The architect salary changes based on the country they work in. In Canada, Australia, and New Zealand this number is C$62,091, AU$60,571, and NZ$59,460 dollars respectively. These professionals who work in India can expect Rs 365,000 ($5,300) while in South Africa the rand earned is R247,803. The United States architect salary is $59,079 dollars.
The numbers included in the table below are impacted by many different factors of an Architect career such as experience, industry worked in, location, and skills. Each of these factors will be explained in greater detail in the sections that follow.
How Much Does an Architect Make per Year by Country?
| Architect Salary | US | Canada | UK | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa |
| Hourly Pay | $24.00 | C$29.00 ($21.58) | E19.00 ($20.19) | AU$29.00
($21.52) |
NZ$25.00 ($17.66) | Rs 188.00 ($2.75) | R100 ($7.11) |
| Annual Pay | $59,079 | C$62,091 ($46,195) | E34,329 ($36,474) | AU$60,573 ($44,951) | NZ$59,460
($42,003) |
Rs 364,532 ($5,326) | R247,803 ($17,626) |
Architect Salary Influencing Factors
The salary numbers reported below are based on people reporting their salary to Payscale. This is not necessarily representative of the salary of all dentists, but is a reliable sample to get a sense of what dentists earn.
1. Location
How Much Does an Architect Make in the US?
The hourly rate for architects in the United States is $15.57 to $48.94. There are reported tips of $15.55/hour and an overtime rate of $20.41 to $46.07. An annual base salary of $40,835 to $96,349 is earned. Bonuses of $487 to $9,952, profit sharing of up to $10,017 and a commission of $7,000 dollars can be given. A total take home pay of $40,324 to $99,668 is received. The sample size for this information is 2,418 people.
How Much Does an Architect Make in Canada?
Architects in Canada can expect an hourly pay rate between C$17.78 and C$44.90 with overtime pay between C$20.27 and C$52.85. Annually, their base salary is C$42,759 to C$95,216 dollars. Architects who work for profitable firms may earn a bonus up to C$11,836 and a profit share of C$29,799. The reported total pay is C$41,302 to C$96,362. This is based on 272 individuals reporting their salary.
How Much Does an Architect Make in the UK?
The range of salary for architects in the United Kingdom is from E22,275 to E50,301. A bonus of E5,903 and a profit share sum of E12,671 may be received but some architects report no additional income. Hourly, these professionals earn E8.00 to E30.09 with those who work overtime averaging E11.00. The total pay is E22,829 to E52,100.
How Much Does an Architect Make in Australia?
Architects in Australia can expect to earn AU$19.16 to AU$51.95 dollars an hour. If they work overtime, the pay averages AU$31.50. 585 individuals report that their base salary is AU$44,755 to AU$92,687. Those who report a bonus and profit share may get up to AU$9,102 to AU$35,508. A total take home salary of AU$44,322 to AU$95,790 is earned by these professionals.
How Much Does an Architect Make in New Zealand?
The 10th percentile of earners in New Zealand will make approximately NZ$18.00/hour while the 90th percentile will make NZ$38.25. An overtime rate of NZ$35.00 is earned. The annual salary is from NZ$40,535 to NZ$83,437 dollars. Bonus and profit sharing in the amounts of NZ$5,872 and NZ$35,287 are earned. The total pay is NZ$40,655 to NZ$89,303 according to 89 reports.
How Much Does an Architect Make in India?
The Architect salary in India totals Rs 173,924 to Rs 1,153,709. The parts that make up this salary are the base pay and then optional profit sharing and bonuses. Their base pay is Rs 173,325 to Rs 1,030,589. The bonus can be Rs 102,637 and profit sharing of Rs 287,829. Hourly, they can expect to earn Rs 70.52 to Rs 503 with an overtime rate from Rs 49.66 to Rs 993. 1,122 individuals reported this salary.
How Much Does an Architect make in South Africa?
The salary range for reporting architects in South Africa is R117,020 to R496,895. A maximum bonus of R40,851 and profit sharing of R138,086 are reported by these professionals. The hourly rate is R 100.84 with an overtime rate of virtually the same. There are more individuals reporting their salaried rate (220) versus hourly rate (7). The cumulative salary is R118,192 to R534,861.
2. Experience
All of the countries included in this salary report have a fairly consistent correlation between salary and experience. That being said there are slight differences. Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States have a consistent growth of salary.
In South Africa, the pay increase is modest for the first five years and then has greater increases in pay after that time. India and Australia architects will see consistent increases in pay for the first 20 years of their career, and then a sharp increase after that while those in New Zealand will see their pay taper off after 20 years of employment.
3. Industry
The highest paying industries for Architects in the United States are in lessors of real estate, scientific research and development, computer systems design, management consulting services, and the postal service. With the exception of computer systems design these industries represent less than 1% of those in architect careers.
A skill in project management is a positive indicator of a higher salary in five of the seven countries described. The only countries that did not mention project management as a valuable skill were the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Knowledge of autoCAD 2000i is a valued skill while general knowledge of autoCAD is less valuable. Skills in the Adobe suite such as Photoshop and Illustrator were viewed negatively regardless of country.
Schedule & Working Hours
The working schedule for architects in the United States is full-time. The nature of the job is project-driven so when a project is due they often have to work overtime as well. 20% of architects are self-employed. Most architects are employed in architectural or engineering firms.
In Australia, a self-employed architect described corporate architecture as not having a work/life balance for employees. There is pressure from management to work long hours and this is valued over the productivity of the job.
Bonuses & Benefits
The areas of the United States that pay the most are in California, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Minnesota. The greatest concentration of architects out of these states is in Massachusetts. Many architects who are working for a company will receive benefits such as life, retirement, or medical while those who are self-employed will not receive benefits from a company but could pursue their own benefits.
| Country | United States | Canada | United Kingdom | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa |
| Medical | 80 | 68 | 39 | 10 | 13 | 33 | 25 |
| Dental | 53 | 61 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Vision | 40 | 42 | 14 | 3 | — | 4 | 2 |
Career Outlook
The growth of architects is expected to be 7% through the year 2024. Architects will especially be needed to design new buildings for healthcare and retail. With the focus on the environment and sustainability, architects who are knowledgeable in ‘green’ building are especially desired.
Technology has impacted the architecture field workflow. It has reduced the need for architectural drafters as architects can use the technology to help draft the drawings.
The architecture field is very competitive and there will be more architects in areas that are growing rather than in areas that are staying the same or losing their population.
There are certain locations that pay more than others for architects. In South Africa, beneficial locations are in Johannesburg and Durban, in Canada, Calgary and Vancouver pay well. In Australia architects in Sydney make more money while in the United States good cities for architects are Dallas, San Francisco, Washington, and Boston. Areas where the pay is lower than average are Halifax, Ottawa, Cape Town, Glasgow, Miami, Austin, Chicago, and Brisbane.
Looking at gender, architecture is a male-dominated profession but India, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand all have female architects in the 40th percentile while in the United Kingdom and the United States females are in the 30th percentiles.
Conclusion
Architects have a very important job. They are largely responsible for the design of new construction and work closely with engineers in the construction of the buildings. With this position comes a lot of responsibility and the job can be high-stress when projects are due. These professionals have a higher than average income, but need years of education to officially practice as an architect.
