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How much does a fashion designer earn in Sweden?

Fashion designers and related professionals. 2,400 people employed in Sweden.

49,400SEK

per month is the median salary for a fashion designer in Sweden in 2025. That is 29% higher than the median across all jobs in the country, 38,300 SEK.

+12% since 2024

≈ €4,350 / $5,100 at September 2026 exchange rates, before tax.

That is roughly 38,127 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

≈ 285 SEK an hour · 592,800 SEK a year

The hourly figure is the monthly salary divided by 173.3 hours (40 hours a week × 52 weeks / 12 months); the yearly figure is twelve times the monthly salary.

The average salary for a fashion designer in Sweden is 51,700 SEK per month (2025). The median salary is 49,400 SEK. The lowest-paid 10% earn under 35,900 SEK and the highest-paid 10% over 67,600 SEK.

Figures are gross monthly salary before tax, converted to full time. Income tax in Sweden is roughly 30–34% for most earners, plus a national surtax on income above about 51,000 SEK a month.

Average pay
51,700 SEK
Mean gross monthly salary
Lowest 10%
35,900 SEK
Earn less than this
Highest 10%
67,600 SEK
Earn more than this
People employed
2,400
In this job in Sweden

The pay range

How monthly salaries are distributed among fashion designers and related professionals in Sweden. The same scale is used in the tables further down.

35,900 SEKLowest 10%49,400 SEKMedian67,600 SEKHighest 10%
Light band: the middle 80 per cent. Dark band: the middle half, earning 41,800–55,000 SEK. The red line is the median salary across all jobs in Sweden.

Fashion designer starting salary

Statistics Sweden publishes no starting-salary figures. The closest proxies are what the youngest people in the job earn and where the lower end of the pay distribution sits.

The youngest in the job, aged 25–34, earn 47,400 SEK a month on average — roughly 36,800 SEK after tax in an average municipality.

Starting-salary proxies, before and after tax
Before tax After tax
Average, aged 25–34 47,400 SEK 36,780 SEK
Lowest 10% earn less than 35,900 SEK 28,717 SEK
Lowest 25% earn less than 41,800 SEK 33,009 SEK

These are proxies, not starting salaries. An age band holds both people who have just started and people ten years into the job, and the lowest paid are not always newcomers. The collective-agreement minimum and an individual offer can sit above or below.

Fashion designer pay in the private and public sector

What fashion designers and related professionals earn depends a great deal on who the employer is.

Monthly salary by sector and gender
Sector Average pay Median pay Men Women
All sectors 51,700 SEK 49,400 SEK 55,000 SEK 45,400 SEK
Private sector 51,800 SEK 49,900 SEK 55,000 SEK 45,200 SEK
Public sector 46,200 SEK 45,100 SEK 43,700 SEK 46,300 SEK
Central government 46,200 SEK 45,100 SEK 43,700 SEK 46,300 SEK

Fashion designer salary after tax in Sweden

What fashion designers and related professionals actually take home depends on which municipality they live in. The table shows what 49,400 SEK a month comes to after tax in a few of them.

That is roughly 38,127 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

49,400 SEK a month after tax, by municipality
Municipality Municipal and regional tax After tax
Average municipality 32.38% 38,127 SEK
Stockholm 30.55% 38,863 SEK
Göteborg 32.60% 38,050 SEK
Malmö 32.42% 38,112 SEK
Österåker (lowest tax) 28.93% 39,315 SEK
Dorotea (highest tax) 35.65% 36,999 SEK
  • The youngest in the job, aged 25–34 years, earn 47,400 SEK before tax — roughly 36,780 SEK after.
  • The best paid 10% earn more than 67,600 SEK, which is roughly 47,867 SEK after tax.

Calculate the salary after tax for a fashion designer

The figures assume an average municipality, no church fee and an age under 66. The calculator takes your own municipality into account.

And if the job goes? Work out unemployment benefit for a fashion designer

Pay for men and women

Median salary for men and women
Gender 40,000 70,000 Median pay Number
Men 55,000 SEK –
Women 45,400 SEK 1,400

Women's average salary is 91% of men's average salary in this job.

Statistics Sweden calculates the ratio on average monthly salary, while the table above shows median salaries, so the two do not line up exactly. The figure is also unadjusted: it does not account for differences in age, sector or position.

Fashion designer salary by age

Pay for fashion designers and related professionals normally rises with years in the job.

