Average Salary

• During its May 2009 survey of employment throughout the United States, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) gathered pay data from 101,630 individual architects. From this, it calculated that the average yearly wage for the occupation was $78,880, equivalent to an hourly rate of $37.93 and a monthly income of $6,573. Architects among the top 10 percent of earners within the profession earned an average in excess of $122,640, while their contemporaries in the bottom 10 percent took home an average salary below $42,320.
  
  

Salary by Industry

• The vast majority of architects, according to the BLS survey, work within architectural, engineering and related services. The BLS reported that the average salary within this sector of the industry was $78,660. This is slightly more than that offered within non-residential building construction -- $77,730 -- and residential building construction -- $76,340. Other employment opportunities for architects exist within federal and state government agencies. The average wages for these sectors were $88,930 and $71,340, respectively.
  
  

Salary by Geography

• In a survey of architect salaries across some major cities, wage analysis website SalaryExpert.com found that most were lower than the BLS average. The exception among those surveyed was Houston at $79,708. Its closest equivalents were New York and Boston at $74,084 and $72,370. Miami was significantly lower at $63,261. The BLS listed Vermont, Nevada and California as the most lucrative states, calculated across all industry sectors, for architects to work in, averaging $95,840, $93,640 and $90,690, respectively. Washington was listed at $78,320 and Colorado at $77,180.
  
  

Prospects

• Bureau of Labor Statistics predictions put employment growth for architects at around 16 percent over the period from 2008 to 2018. This is a faster growth rate than that projected for the country as a whole across all occupations -- estimated at between 7 and 13 percent for the same period. A growing population, with the baby boomer generation reaching retirement and people living longer, will increase the need for residential care facilities; increased enrolments will fuel the need for more education buildings; and the need to replace the high number of architects expected to retire from the profession will all motivate this growth. As such, salary levels should remain very attractive.