The highest-paying states 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 states are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with an annual salary of $165,000, District of Columbia is the highest paying state for art directors. It is followed by New York (average annual salary $146,440). 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 state, use the links in the table.
| Rank | State | Average Salary i | Entry Level Salary i |
# of Empl. i |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $165,000 |
$73,990 | 470 |
| 2 | New York | $146,440 |
$62,500 | 9,980 |
| 3 | California | $130,500 |
$76,580 | 13,060 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $121,940 |
$76,960 | 1,960 |
| 5 | Washington | $108,780 |
$69,990 | 1,010 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $108,700 |
$61,560 | 1,480 |
| 7 | Oregon | $105,900 |
$59,190 | 1,020 |
| 8 | Georgia | $103,270 |
$58,670 | 1,520 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $103,070 |
$65,100 | 640 |
| 10 | Colorado | $102,990 |
$61,430 | 550 |
| 11 | Illinois | $101,790 |
$60,750 | 4,190 |
| 12 | Minnesota | $99,150 |
$58,950 | 1,080 |
| 13 | North Carolina | $98,280 |
$50,240 | 610 |
| 14 | Arkansas | $94,490 |
$54,990 | 180 |
| 15 | Missouri | $91,300 |
$48,620 | 690 |
| 16 | Vermont | $89,710 |
$26,100 | 40 |
| 17 | New Hampshire | $88,580 |
$51,130 | 130 |
| 18 | Virginia | $87,840 |
$58,130 | 680 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | $87,110 |
$53,550 | 550 |
| 20 | Maryland | $86,950 |
$48,030 | 440 |
| 21 | North Dakota | $86,060 |
$41,050 | 30 |
| 22 | Alabama | $85,980 |
$48,960 | 120 |
| 23 | Nevada | $85,860 |
$52,310 | 200 |
| 24 | Maine | $84,990 |
$42,420 | 180 |
| 25 | Utah | $84,110 |
$42,610 | 550 |
| 26 | Arizona | $83,430 |
$46,390 | 400 |
| 27 | Delaware | $83,200 |
$69,100 | 50 |
| 28 | Idaho | $82,900 |
$45,000 | 130 |
| 29 | Ohio | $82,450 |
$51,850 | 880 |
| 30 | Texas | $81,920 |
$48,990 | 3,750 |
| 31 | Hawaii | $80,830 |
$58,430 | 40 |
| 32 | Pennsylvania | $80,560 |
$49,580 | 1,490 |
| 33 | Montana | $79,910 |
$57,080 | 0 |
| 34 | Florida | $79,850 |
$49,670 | 1,920 |
| 35 | Rhode Island | $79,350 |
$36,980 | 40 |
| 36 | Michigan | $78,970 |
$54,170 | 1,320 |
| 37 | South Carolina | $78,120 |
$32,140 | 310 |
| 38 | Iowa | $77,290 |
$44,860 | 350 |
| 39 | Indiana | $77,130 |
$50,990 | 240 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $76,430 |
$45,090 | 870 |
| 41 | Oklahoma | $73,990 |
$44,250 | 100 |
| 42 | Kansas | $73,810 |
$51,280 | 220 |
| 43 | Louisiana | $73,310 |
$41,820 | 130 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $71,260 |
$48,280 | 200 |
| 45 | Nebraska | $69,470 |
$53,070 | 90 |
| 46 | Puerto Rico | $61,600 |
$39,610 | 90 |
| 47 | Alaska | $57,990 |
$31,830 | 100 |
| 48 | New Mexico | $53,830 |
$36,970 | 140 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $52,790 |
$39,460 | 100 |
| 50 | West Virginia | $45,690 |
$33,720 | 60 |