Monthly salary by age
Age 40,000 70,000 Average pay Men Women Number
25–34 years 47,400 SEK – 40,900 SEK –
35–44 years 52,100 SEK 54,100 SEK 50,600 SEK 810
45–54 years 56,000 SEK – 52,100 SEK 540
55–64 years 56,200 SEK – – 230

Pay by level of education

Monthly salary by level of education
Level of education 40,000 70,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Upper secondary education 3 years (ISCED97 3A) 51,900 SEK – 50,300 SEK –
Post-secondary education, less than 3 years (ISCED97 4+5B) 49,400 SEK 54,800 SEK 45,800 SEK 590
Post-secondary education 3 years or more (ISCED97 5A) 53,200 SEK 54,600 SEK 51,700 SEK –
No information about level of educational attainment 51,900 SEK – – 110

Fashion designer salary by region

Statistics Sweden reports pay by job at the level of national areas (NUTS 2), not by county.

Monthly salary by region
Region 40,000 70,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Stockholm 51,400 SEK 53,700 SEK 49,700 SEK –
West Sweden 52,800 SEK 59,400 SEK 47,800 SEK 480

Fashion designer pay growth 2014–2025

Median salary per year. Years with no reported median are skipped. The dashed line marks the break between the older and the newer series at Statistics Sweden; comparisons across it should be made with care.

From 34,500 SEK in 2014 to 49,400 SEK in 2025, +43% in total. Nominal figures, not adjusted for inflation. The lighter part of the line, the years before 2023, comes from an older set of statistics at Statistics Sweden and is not fully comparable with the later years.

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Swedish job titles in this occupation

Statistics Sweden files the following Swedish job titles under SSYK 2179, “övriga designer och formgivare”. These are the titles you will actually meet in Swedish job ads.

  • Creative director
  • Designassistent
  • Designer, övrig
  • Kläddesigner
  • Kostymdesigner
  • Kostymtecknare
  • Modedesigner
  • Modeformgivare
  • Modellkonstruktör, textil
  • Modellör, skor
  • Modeskapare
  • Modetecknare
  • Möbeldesigner
  • Skodesigner
  • Skomodellör
  • Textildesigner
  • Textilformgivare
  • Väskmodellör

Frequently asked questions

How much does a fashion designer earn in 2026?

The latest figures are Statistics Sweden's salary structure statistics for 2025, published on 16 June 2026. The median salary was then 49,400 SEK a month before tax, against 44,100 SEK the year before (2024) — +12%. Figures for 2026 are normally published in June 2027; until then the 2025 figures are the latest there are, and we do not project our own.

What is the median salary for a fashion designer in Sweden?

The median salary for a fashion designer in Sweden is 49,400 SEK per month before tax (2025). That means half earn less and half earn more. The median across all jobs in Sweden is 38,300 SEK, so fashion designers and related professionals sit 29% higher than the typical job.

How much does a fashion designer earn after tax?

The median salary for a fashion designer is 49,400 SEK a month before tax. In an average Swedish municipality, without the church fee and for someone under 66, that works out at roughly 38,100 SEK after tax. The exact figure depends on which municipality you live in — our salary-after-tax calculator works it out.

What is the difference between average and median pay for fashion designers and related professionals?

The average (51,700 SEK) is the mean of every salary and is pulled upwards by the highest earners. The median (49,400 SEK) is the salary in the middle of the scale and usually gives a better picture of what fashion designers and related professionals typically earn.

What is the starting salary for a fashion designer in Sweden?

Statistics Sweden does not publish starting salaries as such. The closest figure is the youngest people in the job: fashion designers and related professionals aged 25–34 years earn 47,400 SEK per month on average. The lowest-paid 10% in the job earn less than 35,900 SEK. More in the section “Fashion designer starting salary” above.

How high can the salary go for fashion designers and related professionals?

The highest-paid 10% in the job earn more than 67,600 SEK per month. Pay is shaped by sector, experience, level of education and where in the country you work.

Is there a gender pay gap among fashion designers and related professionals in Sweden?

Women's average salary is 91% of men's in this job. The median salary is 55,000 SEK for men and 45,400 SEK for women. The figure is not adjusted for differences in age, sector or working hours.

Where in Sweden does a fashion designer earn the most?

Pay is highest in West Sweden, where fashion designers and related professionals earn 52,800 SEK per month on average.

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