Side-by-side distribution
Creative Director
$163,900
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 52.4%
- Live roles
- 370
UX Designer
$167,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 39.9%
- Live roles
- 1,820
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
Product Designer ($300k - $500k)
Product Designer, Safeguards
Product Designer, Growth
Product Designer
Staff Product Designer (Contract)
Product Designer
Product Designer, Claude Developer Platform
Product Designer, Design Systems
Principal Product Designer
Product Designer
VML
Monks
Protiviti
Adobe
Ogilvy
Anduril Industries
Air Apps
Palantir
Clio
Robinhood
Compass
Esri
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 |
UX Designer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $214,500 | 145 |
| Austin | $197,875 | 10 |
| Los Angeles | $196,000 | 13 |
| Seattle | $193,000 | 42 |
| New York | $185,500 | 187 |
| Chicago | $180,500 | 19 |
| Denver | $180,500 | 19 |
| Boston | $157,500 | 17 |
| Atlanta | $143,500 | 13 |
| London | $129,484 | 13 |
Creative Director vs UX Designer: which pays more?
The median for Creative Director is $163,900 per year (typically $127,500–$200,000), versus $167,500 for UX Designer ($127,500–$205,000). 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 Creative 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.