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Job outlook for visual merchandising specialists in the United States
Visual merchandising specialist job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected visual merchandising specialist job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028.
About 12,100 new jobs for visual merchandising specialists are projected over the next decade.
Visual merchandising specialist salaries have increased 15% for visual merchandising specialists in the last 5 years.
There are over 94,346 visual merchandising specialists currently employed in the United States.
There are 32,782 active visual merchandising specialist job openings in the US.
The average visual merchandising specialist salary is $45,570.
Are visual merchandising specialist jobs in demand?
Visual merchandising specialist job and salary trends over time
Visual merchandising specialist jobs over time
Visual merchandising specialist job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 94,346 | 0.03% |
| 2020 | 79,508 | 0.02% |
| 2019 | 83,163 | 0.02% |
| 2018 | 76,143 | 0.02% |
| 2017 | 71,366 | 0.02% |
Average visual merchandising specialist salary over time
Visual merchandising specialist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $45,570 | $21.91 | +4.6% |
| 2025 | $43,574 | $20.95 | +3.6% |
| 2024 | $42,080 | $20.23 | +2.8% |
| 2023 | $40,941 | $19.68 | +3.7% |
| 2022 | $39,491 | $18.99 | --0.6% |
Visual merchandising specialist jobs by state
Most common states for visual merchandising specialists
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 179 | 13% |
| 2 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 92 | 13% |
| 3 | Delaware | 961,939 | 105 | 11% |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 696 | 10% |
| 5 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 304 | 10% |
| 6 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 102 | 10% |
| 7 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 173 | 9% |
| 8 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 65 | 9% |
| 9 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 51 | 9% |
| 10 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 466 | 8% |
| 11 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 280 | 8% |
| 12 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 66 | 8% |
| 13 | Vermont | 623,657 | 49 | 8% |
| 14 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 732 | 7% |
| 15 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 717 | 7% |
| 16 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 587 | 7% |
| 17 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 365 | 7% |
| 18 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 271 | 7% |
| 19 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 209 | 7% |
| 20 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 192 | 7% |
Most common cities for visual merchandising specialists
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Vista | 1 | 2% | $51,171 |
| 2 | Hollywood | 1 | 1% | $44,161 |
| 3 | Kalamazoo | 1 | 1% | $53,864 |
| 4 | Palo Alto | 1 | 1% | $64,066 |
| 5 | San Marcos | 1 | 1% | $57,944 |
| 6 | Torrance | 1 | 1% | $59,618 |
| 7 | Oxnard | 1 | 0% | $60,808 |
| 8 | Sacramento | 1 | 0% | $62,949 |
Visual Merchandising Specialist job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of visual merchandising specialist experts
Miami University
Rowan University
The Ohio State University at Lima
North Carolina Central University
Forsyth County, Georgia
Leslie Stoel Ph.D.
Professor, Marketing and FashionMiami University
Farmer School of Business, Marketing in the Farmer School of Business and Art in the College of Creative Arts
What skills stand out on Visual Merchandising Specialist resumes?
Leslie Stoel Ph.D.: For fashion merchant/merchandising jobs and fashion marketing jobs, analytics and anything digital skills stand out.
What soft skills should all Visual Merchandising Specialists possess?
Leslie Stoel Ph.D.: Important soft skills are the ability to tell the story behind the numbers (what happened and why it happened), strong speaking and presenting skills, evidence showing the student is a good team member/collaborator, empathy for shoppers (to understand their wants/needs), and a high level of confidence.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Visual Merchandising Specialists?
Leslie Stoel Ph.D.: Hard/technical skills relate to the ability to handle and analyze data - whether it be sales data or google analytics data from the company's digital efforts.
What skills will help Visual Merchandising Specialists earn the most?
Leslie Stoel Ph.D.: The skills that allow students to reap high salaries are business analytics (#1) and digital marketing (#2). In both of these areas, it is almost a bidding war across employers.
Dr. Kate Seltzer Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorRowan University
Department of Language, Literacy and Sociocultural education
How would you rate the starting salaries for Visual Merchandising Specialists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Dr. Kate Seltzer Ph.D.: Educators are not paid nearly enough. However, working in a state with strong teachers' unions helps to ensure a starting salary that recent graduates can live off of and growth opportunities, albeit modest, over their careers.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Visual Merchandising Specialists to find work opportunities?
Leah Herner-Patnode: Usually, urban areas of bigger cities and southern states, such as North Carolina, have many openings. Maine, Florida, California, Hawaii, Washington, and Texas are the most open positions.
Elisha Blankson
Program Director NCCU, Assistant ProfessorNorth Carolina Central University
Communication Disorders Department
What type of skills will young Visual Merchandising Specialists need?
Elisha Blankson: Graduates will need a skill set about the field in which they received training and additional skills useful to the job market. For example, with the changing demographics in the United States, extra skills in information technology and foreign languages will be a plus when entering the job market.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Visual Merchandising Specialists to find work opportunities?
Donna Kukarola: This one, not so sure of, the southeast continues to see options as well as mid-western states.