can see the size of companies where production designers work.
Production designer jobs by employer size
| Company size | Percentages |
|---|---|
| < 50 employees | 7% |
| 50 - 100 employees | 13% |
| 100 - 500 employees | 23% |
| 500 - 1,000 employees | 8% |
| 1,000 - 10,000 employees | 25% |
| > 10,000 employees | 24% |
Production designer jobs by company type
Employees with the production designer job title have their preferences when it comes to working for a company. For instance, most production designers prefer to work at private companies over public companies.
Production designer jobs by sector
| Company type | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Education | 7% |
| Public | 27% |
| Private | 65% |
| Government | 0% |
Production designer jobs by industry
The most common industries for production designers are media, retail and professional.
Production designer industry statistics
| Industry | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Media | 16% |
| Retail | 13% |
| Fortune 500 | 13% |
| Professional | 11% |
| Manufacturing | 10% |
| Education | 6% |
| Technology | 5% |
| Hospitality | 4% |
| Finance | 3% |
| Start-up | 3% |
| Internet | 2% |
| Telecommunication | 2% |
| Health Care | 2% |
| Non Profits | 2% |
| Real Estate | 2% |
| Insurance | 2% |
| Transportation | 1% |
| Construction | 1% |
| Energy | 1% |
Production designer turnover and employment statistics
Production designer unemployment rate over time
The unemployment rate for production designers between 2008 and the most recent data has varied, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Production designer unemployment rate by year
| Year | Production designer unemployment rate |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 9.84% |
| 2011 | 7.82% |
| 2012 | 7.12% |
| 2013 | 5.32% |
| 2014 | 4.78% |
| 2015 | 4.60% |
| 2016 | 4.15% |
| 2017 | 3.61% |
| 2018 | 3.55% |
| 2019 | 3.78% |
| 2020 | 6.80% |
| 2021 | 7.79% |
Average production designer tenure
The average production designer stays at their job for 1-2 years, based on the 3,577 production designers resumes in Zippia's database.
Production designer tenure statistics
| Number of years | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 33% |
| 1-2 years | 32% |
| 3-4 years | 11% |
| 5-7 years | 13% |
| 8-10 years | 5% |
| 11+ years | 6% |
Production designer LGBT ratio compared to similar jobs
Review the percent of production designers that are members of the LGBT community. You can see how this compares to similar jobs in the chart below.
| Job title | LGBT | Job openings |
|---|---|---|
| Animator | 11.32% | 551 |
| Home Stager | 12.35% | 39,061 |
| Production Designer | 13.05% | - |
| Floral Decorator | 14.26% | 2,182 |
| Display Designer | 16.91% | 43,956 |
| Dress Designer | 17.98% | 43,786 |
| Interior Design Internship | 22.51% | 88,151 |
Similar production designer jobs LGBT demographics
| Profession | Percentages of LGBT | Job openings |
|---|---|---|
| Animator | 11.32% | 551 |
| Home Stager | 12.35% | 39,061 |
| Floral Decorator | 14.26% | 2,182 |
| Display Designer | 16.91% | 43,956 |
| Dress Designer | 17.98% | 43,786 |
| Interior Design Internship | 22.51% | 88,151 |
Foreign languages spoken by production designers
The most common foreign language among production designers is Spanish at 48.4%. The second-most popular foreign language spoken is French at 10.2% and Italian is the third-most popular at 7.6%.
- Spanish, 48.4%
- French, 10.2%
- Italian, 7.6%
- Chinese, 5.1%
- Japanese, 5.1%
- Other, 23.6%
Production designer languages spoken
| Foreign language | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Spanish | 48.4% |
| French | 10.2% |
| Italian | 7.6% |
| Chinese | 5.1% |
| Japanese | 5.1% |
| Other | 23.6% |
