Average Creative Director Salary

The top respondents for the job title Creative Director are from the companies International Business Machines (IBM) Corp., Colle+McVoy and Musicnotes. Reported salaries are highest at Colle+McVoy where the average pay is $167,500. Other companies that offer high salaries for this role include International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. and Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, earning around $127,768 and $122,449, respectively. Musicnotes pays the lowest at around $67,802. SYSCO Corporation and The Richards Group also pay on the lower end of the scale, paying $85,500 and $100,000, respectively.

Skills in Team Leadership, Branding and Design are correlated to pay that is above average. Skills that pay less than market rate include Project Management and Graphic Design.

An entry-level Creative Director with less than 1 year experience can expect to earn an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of $51,071 based on 34 salaries. An early career Creative Director with 1-4 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $59,377 based on 756 salaries. A mid-career Creative Director with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $79,323 based on 1,129 salaries. An experienced Creative Director with 10-19 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $100,760 based on 2,193 salaries. In their late career (20 years and higher), employees earn an average total compensation of $105,183.

Employees with Creative Director in their job title in San Francisco, California earn an average of 66.7% more than the national average. These job titles also find higher than average salaries in New York, New York (38.5% more) and Los Angeles, California (29.6% more). The lowest salaries can be found in Austin, Texas (3.7% less).