The salary of a Creative Director in the United States varies depending on several factors, including experience, location, education level, marketing trend and company sizes.
As of April 01, 2025, the average annual salary for a Creative Director in the United States is $143,782. According to Salary.com, salaries can range from a low of $115,953 to a high of $177,123, with most professionals earning between $129,215 and $161,234.
| Annual Salary |
Monthly Pay |
Weekly Pay |
Hourly Wage |
|
| 75th Percentile | $161,234 | $13,436 | $3,101 | $78 |
| Average | $143,782 | $11,982 | $2,765 | $69 |
| 25th Percentile | $129,215 | $10,768 | $2,485 | $62 |
An entry-level Creative Director with less than 1 year of experience earns about $137,259. With 1-2 years of experience, the average salary increases to $138,347. For 2-4 years of experience, the pay typically rises to $140,086. Senior-level professionals with 5-8 years of experience earn around $142,260, and those with over 8 years of experience can expect an average of $146,387.
| Levels | Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry Level Creative Director | $137,259 |
| Intermediate Level Creative Director | $138,347 |
| Senior Level Creative Director | $140,086 |
| Specialist Level Creative Director | $142,260 |
| Expert Level Creative Director | $146,387 |
| Entry Level | 5% |
| Mid Level | 4% |
| Senior Level | 3% |
| Top Level | 1% |
| Experienced | 2% |
Salaries in the United States differ widely between states due to factors like cost of living, local economies, and industry presence.
What Am I Worth?
Salaries in the United States can vary greatly between cities due to factors like cost of living, local economies, and industry presence.
As of April 01, 2025, our research reveals a significant shift in Creative Director compensation over the past six years. For example, the median salary increased from $132,370 in 2023 to approximately $129,237 in 2024. (For a detailed analysis of Creative Director salary trends, click here.)
Key factors like location, experience, industry demand, and economic growth significantly influence salary variations, making them important to consider.
Salary.com job board provides millions of Creative Director information for you to search for. Click on search button below to see Creative Director job openings or enter a new job title here.
Here are companies hiring for Creative Director and their salaries, click below for more details.
| Core Compensation | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Base Salary | $143,782 | 72.8% | ||
| Bonus | $0 | 0.0% | ||
| Value of Benefits | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Social Security | $10,999 | 5.6% | ||
| 401K/403B | $6,039 | 3.1% | ||
| Disability | $2,876 | 1.5% | ||
| Healthcare | $8,352 | 4.2% | ||
| Pension | $7,764 | 3.9% | ||
| Time Off | $17,696 | 9.0% | ||
| Total Compensation | $197,508 | 100% | ||
| Degree Level | % of user with this level of education |
|---|---|
| No Diploma | 0.7% |
| High School | 6.0% |
| Associates | 8.1% |
| Bachelors | 67.9% |
| Masters | 16.7% |
| Doctorate | 0.6% |
What Am I Worth?
The average annual salary of Creative Director is $143,782. In case you are finding an easy salary calculator, the average hourly pay of Creative Director is $69; the average weekly pay of Creative Director is $2,765; the average monthly pay of Creative Director is $11,982.
A Creative Director's earning potential can vary widely depending on several factors, including location, industry, experience, education, and the specific employer. According to the latest salary data by Salary.com, a Creative Director earns the most in San Jose, CA, where the annual salary of a Creative Director is $181,352.
The highest pay for Creative Director is $177,123.
The lowest pay for Creative Director is $115,953.
Provides leadership and direction for all phases of creative development work from concept to completion. Designs and implements policies and standards that reinforce the organization's branding strategy and goals. Promotes excellence in design thinking and a creative strategy for services, products and programs. Interprets stakeholder requirements to produce effective creative concepts and designs. Recruits and develops a team of designers, copywriters, project managers and vendors. Develops creative briefs and design concepts to meet the business objectives of the organization. Studies current trends and technologies to adopt the most effective tools and techniques across all media. Typically requires a bachelor's degree. Typically reports to top management. Typically manages through subordinate managers and professionals in larger groups of moderate complexity. Provides input to strategic decisions that affect the functional area of responsibility. May give input into developing the budget. Typically requires 3+ years of managerial experience. Capable of resolving escalated issues arising from operations and requiring coordination with other departments.
Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.
Leadership: Knowledge of and ability to employ effective strategies that motivate and guide other members within our business to achieve optimum results.
Photography: Photography is the art, application and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed in many fields of science, manufacturing (e.g., photolithography), and business, as well as its more direct uses for art, film and video production, recreational purposes, hobby, and mass communication. Typically, a lens is used to focus the light reflected or emitted from objects into a real image on the light-sensitive surface inside a camera during a timed exposure. With an electronic image sensor, this produces an electrical charge at each pixel, which is electronically processed and stored in a digital image file for subsequent display or processing. The result with photographic emulsion is an invisible latent image, which is later chemically "developed" into a visible image, either negative or positive depending on the purpose of the photographic material and the method of processing. A negative image on film is traditionally used to photographically create a positive image on a paper base, known as a print, either by using an enlarger or by contact printing.
Digital Design: Ability to use tools and software to create and present information or a product through a digital interface.
Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.
We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)
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