---
title: "Merchandise Displayer and Window Trimmer"
description: "Plan and erect commercial displays, such as those in windows and interiors of retail stores and at trade exhibitions."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/merchandise-displayer-and-window-trimmer"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Merchandise Displayer and Window Trimmer

**Category:** Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media · **SOC code:** 27-1026 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 27-1026.00

Plan and erect commercial displays, such as those in windows and interiors of retail stores and at trade exhibitions.

Also advertised as: Decorator; Display Associate; Display Decorator; Display Specialist; In-Store Marketing Associate; Merchandiser; Visual Merchandiser (VM); Visual Merchandising Specialist.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $39,390 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $18.94/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $30,760 to $58,370, with the middle half between $35,130 and $47,220
- **Total US employment:** 165,220
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +2.7% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 17,200 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 59/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 165,220 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $30,760 |
| 25th | $35,130 |
| 50th (median) | $39,390 |
| 75th | $47,220 |
| 90th | $58,370 |
| Mean (average) | $42,830 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WA | $48,780 | $45,583 | 2,550 |
| CA | $47,010 | $42,458 | 17,840 |
| AK | $46,530 | $45,458 | 540 |
| ME | $45,750 | $47,141 | 910 |
| MN | $45,730 | $46,369 | 1,820 |
| OR | $45,200 | $43,730 | 1,220 |
| VT | $44,850 | $45,785 | 180 |
| MT | $43,700 | $46,173 | 580 |
| NY | $43,660 | $40,456 | 10,430 |
| MD | $43,370 | $41,321 | 1,920 |
| MA | $43,290 | $40,933 | 3,360 |
| CO | $43,230 | $41,950 | 3,650 |
| MO | $42,890 | $47,227 | 2,700 |
| AL | $42,840 | $48,231 | 2,900 |
| CT | $42,410 | $40,932 | 1,450 |

38 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 53 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/merchandise-displayer-and-window-trimmer/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/merchandise-displayer-and-window-trimmer.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 164,800 in the 2025–2035 base year to 169,200 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 4,400 jobs, or +2.7%. About as fast as average: 2.7% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 17,200 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Some preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Short-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 39.5% |
| Some College Courses | 19.5% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 17.6% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 14.7% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 8.7% |

## What the work involves

- Change or rotate window displays, interior display areas, or signage to reflect changes in inventory or promotion.
- Place prices or descriptive signs on backdrops, fixtures, merchandise, or floor.
- Consult with store managers, buyers, sales associates, housekeeping staff, or engineering staff to determine appropriate placement of displays or products.
- Assemble or set up displays, furniture, or products in store space, using colors, lights, pictures, or other accessories to display the product.
- Take photographs of displays or signage.
- Develop ideas or plans for merchandise displays or window decorations.
- Plan commercial displays to entice and appeal to customers.
- Arrange properties, furniture, merchandise, backdrops, or other accessories, as shown in prepared sketches.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Persuasion — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Negotiation — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Sales and Marketing — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Design — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Visualization — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speech Clarity — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Fluency of Ideas — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Artistic (A), Realistic (R), Enterprising (E).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| A — Artistic | 4.70 |
| R — Realistic | 4.45 |
| E — Enterprising | 4.28 |
| C — Conventional | 3.09 |
| S — Social | 2.19 |
| I — Investigative | 1.51 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ENTJ | 55.5 |
| ESTP | 54.9 |
| ENTP | 54.4 |
| ESTJ | 53.9 |
| ENFJ | 53.5 |

Best-fitting types: not scored.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Retail Salesperson](https://nuecareer.com/careers/retail-salesperson) — median $35,410
- [Advertising Sales Agent](https://nuecareer.com/careers/advertising-sales-agent) — median $64,820
- [Fashion Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/fashion-designer) — median $80,960
- [Demonstrator and Product Promoter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/demonstrator-and-product-promoter) — median $39,320
- [Interior Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/interior-designer) — median $67,190
- [Graphic Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/graphic-designer) — median $62,960
- [Commercial and Industrial Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/commercial-and-industrial-designer) — median $83,910
- [Craft Artist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/craft-artist) — median $46,080
- [Set and Exhibit Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/set-and-exhibit-designer) — median $75,240
- [Floral Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/floral-designer) — median $37,360

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/merchandise-displayer-and-window-trimmer