Median pay for art directors runs from $53,040 in Wichita to $170,140 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara — a 3.21× range across 114 metropolitan areas. The national median of $114,850 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
The top tenth of art directors earn $213,050 or more; the bottom tenth earn under $64,900. That is a 3.28× gap within the same occupation, in the same year. A spread this wide means the job title is not what determines pay — specialisation, employer type, seniority or book of business is. Expect the early years to sit near the bottom of the band rather than the middle, and treat the $114,850 median as a waypoint, not a destination.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA) leads and Wichita (KS) trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $170,140 | $81.80 | 1.56 | 600 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $165,210 | $79.43 | 2.95 | 2,390 |
| Burlington-South Burlington VT | $153,890 | $73.99 | 1.22 | 50 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $151,820 | $72.99 | 1.68 | 1,550 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $145,410 | $69.91 | 2.14 | 880 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $142,990 | $68.74 | 2.77 | 8,980 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $137,560 | $66.14 | 3.08 | 6,590 |
| Waterbury-Shelton CT | $133,680 | $64.27 | 1.29 | 70 |
| Worcester MA | $131,240 | $63.10 | 0.82 | 100 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | $126,410 | $60.78 | 1.06 | 40 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $126,050 | $60.60 | 1.21 | 630 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $124,610 | $59.91 | 0.73 | 520 |
| Stockton-Lodi CA | $123,420 | $59.34 | 0.34 | 30 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA | $121,920 | $58.62 | 0.9 | 100 |
| Trenton-Princeton NJ | $121,540 | $58.43 | 1.06 | 90 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | $119,020 | $57.22 | 1.18 | 780 |
| Syracuse NY | $118,560 | $57.00 | 0.58 | 60 |
| Savannah GA | $117,650 | $56.56 | 0.58 | 40 |
| Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh NY | $117,110 | $56.30 | 0.63 | 60 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford CT | $113,180 | $54.41 | 0.89 | 180 |
| Fort Collins-Loveland CO | $112,050 | $53.87 | 0.53 | 30 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $111,480 | $53.60 | 1.2 | 1,190 |
| Portland-South Portland ME | $110,420 | $53.09 | 0.45 | 40 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $110,180 | $52.97 | 0.57 | 40 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara CA | $109,500 | $52.64 | 0.76 | 50 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wichita KS | $53,040 | $25.50 | 0.77 | 80 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $57,580 | $27.68 | 0.33 | 80 |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway AR | $69,570 | $33.45 | 0.53 | 70 |
| Springfield MO | $70,690 | $33.99 | 0.58 | 40 |
| Jackson MS | $71,120 | $34.19 | 0.36 | 30 |
| Asheville NC | $72,710 | $34.96 | 0.74 | 50 |
| Spokane-Spokane Valley WA | $73,850 | $35.51 | 0.39 | 30 |
| Lexington-Fayette KY | $73,960 | $35.56 | 0.5 | 50 |
| Tucson AZ | $74,510 | $35.82 | 0.35 | 50 |
| Lincoln NE | $75,310 | $36.21 | 0.58 | 40 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $137,560 | $66.14 | 3.08 | 6,590 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $165,210 | $79.43 | 2.95 | 2,390 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $142,990 | $68.74 | 2.77 | 8,980 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $145,410 | $69.91 | 2.14 | 880 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $151,820 | $72.99 | 1.68 | 1,550 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $104,570 | $50.28 | 1.66 | 2,560 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $170,140 | $81.80 | 1.56 | 600 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin TN | $101,470 | $48.78 | 1.38 | 520 |
| Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers AR | $76,570 | $36.81 | 1.29 | 120 |
| Waterbury-Shelton CT | $133,680 | $64.27 | 1.29 | 70 |
| Burlington-South Burlington VT | $153,890 | $73.99 | 1.22 | 50 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $126,050 | $60.60 | 1.21 | 630 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $142,990 | $68.74 | 2.77 | 8,980 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $137,560 | $66.14 | 3.08 | 6,590 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $104,570 | $50.28 | 1.66 | 2,560 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $165,210 | $79.43 | 2.95 | 2,390 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $151,820 | $72.99 | 1.68 | 1,550 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $87,810 | $42.22 | 0.88 | 1,210 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $111,480 | $53.60 | 1.2 | 1,190 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $103,150 | $49.59 | 1.14 | 1,090 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $145,410 | $69.91 | 2.14 | 880 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $105,990 | $50.96 | 0.77 | 820 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | $119,020 | $57.22 | 1.18 | 780 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $105,260 | $50.61 | 0.79 | 780 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 27-1011. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates are published for 114 of 528 metropolitan areas; the remaining 414 had too few survey responses for BLS to publish without risking disclosure, so they are absent here rather than estimated. For a specialised role that is normal. Read the methodology.