Salary by Education Level
What the Data Shows
For Architects, Except Landscape and Naval positions, filings requiring a Master's degree carried an average declared salary of $79,126 versus $69,106 for those requiring a Bachelor's - a premium of +14.5%. Across all certified filings with a stated education level, 56.2% accepted a Bachelor's degree as the minimum requirement.
Education vs Salary
| Education Level | Average Salary | Filings | % of Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | $80,516 | 10 | 1.1% |
| Master's | $79,126 | 366 | 41.9% |
| Bachelor's | $69,106 | 491 | 56.2% |
| Associate's | $67,643 | 3 | 0.3% |
| High School | $59,051 | 3 | 0.3% |
Education by Top Employer
| Employer | Most Common Minimum | % Bachelor's | % Master's | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP | Master's | 20% | 80% | $69,098 |
| PERKINS + WILL, INC. | Bachelor's | 100% | 0% | $57,000 |
| CALLISONRTKL INC. | Bachelor's | 100% | 0% | $57,408 |
| KOHN PEDERSON FOX PC | N/A | N/A | N/A | $60,000 |
| RTKL ASSOCIATES INC. | Bachelor's | 100% | 0% | $45,240 |
| Perkins Eastman Architects DPC | Master's | 0% | 100% | $55,120 |
| HELLMUTH OBATA + KASSABAUM, LP | Bachelor's | 100% | 0% | $55,013 |
| Robert A.M. Stern Architects | Bachelor's | 75% | 25% | $59,400 |
| NBBJ LP | Master's | 0% | 100% | $57,900 |
| HDR Architecture, Inc. | Master's | 31.6% | 68.4% | $68,182 |
| Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC | Bachelor's | 60% | 40% | $70,000 |
| Corgan Associates, Inc. | Bachelor's | 100% | 0% | $55,000 |
| Handel Architects LLP | Bachelor's | 63.6% | 36.4% | $64,000 |
| Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP | Bachelor's | 100% | 0% | $57,700 |
| SMITHGROUPJJR, INC. SUBSIDIARY OF SMITHGROUP CO., INC | N/A | N/A | N/A | $56,000 |
| HKS, Inc. | Master's | 50% | 50% | $76,417 |
| PERKINS EASTMAN ARCHITECTS PC | N/A | N/A | N/A | $51,210 |
| Cannon Design, Inc. | Bachelor's | 100% | 0% | $54,995 |
| We Work Management LLC | Master's | 0% | 100% | $83,500 |
| SKIDMORE, OWINGS MERRILL LLP | Master's | 40% | 60% | $78,572 |