Art Directors Salary in the United States
The median annual wage for art directors in the U.S. is $114,850 ($55.22 per hour), according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $114,850
- Mean annual wage
- $129,440
- Median hourly wage
- $55.22
- Employment
- 53,070
53,070 employed
Wage percentiles
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $64,900 | $31.20 |
| 25th percentile | $82,480 | $39.65 |
| Median (50th) | $114,850 | $55.22 |
| 75th percentile | $162,640 | $78.19 |
| 90th percentile | $213,050 | $102.43 |
Highest-paying states for art directors
| State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $149,320 | 1,850 |
| California | $137,780 | 12,430 |
| New York | $137,320 | 8,720 |
| Oregon | $133,840 | 1,040 |
| New Hampshire | $132,000 | 160 |
| Vermont | $129,260 | 80 |
| New Jersey | $129,200 | 1,840 |
| Washington | $121,170 | 650 |
| Georgia | $110,430 | 1,420 |
| Minnesota | $109,700 | 920 |
Lowest-paying states
- Kansas: $60,460 median annual wage
- West Virginia: $63,550 median annual wage
- Mississippi: $66,020 median annual wage
- South Dakota: $66,610 median annual wage
- Connecticut: $71,900 median annual wage
About this occupation
Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film. Direct workers engaged in artwork or layout design.
Typical tasks
- Conceptualize and help design interfaces for multimedia games, products, and devices.
- Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
- Confer with creative, art, copywriting, or production department heads to discuss client requirements and presentation concepts and to coordinate creative activities.
- Present final layouts to clients for approval.
- Formulate basic layout design or presentation approach and specify material details, such as style and size of type, photographs, graphics, animation, video, and sound.
- Prepare detailed storyboards showing sequence and timing of story development for television production.
Education of the current workforce — typical entry: Bachelor's degree
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Less than high school diploma | 3.1% |
| High school diploma or equivalent | 14.5% |
| Some college, no degree | 17.0% |
| Associate's degree | 9.1% |
| Bachelor's degree | 41.9% |
| Master's degree | 12.5% |
| Doctoral or professional degree | 1.8% |
Occupation profile data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Related occupations
- Public Relations Specialists$74,750
- Coaches and Scouts$47,320
- Graphic Designers$62,960
- Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers$39,390
- Producers and Directors$90,360
- Editors$77,920
- Interior Designers$67,190
- Audio and Video Technicians$58,100
About this data
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- CareerOneStop Occupation Profiles — data period 2026-08, retrieved August 14, 2026.
Figures are shown exactly as published by the source or derived by the documented formulas on our methodology page. Where a source suppresses an estimate, we show “—” rather than a substitute value.