Side-by-side distribution
Content Marketing
$125,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 40.9%
- Live roles
- 247
SEM
$105,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 35%
- Live roles
- 140
Highest-paying jobs
Clinical Content- Physician (Clinical AI Strategist - UpToDate®, M.D.)
Marketing Manager, Consumer Creative & Content
Brand and Content Strategist
Content Marketing Manager, Demand Generation
Senior Digital Strategist, Content Strategy & Operations
Content Strategist
Senior Content Marketing Manager
Senior Manager, Content Marketing Nonprofits
Content Marketer
Startup Content Marketing Manager
Highest-paying jobs
Global Paid Search Senior Manager
Senior Manager, Paid Search
Senior Manager, Performance Marketing, SEM
Senior Performance Marketing Manager, Paid Search
Senior Performance Marketing Manager, Paid Search
Senior Performance Marketing Manager, Paid Search
Senior Performance Marketing Manager, Paid Search
Global Paid Search Marketing Manager
Product Marketing Manager - Brave Search APIs
Product Manager - Paid Search
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Kanopi
|
$90,043 | 4 |
|
OpenAI
|
$224,000 | 2 |
|
Abbott
|
$186,500 | 2 |
Esri
|
$133,016 | 2 |
Bank of America
|
$131,725 | 2 |
Formlabs
|
$116,250 | 2 |
|
Wolters Kluwer
|
$241,750 | 1 |
|
Dust
|
$230,000 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Harvey
|
$170,000 | 4 |
Wpromote
|
$87,000 | 4 |
|
Airwallex
|
$145,000 | 3 |
OneTrust
|
$140,625 | 2 |
Omnicom Media
|
$92,500 | 2 |
| WM WPP Media | $82,463 | 2 |
Monks
|
$75,000 | 2 |
Remotely
|
$17,143 | 2 |
Content Marketing salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $161,500 | 13 |
| New York | $148,750 | 14 |
| Chicago | $129,000 | 5 |
| Boston | $109,425 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | $103,750 | 4 |
| Toronto | $89,189 | 4 |
SEM salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $147,500 | 6 |
| Atlanta | $140,625 | 3 |
| Chicago | $127,500 | 8 |
| New York | $97,500 | 11 |
Content Marketing vs SEM: which pays more?
The median for Content Marketing is $125,000 per year (typically $92,681–$150,000), versus $105,000 for SEM ($82,000–$140,000). That puts Content Marketing about 19% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Content Marketing and SEM 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.