Side-by-side distribution
Creative Director
$165,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 52.4%
- Live roles
- 246
Industrial Designer
$139,113
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 51.4%
- Live roles
- 35
Highest-paying jobs
Head of Creative, Business
Creative Director
Creative Director, Marketing
Head of Creative
Head of Creative Operations
Head of Brand Creative
Creative Director
Creative Director
Creative Director
Director, Creative Operations
Highest-paying jobs
Lead Industrial Designer, Robotics
Lead Industrial Designer
Industrial Designer - AI Trainer
Staff Industrial Designer
Staff Industrial Designer
Senior Industrial Designer/Principal Industrial Designer Fully remote
Industrial Designer
Senior Industrial Designer - San Francisco
Industrial Designer
Senior Industrial Designer
Highwire
Monks
VML
Braze
Weedmaps
TubeScience
Ogilvy
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Aurora Innovation
|
$188,500 | 2 |
KiwiCo Inc.
|
$103,670 | 2 |
|
Handshake
|
$260,000 | 1 |
|
OpenAI
|
$258,500 | 1 |
| SA Skild AI | $200,000 | 1 |
|
Applied Intuition
|
$170,000 | 1 |
|
Plaud
|
$160,000 | 1 |
|
DoorDash USA
|
$153,750 | 1 |
Creative Director salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| London | $216,252 | 4 |
| San Francisco | $199,125 | 20 |
| New York | $175,000 | 51 |
| Chicago | $173,000 | 6 |
| Austin | $171,000 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $167,500 | 13 |
| Toronto | $104,361 | 6 |
Industrial Designer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $188,500 | 5 |
Creative Director vs Industrial Designer: which pays more?
The median for Creative Director is $165,000 per year (typically $136,750–$193,750), versus $139,113 for Industrial Designer ($112,500–$170,000). That puts Creative Director about 19% 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.