A person working as an Interior Designer in South Africa typically earns around 33,200 ZAR per month. Salaries range from 17,200 ZAR (lowest) to 50,700 ZAR (highest).
This is the average monthly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Interior Designer salaries vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.
Interior Designer salaries in South Africa range from 17,200 ZAR per month (minimum salary) to 50,700 ZAR per month (maximum salary).
The median salary is 31,800 ZAR per month, which means that half (50%) of people working as Interior Designer(s) are earning less than 31,800 ZAR while the other half are earning more than 31,800 ZAR. The median represents the middle salary value. Generally speaking, you would want to be on the right side of the graph with the group earning more than the median salary.
Closely related to the median are two values: the 25th and the 75th percentiles. Reading from the salary distribution diagram, 25% of Interior Designer(s) are earning less than 22,100 ZAR while 75% of them are earning more than 22,100 ZAR. Also from the diagram, 75% of Interior Designer(s) are earning less than 39,600 ZAR while 25% are earning more than 39,600 ZAR.
Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both of the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people are earning more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary
The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally the more years of experience the higher your wage. We broke down Interior Designer salaries by experience level and this is what we found.
An Interior Designer with less than two years of experience makes approximately 19,600 ZAR per month.
While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 26,300 ZAR per month, 34% more than someone with less than two year's experience.
Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 34,200 ZAR per month, 30% more than someone with two to five years of experience.
Additionally, Interior Designer(s) whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 41,400 ZAR per month, 21% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.
If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 45,200 ZAR per month, 9% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.
Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 47,600 ZAR per month, 5% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.
0 - 2 Years | 19,600 ZAR | |
2 - 5 Years | +34% | 26,300 ZAR |
5 - 10 Years | +30% | 34,200 ZAR |
10 - 15 Years | +21% | 41,400 ZAR |
15 - 20 Years | +9% | 45,200 ZAR |
20+ Years | +5% | 47,600 ZAR |
We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down Interior Designer salaries by education level in order to make a comparison.
When the education level is High School, the average salary of an Interior Designer is 23,600 ZAR per month.
While someone with a Certificate or Diploma gets a salary of 27,000 ZAR per month, 14% more than someone having a High School degree.
A Bachelor's Degree gets its holder an average salary of 38,000 ZAR per month, 41% more than someone with a Certificate or Diploma.
Professionals who hold a Master's Degree are rewarded with an average salary of 46,000 ZAR per month, 21% more than someone with Bachelor's Degree.
High School | 23,600 ZAR | |
Certificate or Diploma | +14% | 27,000 ZAR |
Bachelor's Degree | +41% | 38,000 ZAR |
Master's Degree | +21% | 46,000 ZAR |
A Master's degree program or any post-graduate program in South Africa costs anywhere from 156,000 Rand(s) to 467,000 Rand(s) and lasts approximately two years. That is quite an investment.
You can't really expect any salary increases during the study period, assuming you already have a job. In most cases, a salary review is conducted once education is completed and the degree has been attained.
Many people pursue higher education as a tactic to switch into a higher paying job. The numbers seem to support the thoery. The average increase in compensation while changing jobs is approximately 10% more than the customary salary increment.
If you can afford the costs of higher education, the return on investment is definitely worth it. You should be able to recover the costs in roughly a year or so.
Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? Male Interior Designer employees in South Africa earn 8% more than their female counterparts on average.
Male | 34,600 ZAR | |
Female | -7% | 32,100 ZAR |
Interior Designer(s) in South Africa are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 11% every 19 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 8% granted to employees every 18 months.
The term 'Annual Salary Increase' usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rarely that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.
The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 ÷ Increase Frequency
Banking | 3% | |
Energy | 6% | |
Information Technology | 9% | |
Healthcare | 3% | |
Travel | 6% | |
Construction | 9% | |
Education | 3% |
Listed above are the average annual increase rates for each industry in South Africa for the year 2021. Companies within thriving industries tend to provide higher and more frequent raises. Exceptions do exist, but generally speaking, the situation of any company is closely related to the economic situation in the country or region. These figures tend to change frequently.
An Interior Designer is considered to be a moderate bonus-based job due to the generally limited involvement in direct revenue generation, with exceptions of course. The people who get the highest bonuses are usually somehow involved in the revenue generation cycle.
48% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 52% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.
Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 3% to 5% of their annual salary.
Received Bonus | 52% | |
No Bonus | 48% |
The most standard form of bonus where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.
Company Performance BonusesOccasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.
Goal-Based BonusesGranted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.
Holiday / End of Year BonusesThese types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.
People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.
The main two types of jobs | |
Revenue Generators | Supporting Cast |
Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business. | Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations. |
Example: | Example: |
Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.
Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.
The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fix amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.
The average salary for Interior Designer is 15% more than that of Architecture. Also, Architecture salaries are 7% less than those of All Jobs.
Job Title | Average Salary |
Architect | 40,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Architectural Designer | 38,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Architectural Drafter | 16,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Architectural Manager | 60,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Architectural Technician | 22,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Architecture Consultant | 54,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Architecture Estimating Manager | 45,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Architecture Specifications Writer | 14,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Assistant Architectural Manager | 53,100 ZAR | ![]() |
CAD Drafter | 17,200 ZAR | ![]() |
CAD Manager | 35,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Design and Decoration Assistant | 17,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Design Manager | 51,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Drafting Supervisor | 29,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Facilities and Project Manager | 56,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Facility Planner | 30,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Interior Design Assistant | 14,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Interior Designer | 33,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Kitchen Designer | 20,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Landscape Architect | 47,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Landscape Artist | 26,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Landscaper | 23,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Mapping Technician | 14,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Mechanical Drafter | 19,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Photogrammetrist | 17,200 ZAR | ![]() |
City | Average Salary |
Bloemfontein | 27,500 ZAR |
Cape Town | 34,200 ZAR |
Durban | 32,600 ZAR |
Johannesburg | 31,200 ZAR |
Port Elizabeth | 29,100 ZAR |
Pretoria | 30,500 ZAR |
Where can you get paid more, working for a private company or for the government? Public sector employees in South Africa earn 7% more than their private sector counterparts on average across all sectors.
Private Sector | 30,200 ZAR | |
Public Sector | +7% | 32,300 ZAR |