Side-by-side distribution
Art Director
$164,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 44.1%
- Live roles
- 598
Graphic Designer
$105,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.9%
- Live roles
- 855
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Director, Design
Director, Product Design
Director Product & Design
Director / Principal Motion Designer, Expedia Design
Director - Intel Foundry Pre-Silicon Design Quality and Reliability
Optoelectronic IC Package Design Director
Director, Product Design - AI & Context
National Design Director - Sports Architecture
Executive Director, Head of Clinical Design & Delivery Center
Director of Data Sciences - Supply Chain Network Planning and Design
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Product Designer, Brand and Experience (Contract, Hands-On)
Principal Product Designer. Brand and Experience (Contract, Hands-On)
Principal Experience Designer - Visual Design & Design Systems
Brand Experience Designer, Consumer
Principal Brand Designer
Principal Brand Designer
Brand Designer
Growth Designer — Paid Creative, Brand & Web UX (Remote Part-Time; backed by Y Combinator, $5M+ ARR, $23M+ raised)
Staff Brand Designer, Graphic & Web
Brand Designer, Creative Studio
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
VML
|
$127,500 | 11 |
Dentsu
|
$105,606 | 8 |
Omnicom Media
|
$115,000 | 7 |
Accenture
|
$146,300 | 5 |
|
Bristol Myers Squibb
|
$170,516 | 4 |
Syska Hennessy Group
|
$147,117 | 4 |
Ogilvy
|
$113,750 | 4 |
Real Chemistry
|
$101,250 | 4 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
NoGigiddy
|
$46,800 | 12 |
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$113,700 | 9 |
HumanSignal
|
$18,720 | 7 |
Brex
|
$210,500 | 6 |
| PG Procter & Gamble | $103,600 | 6 |
Highwire
|
$97,500 | 5 |
| PA Parsons | $76,055 | 5 |
Live Nation Entertainment
|
$65,475 | 4 |
Art Director salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $265,000 | 7 |
| Seattle | $212,500 | 7 |
| Denver | $212,500 | 3 |
| San Francisco | $211,250 | 14 |
| Los Angeles | $197,600 | 13 |
| Atlanta | $173,000 | 5 |
| Chicago | $147,500 | 15 |
| New York | $140,000 | 82 |
| Boston | $137,850 | 10 |
| Toronto | $81,209 | 14 |
Graphic Designer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $170,000 | 43 |
| Toronto | $140,000 | 3 |
| New York | $128,750 | 68 |
| Seattle | $120,000 | 13 |
| London | $115,000 | 3 |
| Atlanta | $100,000 | 3 |
| Los Angeles | $92,100 | 17 |
| Boston | $90,000 | 7 |
| Chicago | $79,175 | 6 |
| Denver | $67,175 | 6 |
Art Director vs Graphic Designer: which pays more?
The median for Art Director is $164,000 per year (typically $115,000–$216,406), versus $105,000 for Graphic Designer ($77,250–$144,260). That puts Art Director about 56% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Art Director and Graphic Designer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.