What Does a Floral Designer Do?
Couples planning a wedding and families arranging a funeral come to the florist with a date that cannot move and a budget to respect. Floral designers turn those requests into bouquets, sympathy pieces, centerpieces and arches in flower shops, grocery store floral departments and event studios. Holidays bring the biggest rushes.
Also known as: Floral Arranger
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Designer, Floral Artist, Floral Clerk, Floral Department Specialist, Florist, Wedding Decorator.
Floral Designer Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a floral designer include:
- Design arrangements, bouquets and sympathy pieces from order tickets, following price points and customer requests.
- Process incoming flowers: unpack, strip lower leaves, recut stems and place them in fresh water.
- Meet couples and families to plan wedding and funeral flowers and prepare written quotes.
- Take phone, walk-in and online orders, suggesting flowers that fit each customer's budget.
- Build centerpieces, arches and installations on site at venues before events begin.
- Rotate cooler stock and check freshness daily, pulling flowers past their prime.
- Wire corsages and boutonnieres and wrap hand-tied bouquets for pickup and delivery.
- Dress window displays and in-store cases for holidays, seasons and promotions.
- Prepare orders for delivery drivers, checking cards, addresses and delivery times.
- Clean buckets, tools and work surfaces to keep bacteria from shortening vase life.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a floral designer, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Color, balance and proportion in design
- Flower and foliage identification and care
- Wiring, taping and hand-tied techniques
- Point-of-sale and online order systems
- Speed under holiday deadlines
- Sympathy and tact with grieving customers
- Stamina for long days standing in a cool room
- Pricing and basic cost math
Education and Training
If you are still in high school, a part-time job at a flower shop is the usual way in, since most floral designers learn on the job. Experience as a delivery driver or shop assistant could lead to a design post. Some community colleges offer floral design certificates.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $32,810 - $45,700 per year, with a median of $37,360.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Floral Designers.
Although BLS projects employment of floral designers to decline about 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, it still expects about 5,200 openings a year as designers retire or leave the trade. Holiday rushes bring extra temporary work. Sales often are tied to the calendar, but designers will still be needed as long as people send flowers for weddings, birthdays and funerals.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Floral designers.
Floral Designer Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $28,600 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $32,810 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $37,360 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $45,700 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $51,000 |
Highest-Paying States for Floral Designers
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are Alaska ($48,130), California ($47,040), Massachusetts ($46,460), Hawaii ($46,170), Colorado ($45,380). Pay is lowest in West Virginia ($29,860), Oklahoma ($29,660), Mississippi ($29,370).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $34,430 |
| Alaska | $48,130 |
| Arizona | $36,860 |
| Arkansas | $29,910 |
| California | $47,040 |
| Colorado | $45,380 |
| Connecticut | $39,220 |
| Delaware | $39,630 |
| District of Columbia | $42,950 |
| Florida | $36,770 |
| Georgia | $35,440 |
| Hawaii | $46,170 |
| Idaho | $36,830 |
| Illinois | $35,880 |
| Indiana | $36,280 |
| Iowa | $35,340 |
| Kansas | $31,190 |
| Kentucky | $34,940 |
| Louisiana | $30,000 |
| Maine | $35,930 |
| Maryland | $41,020 |
| Massachusetts | $46,460 |
| Michigan | $35,890 |
| Minnesota | $37,190 |
| Mississippi | $29,370 |
| Missouri | $34,210 |
| Montana | $34,100 |
| Nebraska | $35,930 |
| Nevada | $39,600 |
| New Hampshire | $43,230 |
| New Jersey | $45,190 |
| New Mexico | $33,870 |
| New York | $45,260 |
| North Carolina | $37,190 |
| North Dakota | $35,290 |
| Ohio | $35,790 |
| Oklahoma | $29,660 |
| Oregon | $44,730 |
| Pennsylvania | $35,920 |
| Rhode Island | $36,420 |
| South Carolina | $32,000 |
| South Dakota | $33,910 |
| Tennessee | $36,220 |
| Texas | $35,080 |
| Utah | $35,980 |
| Vermont | $44,720 |
| Virginia | $37,350 |
| Washington | $44,460 |
| West Virginia | $29,860 |
| Wisconsin | $35,010 |
| Wyoming | $35,020 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as floral designers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 97% use their hands on tools, objects or controls for more than half the day
- 73% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 72% use email every day
- 64% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 58% deal with rude or angry people at least once a week
- 56% have a lot of freedom to make decisions
- 52% work against deadlines every day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| High school diploma or GED | 76% |
| Some college | 11% |
| Bachelor's degree | 8% |
Tools and Software Floral Designers Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy hands-on work with tools, machines or the outdoors as well as creative work and self-expression.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Active Listening, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Critical Thinking, Time Management.
Knowledge areas used most: Customer and Personal Service, Production and Processing, Sales and Marketing, Design, English Language.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 2 of 5, which means some preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
Applying for a Floral Designer Job
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 27-1023.00 (Floral Designers). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.