Creative Director salary
What a creative director actually earns, from 340 live job postings blended with the official US OEWS (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) wage anchor. Pick a market for its median and range, then read the seniority split, the trend, and the country comparison below. Updated 2026-07-23.
Switch the market above to see creative director pay in the 2 countries our sources cover, each with its own cost of living. The trend, seniority, and state detail below are United States data, where the official record runs deepest.
What the number means
A creative director earns a blended US median near 133,218 dollars, with the typical middle running from 113,487 dollars to 166,917 dollars. The official OEWS median is 111,040 dollars, under the posted figure, because the advertised roles skew senior or well-funded. The official trend has moved up about 18 percent since 2019. By seniority, posted pay runs from roughly 105,458 dollars to 132,580 dollars. Demand is rated high, and 5% of postings are fully remote. The nearest adjacent move on our skill graph is brand designer, at 36 percent coverage; the instrument maps the rest.
Open creative director roles
Live openings tagged to this occupation, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
- Associate Creative Director, DesignGlossGenius · New York, NYJul 22
- ART DIRECTOR, NF-04/RFT, MARKETING, CAMP FOSTERU.S. Marine Corps · Camp Foster, Japan$53k–$62kJul 21
- Associate Creative Director, Motion DesignServiceNow · Santa Clara, USRemoteJul 21
- Creative Director (m/w/d)benuta GmbH · BonnJul 21
- Parsons Federal - Engineered Systems - Design ManagerParsons Corporation · United States$125k–$225kRemoteJul 19
- Creative DirectorBellweather Agency · New York, New York, United StatesRemoteJul 17
By seniority
Posted-median pay by seniority signal in the title, from our corpus. Noisy at the edges where sample sizes are small.
By country
- United States$113,487 – $166,917 · median $133,218
- United Kingdom$76,277 – $106,707 · median $87,382
Top-paying US states
OEWS median by state, highest first.
- Washingtonmedian $143,490
- New Yorkmedian $136,610
- Californiamedian $133,930
- Illinoismedian $100,530
- Utahmedian $91,020
- Iowamedian $80,560
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Related salaries
- Brand Designer salary$118,531 median
- Graphic Designer salary$68,638 median
- Game Designer salary$101,561 median
Quick answers
How much does a creative director make?
The blended US median is about 133,218 dollars, with a typical range from 113,487 dollars to 166,917 dollars, against an official OEWS median of 111,040 dollars.
Is creative director a good career in 2026?
Demand for the role is rated high in our July 2026 corpus, with 5% of postings fully remote. The pay is shown above by seniority and by country.
What can a creative director move into?
The nearest adjacent role on our skill graph is brand designer, at 36 percent skill coverage. Run the instrument for the full set of reachable moves.
Method: bands are the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of live US postings with stated pay, shrunk toward the official OEWS anchor by sample size (the “blended” figure). Trend is the OEWS annual median for SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code 27-1011. Live corpus 340 observations, 2026-07-23. Definitions in the glossary.