Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 27-1011

Art Directors

The published band from $64,900 to $213,050 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Special Effects Artists and Animators.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Art Directors: Special Effects Artists and Animators ($102K) , Sound Engineering Technicians ($73K) , Technical Writers ($90K) , Fashion Designers ($81K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Art Directors publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 27-1011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Work with creative directors to develop design solutions
  2. 2. Present final layouts to clients for approval
  3. 3. Manage own accounts and projects, working within budget and scheduling requirements
  4. 4. Confer with creative, art, copywriting, or production department heads to discuss client requirements and presentation concepts and to co…
  5. 5. Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques
  6. 6. Formulate basic layout design or presentation approach and specify material details, such as style and size of type, photographs, graphic…
  7. 7. Review and approve art materials, copy materials, and proofs of printed copy developed by staff members
  8. 8. Mark up, paste, and complete layouts and write typography instructions to prepare materials for typesetting or printing
  9. 9. Create custom illustrations or other graphic elements
  10. 10. Attend photo shoots and printing sessions to ensure that the products needed are obtained
  11. 11. Review illustrative material to determine if it conforms to standards and specifications
  12. 12. Hire, train, and direct staff members who develop design concepts into art layouts or who prepare layouts for printing

O*NET skills and knowledge for Art Directors

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 27-1011 - entity-keyed; sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.0
  2. 2. Speaking 4.0
  3. 3. Reading Comprehension 3.8
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 3.8
  5. 5. Judgment and Decision Making 3.8
  6. 6. Coordination 3.6
  7. 7. Complex Problem Solving 3.6
  8. 8. Time Management 3.6

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Design 4.3
  2. 2. English Language 4.3
  3. 3. Computers and Electronics 4.2
  4. 4. Fine Arts 4.2
  5. 5. Communications and Media 4.1
  6. 6. Sales and Marketing 3.7
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$64,900 to $213,050
median $114,850 · ~3.3× spread
$115K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
12,300
Annual openings
53,070
Estimated US jobs
Special Effects Artists and Animators
Highest-pay peer · $102K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree
Related experience 5 years or more

Top Paying States for Art Directors

1. Massachusetts $149,320
2. New York $137,320
3. New Hampshire $132,000
4. California $137,780
5. Vermont $129,260
6. Washington $121,170
7. Georgia $110,430
8. Oregon $133,840
9. New Jersey $129,200
10. Minnesota $109,700

Other Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles

  1. 1. Special Effects Artists and Animators $102,030
  2. 2. Technical Writers $90,390
  3. 3. Fashion Designers $80,960
  4. 4. Writers and Authors $76,910
  5. 5. Producers and Directors $90,360
  6. 6. Sound Engineering Technicians $73,130

The OEWS band for Art Directors runs from $64,900 (10th) to $213,050 (90th), about 3.3× wide, with median $114,850. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 12,300 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry and 5 years or more as the typical related-work-experience category. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Massachusetts at $149,320. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Special Effects Artists and Animators at $102,030. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Share This Career Card

LinkedIn X / Twitter
Full Salary Details Browse All Cards

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024–2034.

Dive into Art Directors in more depth or explore nearby career data.

Full Salary Details

State, metro, and percentile breakdown

Jobs in Massachusetts

Top-paying state for this role

Jobs in New York

Second-highest state pay

Special Effects Artists and Animators

Highest-pay peer · $102K

Sound Engineering Technicians

Lower-pay peer · $73K

All Career Cards

Browse every occupation card

Highest-Paying Rankings

Top careers nationwide

Compare Side-by-Side

Head-to-head with another role
Compare Art Directors with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

What do art directors do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Art Directors. Leading ones include: Work with creative directors to develop design solutions; Present final layouts to clients for approval; Manage own accounts and projects, working within budget and scheduling requirements; Confer with creative, art, copywriting, or production department heads to discuss client requirements and presentation concepts and to co…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for art directors? ▼
For SOC 27-1011, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.0), Speaking (4.0), Reading Comprehension (3.8), Critical Thinking (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Design, English Language, Computers and Electronics. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How does Art Directors sit next to other Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles? ▼
On this card, neighboring same-major-group titles include Special Effects Artists and Animators, Sound Engineering Technicians, Technical Writers, Fashion Designers. Among those peers, Special Effects Artists and Animators holds the highest published national median ($102,030). Sound Engineering Technicians sits lower at $73,130. Peer titles are hash-ordered per card so adjacent SOC pages do not share an identical ladder.
What is the median salary for Art Directors? ▼
The median salary for Art Directors is $114,850 per year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 OEWS data). This means half of workers in this occupation earn more and half earn less. The full range is $64,900 (10th percentile) to $213,050 (90th percentile). For context beside Special Effects Artists and Animators ($102,030), this role's median is the OEWS national figure above.
Is Art Directors a growing occupation? ▼
The BLS projects +4% employment change for Art Directors from 2024 to 2034. There are approximately 12,300 projected annual openings. This is about as fast as average relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%.
What education do you need to become a art directors? ▼
BLS assigns Art Directors to Bachelor's degree for typical education needed for entry. The typical related-work-experience assignment is 5 years or more. These occupation-level categories are not requirements for every employer or worker.
Which states pay art directors the most? ▼
The highest published state medians in this ranking for Art Directors are Massachusetts ($149,320), New York ($137,320), New Hampshire ($132,000). The table does not identify why state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024–2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

All federal data sources used on this page
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - wage estimates by area + occupation. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - occupation task statements (importance-ranked). onetcenter.org
  • BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) - quarterly employment and wage totals by industry. bls.gov/cew
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for metro/state aggregates. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) - monthly nonfarm payroll baselines. bls.gov/ces
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context. irs.gov/statistics
  • BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) - unemployment context for labor-market comparisons. bls.gov/lau