Side-by-side distribution
Art Director
$166,681
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 41.6%
- Live roles
- 642
UX Designer
$170,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 40.7%
- Live roles
- 1,891
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
Product Designer ($300k - $500k)
Product Designer
Principal Product Designer, AI Native, Core
Staff Product Designer (Contract)
Product Designer
Product Designer, Evals & Prompts
Principal Product Designer
Senior Product Designer
Product Designer
Staff Product Designer, Discovery
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
VML
|
$127,500 | 17 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Adobe
|
$231,850 | 13 |
Air Apps
|
$47,293 | 11 |
Palantir
|
$132,500 | 10 |
Esri
|
$144,456 | 8 |
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 7 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$119,400 | 7 |
Figma
|
$236,000 | 6 |
Zip
|
$190,000 | 6 |
Art Director salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $239,453 | 6 |
| San Francisco | $214,272 | 16 |
| London | $200,529 | 4 |
| Seattle | $196,325 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | $192,950 | 15 |
| Denver | $190,750 | 4 |
| Atlanta | $163,825 | 4 |
| New York | $140,000 | 85 |
| Boston | $138,050 | 8 |
| Chicago | $127,500 | 17 |
UX Designer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | $219,600 | 4 |
| San Francisco | $212,450 | 159 |
| Austin | $206,625 | 12 |
| New York | $185,000 | 211 |
| Seattle | $184,738 | 38 |
| Denver | $177,500 | 19 |
| Atlanta | $168,025 | 7 |
| Los Angeles | $165,000 | 13 |
| Chicago | $158,250 | 26 |
| Boston | $155,600 | 20 |
Art Director vs UX Designer: which pays more?
The median for Art Director is $166,681 per year (typically $124,900–$218,275), versus $170,000 for UX Designer ($132,500–$207,500). That puts UX Designer about 2% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Art Director and UX 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.