Creative and Design Director salary: $220K median
The median advertised Creative and Design Director salary is $220K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $172K to $251K: counted from 115 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $106 an hour or $18,333 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $296K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll creative and design director jobs
$220Kmedian advertised salary
$172K – $251Kmiddle half of roles
$218Kaverage advertised salary
115roles counted
Creative and Design Director salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $231K | 29 |
| 🇺🇸New York, NY | $230K | 38 |
| 🇺🇸California | $227K | 41 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $220K | 111 |
Skills that pay more for Creative and Design Director roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand design | $230K | +$10K | 24 |
| Design systems | $227K | +$7K | 13 |
Top-paying companies
Highest-paying open Creative and Design Director roles
All creative and design director jobs- Head of DesignVanta · 🇺🇸Remote U.S.$365K - $513KRemoteLead and aboveSOC 2ISO 27001Design systems
- Senior Director, DesignEpic Games · BLANK,BLANK,Multiple Locations$290K - $467KLead and aboveUnreal Engine
- Senior Director of Design, Search & FeedsReddit · 🇺🇸Remote - United States$317K - $444KRemoteLead and aboveInteraction designInformation architecture
- Product Design ManagerPatreon · 🇺🇸New York$266K - $398KHybridFigma
- Creative Director, BlockBlock · 🇺🇸New York, NY, United States of America$252K - $377KLead and aboveCrypto custody
- Creative Director, ExperientialBlock · 🇺🇸New York, NY, United States of America$252K - $377KLead and aboveCrypto custody
- Head of DesignProfound · 🇺🇸New York, New York$265K - $365KLead and aboveFigmaMongoDB
- Senior Director of DesignVanta · 🇺🇸Remote U.S.$309K - $363KRemoteLead and aboveSOC 2ISO 27001HIPAA
- Senior Creative Director, MarketingDuolingo · 🇺🇸New York, NY$237K - $355KLead and abovePerformance marketing
- Creative DirectorCantina · 🇺🇸Los Angeles$250K - $350KHybridLead and above
- Games Creative/Design DirectorRoblox · 🇺🇸San Mateo, CA, United States$288K - $336KLead and aboveAgile
- Director, DesignPlenful · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA$234K - $332KHybridLead and above
- Creative Director, Brand ExperienceFigma · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA • New York, NY • United States$235K - $317KLead and above
- Brand Design Manager, GrowthBrex · 🇺🇸New York, New York, United States$248K - $311KFigmaBrand designTypography
- Brand Design Manager, GrowthBrex · 🇺🇸Seattle, Washington, United States$248K - $311KFigmaBrand designTypography
- Creative Director [Contract or Full-time]Glossier · 🇺🇸New York, NY$235K - $305KLead and aboveBrand designPhotographyVisual merchandising
- Head of DesignMesh · 🇺🇸United States - Remote$229K - $300KRemoteLead and above
- Creative DirectorDoctronic · 🇺🇸Los Angeles$225K - $300KHybridLead and above
- Head of DesignPadlet · 🇺🇸San Francisco$200K - $300KLead and above
- Head of DesignOpenclaw Foundation Inc · 🇺🇸Remote (US)$250K - $300KRemoteLead and aboveLinux
Questions about Creative and Design Director pay
- What is the average Creative and Design Director salary?
- $218K a year on average and $220K at the median, across 115 open Creative and Design Director postings at companies that state pay (November 2026). The median is the better guide: a few very high offers pull the average up.
- What is the typical range?
- The middle half of the postings offer $172K to $251K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Creative and Design Director pay?
- Vanta ($336K), Block ($314K), Brex ($280K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is a creative and design director a high-paying job?
- The median Creative and Design Director posting advertises $220K a year, more than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 26% above the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as a creative and design director?
- A tenth of the postings offer $296K a year or more; the highest open Creative and Design Director role advertises up to $513K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Creative and Design Director salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $220K a year is about $106 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $18,333 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $83 to $121 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Creative and Design Director roles?
- Postings that ask for Brand design (+$10K, 24 postings), Design systems (+$7K, 13 postings) advertise more than the $220K median of all Creative and Design Director postings with pay.
- Where do these figures come from?
- From the pay ranges employers print in their own job postings, read from their careers pages every hour. The midpoint of each range is counted. These are advertised ranges for open roles, mostly in the United States and in US dollars, not what people are actually paid.
Writing about this? A sentence you can quote
The median advertised salary for Creative and Design Director roles at companies is $220K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $172K to $251K. Counted from 115 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/creative-director/
Free to use with the link.