Highest-paying Cities for Art Directors

The top 100 highest paying cities for art directors (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of art directors in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $158,220, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California is the highest paying city for art directors. It is followed by San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California (average annual salary $158,000). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of art directors in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Art Directors

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$158,220	$89,980	2,120
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$158,000	$94,980	590
3	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$142,390	$64,740	10,570
4	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$137,450	$54,610	30
5	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$131,620	$80,630	1,150
6	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$131,510	$76,760	8,090
7	Syracuse, New York	$128,110	$32,480	70
8	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$121,900	$59,840	3,540
9	Columbia, Missouri	$120,650	$108,600	n/a
10	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$117,440	$64,160	6,360
11	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$115,940	$60,860	60
12	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$113,920	$58,970	310
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$113,200	$64,840	900
14	Boulder, Colorado	$112,840	$64,690	140
15	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$112,390	$67,690	580
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$112,070	$78,220	870
17	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$111,440	$64,600	130
18	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$109,970	$70,840	300
19	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$109,850	$64,320	1,260
20	Rockford, Illinois	$109,520	$58,260	30
21	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$109,450	$70,900	150
22	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$109,240	$45,010	90
23	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$108,270	$65,600	110
24	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$107,970	$59,870	110
25	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$107,190	$59,190	860
26	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$107,160	$65,150	190
27	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$107,090	$55,000	70
28	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$105,560	$71,990	50
29	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$104,170	$49,710	3,560
30	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$103,940	$61,670	260
31	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$103,440	$63,310	1,280
32	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$102,360	$61,710	180
33	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$101,990	$64,360	150
34	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$101,970	$61,840	3,680
35	Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina	$101,390	$54,940	160
36	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$101,280	$71,700	130
37	Fresno, California	$100,110	$64,090	50
38	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$99,890	$68,660	550
39	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	$99,780	$64,930	30
40	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$99,510	$58,960	960
41	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$99,340	$70,780	30
42	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$99,160	$58,550	340
43	Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina	$98,350	$53,200	50
44	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Missouri	$97,800	$59,180	100
45	Eugene-Springfield, Oregon	$97,490	$45,340	40
46	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Florida	$97,450	$57,050	80
47	Peoria, Illinois	$95,440	$60,070	60
48	Rochester, New York	$95,120	$59,220	130
49	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$94,850	$56,090	840
50	Framingham, Massachusetts	$94,190	$57,760	100
51	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$93,280	$49,730	1,080
52	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$92,900	$55,740	230
53	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$91,230	$49,670	280
54	Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan	$91,150	$51,790	30
55	St Louis, Missouri	$90,980	$47,870	350
56	Kansas City, Missouri	$90,920	$52,850	310
57	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$90,920	$65,370	210
58	Ann Arbor, Michigan	$90,900	$52,440	40
59	Peabody, Massachusetts	$90,700	$63,830	40
60	Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan	$90,690	$52,130	260
61	Richmond, Virginia	$89,670	$64,340	160
62	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$89,650	$60,840	350
63	Columbus, Ohio	$89,610	$54,270	220
64	Madison, Wisconsin	$89,460	$50,540	100
65	Springfield, Massachusetts	$88,900	$38,210	60
66	Provo-Orem, Utah	$88,680	$39,060	190
67	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	$88,110	$61,640	30
68	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$87,360	$49,230	600
69	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$86,740	$52,480	100
70	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$86,700	$52,670	560
71	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$86,520	$52,400	2,070
72	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, California	$86,430	$38,130	50
73	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$86,250	$54,420	270
74	Salt Lake City, Utah	$86,120	$48,450	270
75	Jacksonville, Florida	$85,920	$56,760	100
76	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$85,860	$53,000	170
77	New Haven, Connecticut	$85,370	$64,640	70
78	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$85,000	$46,390	320
79	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$84,940	$57,590	240
80	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$84,910	$51,260	210
81	Worcester, Massachusetts	$84,710	$60,230	70
82	Boise City-Nampa, Idaho	$84,250	$65,080	60
83	Wilmington, New Jersey	$83,730	$60,600	50
84	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida	$83,260	$54,450	280
85	North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida	$83,240	$54,330	40
86	Dayton, Ohio	$83,200	$51,250	60
87	Fort Wayne, Indiana	$83,010	$59,090	30
88	Tacoma, Washington	$82,930	$44,800	30
89	Reading, Pennsylvania	$82,760	$60,450	50
90	Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan	$82,710	$55,990	80
91	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$82,670	$50,540	1,680
92	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$82,560	$47,570	220
93	Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, South Carolina	$82,220	$49,860	120
94	Toledo, Ohio	$82,070	$49,920	40
95	Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama	$82,020	$53,540	70
96	Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	$81,640	$52,250	30
97	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pennsylvania	$81,210	$49,290	70
98	Kalamazoo-Portage, Michigan	$81,000	$54,520	30
99	Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Arkansas	$80,550	$52,170	50
100	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	$80,320	$51,770	40

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for art directors.