Side-by-side distribution
Art Director
$164,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 44.1%
- Live roles
- 598
UI Designer
$120,775
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 20.8%
- Live roles
- 432
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 Experience Designer - Visual Design & Design Systems
Senior UI/UX Designer
Principal UX/UI Designer
UI/UX Designer - TS/SCI with Polygraph
Senior Visual Designer
Staff Product Designer (Visual Design & Systems), Autonomous Recruiting
Lead UI Technical Designer
Lead UI Technical Designer
Mid / Senior Growth Visual Designer @ Superhuman (Contract)
Senior Visual Designer
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 |
|---|---|---|
Konrad
|
$87,000 | 6 |
MetroStar
|
$170,500 | 4 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$142,700 | 3 |
IDEO
|
$90,000 | 3 |
LOOP®
|
$57,965 | 3 |
|
GDIT
|
$204,283 | 2 |
| NE New Era Technology | $143,520 | 2 |
|
2K
|
$137,810 | 2 |
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 |
UI Designer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $175,000 | 11 |
| Seattle | $175,000 | 5 |
| Atlanta | $175,000 | 3 |
| New York | $112,500 | 13 |
| Toronto | $84,000 | 5 |
Art Director vs UI Designer: which pays more?
The median for Art Director is $164,000 per year (typically $115,000–$216,406), versus $120,775 for UI Designer ($86,250–$158,975). That puts Art Director about 36% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Art Director and UI 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.