Local market data · Architects · Los Angeles

AI for architects in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles metro area had 1,662 architects in 2022, the 2nd most of 333 US metros and 7% of all in the country. They employed 13,072 people at an average of $101,494 a year. 85% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.

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Architects in Los Angeles vs the US

	Los Angeles metro	United States
Businesses	1,662	22,619
People employed	13,072	182,082
Average staff per business	7.9	8.0
Average yearly pay per employee	$101,494	$96,154
Share with fewer than 10 staff	85%	81%

Pay here is 6% higher than the national average for architects, so every hour of staff time costs more to spend on admin. The average architect here has 7.9 people on payroll, about the same as the US figure of 8.0.

How big architects in Los Angeles are

Fewer than 5 staff1,146 (69%) US 63%

5 to 9262 (16%) US 18%

10 to 19137 (8%) US 10%

20 to 4975 (5%) US 6%

50 or more38 (2%) US 3%

Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.

Architects by county in the Los Angeles area

Los Angeles County has the most, with 1,218 of the metro's 1,662 (73%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Los Angeles ranks 6th for average pay and 3rd for the share of small firms.

County	Businesses	Employees	Avg pay
Los Angeles County	1,218	9,429	$99,519
Orange County	444	3,643	$106,606

Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.

Where AI helps a architect first

An architecture firm gets the most from AI on the work around the drawings: answering project inquiries, chasing proposals, writing meeting notes and tracking where each project stands. The design and the stamp stay with the licensed architect. Start with whatever costs you the most evenings.

What your team's admin hours cost in Los Angeles

Change any number. The starting values are the Los Angeles averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.

People on your teamStarts at the Los Angeles average for a architectHours each spends a week on phones, booking, follow-up and paperwork8 is a starting guess. Put in your ownCost of one hour of their time ($)Starts at the Los Angeles average pay, from Census payrollShare of those hours you would hand to AI: 30%Your call. We tell you on the call what is realistic for your architect

Those hours cost you$156,800 a year

The share you would hand off$47,040 a year

Hours your team gets back960 a year

See what we would build for this

Guides for architects, one job each

Architects in other big metros

Metro	Businesses	Avg pay	Rank of 387
New York	2,283	$96,611	1st
Chicago	838	$101,708	3rd
Miami	747	$86,985	5th
Dallas	528	$112,892	7th
Houston	358	$98,256	14th
Atlanta	445	$110,521	10th
Washington	509	$108,533	9th
Philadelphia	422	$100,540	11th
Boston	617	$104,686	6th

Where these numbers come from

From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 541310 (Architectural services), for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area (2 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.

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