Side-by-side distribution
Art Director
$165,382
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 41.2%
- Live roles
- 657
Industrial Designer
$116,250
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 47.6%
- Live roles
- 63
Highest-paying jobs
Director, Product Design
Director, User Experience Research – Experience Design (XD)
Sr Director of Design, Firefly
Director - Intel Foundry Pre-Silicon Design Quality and Reliability
Optoelectronic IC Package Design Director
Director, Physical Design (Silicon One)
Senior Director, AI SOC Design Verification
National Design Director - Sports Architecture
Director of Data Sciences - Supply Chain Network Planning and Design
Director Product Design
Highest-paying jobs
Lead Industrial Designer
Lead Industrial Designer
Principal Industrial Designer
Industrial Designer
Senior Industrial Designer
Industrial Systems Designer
Senior Industrial Designer/Principal Industrial Designer Fully remote
Industrial Designer
Industrial Designer (Intermediate Level)
Senior Industrial Designer - San Francisco
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
VML
|
$127,500 | 22 |
Accenture
|
$146,300 | 7 |
Omnicom Media
|
$115,000 | 7 |
Syska Hennessy Group
|
$141,811 | 5 |
Dentsu
|
$127,213 | 5 |
|
Intel
|
$287,585 | 4 |
The New York Times
|
$132,990 | 4 |
| DE DEPT® | $121,750 | 4 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
CoCreativ
|
$100,000 | 5 |
|
Samsung Research America
|
$214,700 | 2 |
HP
|
$149,275 | 2 |
Revelyst
|
$95,000 | 2 |
|
Peloton
|
$239,600 | 1 |
|
CHAOS Industries
|
$207,500 | 1 |
| SA Skild AI | $200,000 | 1 |
|
Applied Intuition
|
$170,000 | 1 |
Art Director salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $239,453 | 6 |
| San Francisco | $212,500 | 15 |
| London | $200,529 | 4 |
| Seattle | $196,325 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | $192,950 | 15 |
| Denver | $190,750 | 4 |
| Atlanta | $163,825 | 4 |
| New York | $135,000 | 87 |
| Chicago | $127,500 | 19 |
| Boston | $109,100 | 7 |
Industrial Designer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $160,000 | 7 |
| New York | $100,000 | 5 |
Art Director vs Industrial Designer: which pays more?
The median for Art Director is $165,382 per year (typically $122,750–$218,388), versus $116,250 for Industrial Designer ($100,000–$153,438). That puts Art Director about 42% 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.