Side-by-side distribution
Art Director
$155,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 42.3%
- Live roles
- 364
Industrial Designer
$125,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 54.5%
- Live roles
- 33
Highest-paying jobs
Director, Product Design
Art Director, Claude
Director Product Design
Sr Director, Sound Design
Director, Design Verification
Director, Product Design
Executive Director, Motion Design
Director, User Research - Product Design
Director, Product Design
Senior Director, Organizational Design
Highest-paying jobs
Lead Industrial Designer
Staff Industrial Designer
Industrial Designer - AI Trainer
Staff Industrial Designer
Staff Industrial Designer
Senior Industrial Designer/Principal Industrial Designer Fully remote
Industrial Designer
Senior Industrial Designer - San Francisco
Industrial Designer
Industrial Systems Designer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| DE DEPT® | $118,612 | 7 |
Omnicom Media
|
$115,000 | 7 |
Syska Hennessy Group
|
$141,811 | 5 |
SharkNinja
|
$132,400 | 5 |
Keywords Studios
|
$165,000 | 4 |
| SX SALT XC | $97,000 | 4 |
NYC Alliance Company LLC
|
$175,000 | 3 |
Highwire
|
$130,000 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Aurora Innovation
|
$188,500 | 2 |
KiwiCo Inc.
|
$103,670 | 2 |
CoCreativ
|
$90,750 | 2 |
|
Handshake
|
$260,000 | 1 |
|
Peloton
|
$239,600 | 1 |
| SA Skild AI | $200,000 | 1 |
|
Applied Intuition
|
$170,000 | 1 |
|
Plaud
|
$160,000 | 1 |
Art Director salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $229,084 | 6 |
| San Francisco | $222,804 | 10 |
| Los Angeles | $169,500 | 15 |
| New York | $166,000 | 50 |
| London | $162,250 | 8 |
| Atlanta | $140,388 | 4 |
| Chicago | $117,000 | 3 |
| Toronto | $81,500 | 7 |
Industrial Designer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $160,000 | 5 |
Art Director vs Industrial Designer: which pays more?
The median for Art Director is $155,000 per year (typically $114,650–$208,000), versus $125,000 for Industrial Designer ($107,500–$170,000). That puts Art Director about 24% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Art Director and Industrial 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.