Side-by-side distribution
Creative Director
$163,900
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 52.4%
- Live roles
- 370
Graphic Designer
$105,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.7%
- Live roles
- 848
Highest-paying jobs
Executive Creative Producer, Associate Director
Creative Director, Block
Creative Director, Tidal
Senior Creative Director, Marketing
Head of Creative, Athleta
Executive Creative Director, Health & Wellness
Head of Creative, Banana Republic
Creative Director, Copy
Creative Director, Art
Creative Director [Contract or Full-time]
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Product Designer, Brand and Experience (Contract, Hands-On)
Principal Product Designer. Brand and Experience (Contract, Hands-On)
Principal Brand Designer
Staff Visual Product Designer, Design Systems
Principal Brand Designer
Brand Designer
Growth Designer — Paid Creative, Brand & Web UX (Remote Part-Time; backed by Y Combinator, $5M+ ARR, $23M+ raised)
Staff Brand Designer, Graphic & Web
Brand Designer, Creative Studio
Brand Designer
VML
Monks
Protiviti
Adobe
Ogilvy
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
NoGigiddy
|
$46,800 | 12 |
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$113,700 | 9 |
HumanSignal
|
$18,720 | 7 |
Brex
|
$210,500 | 6 |
| PG Procter & Gamble | $103,600 | 6 |
Highwire
|
$97,500 | 5 |
| PA Parsons | $76,055 | 5 |
Live Nation Entertainment
|
$65,475 | 4 |
Creative Director salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| London | $251,621 | 3 |
| San Francisco | $217,050 | 23 |
| Denver | $213,230 | 3 |
| Los Angeles | $175,000 | 20 |
| New York | $165,000 | 84 |
| Chicago | $165,000 | 13 |
| Toronto | $84,377 | 12 |
Graphic Designer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $168,500 | 42 |
| Toronto | $140,000 | 3 |
| New York | $125,000 | 65 |
| Seattle | $120,000 | 11 |
| London | $115,000 | 3 |
| Boston | $94,700 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $91,050 | 16 |
| Chicago | $77,500 | 4 |
| Denver | $58,500 | 5 |
| Austin | $46,800 | 3 |
Creative Director vs Graphic Designer: which pays more?
The median for Creative Director is $163,900 per year (typically $127,500–$200,000), versus $105,000 for Graphic Designer ($77,599–$145,450). That puts Creative Director about 56% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Creative Director and Graphic 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.