Side-by-side distribution
Creative Director
$159,250
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 53.6%
- Live roles
- 379
Industrial Designer
$116,250
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 46.2%
- Live roles
- 65
Highest-paying jobs
Creative Director, Block
Creative Director, Tidal
Head of Creative, Athleta
Head of Creative, Banana Republic
Creative Director
Director of Product Management, Adobe Lightroom Creative Pro
Head of Brand Creative
Creative Director
Creative Director
Group Creative Director - Social Innovation, 360i
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
VML
Accenture
Protiviti
Braze
Highwire
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
CoCreativ
|
$100,000 | 5 |
|
Samsung Research America
|
$214,700 | 2 |
HP
|
$149,275 | 2 |
KiwiCo Inc.
|
$103,670 | 2 |
Revelyst
|
$95,000 | 2 |
|
Peloton
|
$239,600 | 1 |
|
CHAOS Industries
|
$207,500 | 1 |
| SA Skild AI | $200,000 | 1 |
Creative Director salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| London | $207,621 | 3 |
| San Francisco | $200,590 | 22 |
| Denver | $182,000 | 3 |
| Atlanta | $180,150 | 3 |
| Austin | $175,250 | 6 |
| Seattle | $172,575 | 6 |
| New York | $165,000 | 87 |
| Chicago | $165,000 | 21 |
| Los Angeles | $163,200 | 20 |
| Boston | $107,496 | 6 |
Industrial Designer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $160,000 | 7 |
| New York | $100,000 | 5 |
Creative Director vs Industrial Designer: which pays more?
The median for Creative Director is $159,250 per year (typically $127,500–$191,875), versus $116,250 for Industrial Designer ($100,000–$153,438). That puts Creative Director about 37% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Creative 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.