Craft Artists
Median $46,080
Occupation · SOC 27-1011
Art Directors: pay and where the jobs are
What art directors earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$114,850 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $129,440
- Median hourly wage
- $55.22
- Mean hourly wage
- $62.23
- Employment
- 53,070
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 27-1011.
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How much do art directors make?
The median annual wage for art directors was $114,850 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $64,900 and the highest-paid 10% more than $213,050. As an hourly rate, the median is $55.22. About 53,070 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Massachusetts ($149,320), California ($137,780) and New York ($137,320). Massachusetts also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for art directors looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $64,900 | $31.20 | $5,408 | $4,527 |
| 25th percentile | $82,480 | $39.65 | $6,873 | $5,571 |
| Median | $114,850 | $55.22 | $9,571 | $7,469 |
| 75th percentile | $162,640 | $78.19 | $13,553 | $10,203 |
| 90th percentile | $213,050 | $102.43 | $17,754 | $13,074 |
Art Directors: pay by state
47 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$99,656 take-home in national prices
2
$97,430 take-home in national prices
3
$95,539 take-home in national prices
Where a median art director paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 1,850 | $149,320 | $78,470 | $218,270 | $105,393 | $99,656 |
| California | 12,430 | $137,780 | $81,500 | $249,210 | $95,079 | $85,873 |
| New York | 8,720 | $137,320 | $80,060 | $280,320 | $97,619 | $90,455 |
| Oregon | 1,040 | $133,840 | $89,390 | $216,700 | $91,220 | $88,254 |
| New Hampshire | 160 | $132,000 | $70,990 | $169,950 | $101,488 | $97,430 |
| Vermont | 80 | $129,260 | $77,360 | $153,890 | $93,588 | $95,539 |
| New Jersey | 1,840 | $129,200 | $87,700 | $195,450 | $92,801 | $85,291 |
| Washington | 650 | $121,170 | $69,690 | $215,900 | $92,392 | $86,337 |
| Georgia | 1,420 | $110,430 | $49,990 | $198,360 | $81,756 | $84,903 |
| Minnesota | 920 | $109,700 | $70,810 | $177,680 | $79,585 | $80,698 |
| Utah | 290 | $106,500 | $55,230 | $164,030 | $79,014 | $79,921 |
| Indiana | 350 | $105,690 | $61,990 | $185,690 | $80,095 | $85,820 |
| Illinois | 2,960 | $103,550 | $69,200 | $172,050 | $76,696 | $76,729 |
| Virginia | 670 | $101,150 | $64,010 | $165,010 | $74,987 | $74,168 |
| Missouri | 780 | $100,940 | $60,590 | $162,340 | $76,034 | $83,723 |
| Maine | Not published | $100,300 | $39,950 | $161,030 | $73,739 | $75,981 |
| Colorado | 720 | $99,990 | $73,110 | $162,610 | $75,042 | $72,819 |
| Florida | 2,520 | $99,660 | $56,780 | $163,450 | $78,941 | $76,335 |
| Maryland | 570 | $98,400 | $61,160 | $175,690 | $73,746 | $70,262 |
| Nevada | 290 | $98,070 | $60,000 | $185,100 | $77,822 | $77,839 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,250 | $97,450 | $65,470 | $149,940 | $74,326 | $76,176 |
| Ohio | 1,050 | $94,390 | $57,740 | $148,080 | $73,074 | $78,766 |
| North Carolina | Not published | $90,000 | $56,460 | $142,740 | $69,063 | $73,217 |
| Tennessee | 930 | $89,860 | $50,530 | $172,130 | $72,047 | $78,422 |
| Hawaii | 40 | $89,300 | $48,920 | $154,410 | $66,279 | $60,281 |
| Texas | 2,480 | $88,270 | $55,730 | $172,130 | $70,928 | $73,079 |
| South Carolina | 550 | $87,990 | $64,380 | $180,030 | $67,212 | $71,694 |
| Michigan | 1,080 | $86,660 | $54,590 | $166,880 | $66,363 | $68,972 |
| Louisiana | 160 | $83,640 | $56,780 | $187,000 | $65,548 | $74,311 |
| North Dakota | 30 | $83,170 | $53,200 | $104,290 | $66,977 | $75,290 |
| Wisconsin | 730 | $81,130 | $58,470 | $131,850 | $62,598 | $66,526 |
| Iowa | 280 | $80,940 | $62,990 | $126,990 | $63,347 | $72,181 |
| Idaho | Not published | $80,680 | $51,990 | $155,210 | $62,421 | $65,366 |
| Oklahoma | 290 | $80,680 | $62,960 | $143,260 | $62,503 | $71,153 |
| Alabama | 210 | $77,220 | $56,540 | $131,700 | $59,941 | $67,484 |
| Kentucky | 320 | $76,160 | $42,990 | $121,940 | $59,861 | $66,394 |
| Alaska | 40 | $75,200 | $60,260 | $104,990 | $61,462 | $60,046 |
| Montana | 100 | $73,850 | $45,700 | $96,030 | $57,972 | $61,252 |
| Nebraska | 140 | $73,270 | $54,530 | $102,590 | $57,921 | $64,283 |
| Rhode Island | 90 | $72,550 | $56,730 | $194,000 | $56,967 | $55,697 |
| Arkansas | 240 | $71,930 | $52,990 | $130,030 | $57,259 | $65,863 |
| Connecticut | 1,160 | $71,900 | $69,990 | $161,580 | $55,848 | $53,902 |
| South Dakota | 30 | $66,610 | $56,730 | $85,530 | $55,690 | $62,866 |
| Mississippi | 90 | $66,020 | $44,020 | $174,410 | $53,318 | $61,318 |
| West Virginia | 30 | $63,550 | $45,370 | $111,080 | $51,221 | $57,232 |
| Kansas | Not published | $60,460 | $38,350 | $121,470 | $48,186 | $53,499 |
| Puerto Rico | 80 | $57,580 | $35,680 | $70,060 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 27-1011. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.