Creative salary

51 market ranges · employer-stated pay · updated Aug 16, 2026

Live creative jobs Austin Boston Chicago Culver City Irvine London Los Angeles Miami New York San Francisco Seattle Toronto Vancouver Remote

These figures come from 454 creative postings where the employer stated pay, covering 16 cities. The single best-evidenced figure is New York at entry-level, where 52 postings put the middle half between $80,000 and $107,000, with a median of $94,000.

Pay rises with seniority. Typical figures run entry-level around $88,000, mid-level around $119,000, senior around $121,000 and lead around $166,000. Moving from entry-level to lead is worth roughly 90% more.

Location moves the number too. Of the 4 cities with enough disclosures to rank, San Francisco pays most at around $156,000 and Los Angeles least at around $103,000, a gap of roughly 51%.

Every range here is counted from real postings, never modelled. 19 of the 32 US-dollar ranges rest on fewer than 10 postings, so treat those as a hint rather than a benchmark; the sample column tells you which.

Every measured range

51 by market and level

Market	Level	Market range	Median	Sample
United States · country-wide	Lead	$143,625 – $192,500	$165,000	144
Canada · country-wide	Lead	CA$142,675 – CA$161,250	CA$157,500	11
United States · country-wide	Mid	$87,125 – $136,725	$106,811	71
Canada · country-wide	Mid	CA$83,000 – CA$130,000	CA$108,750	6
United Kingdom · country-wide	Mid	£42,500 – £50,000	£50,000	5
United States · country-wide	Senior	$103,500 – $148,750	$120,000	52
Remote · United States	Lead	$133,750 – $167,500	$160,000	29
Remote · United States	Mid	$80,000 – $126,250	$110,000	15
Remote · United States	Senior	$110,000 – $147,500	$116,250	12
Austin	Lead	$144,000 – $185,000	$175,000	5
Boston	Entry	$40,000 – $54,000	$40,000	8
Boston	Lead	$130,500 – $175,000	$167,500	5
Boston	Senior	$112,000 – $139,000	$115,000	7
Burbank	Entry	$67,000 – $73,000	$73,000	6
Burbank	Lead	$80,000 – $180,000	$153,000	5
Chicago	Lead	$122,000 – $173,000	$140,000	45
Culver City	Entry	$61,000 – $62,000	$62,000	8
Culver City	Lead	$169,000 – $202,000	$172,000	5
Denver	Entry	$66,000 – $73,000	$70,000	6
Denver	Lead	$110,000 – $148,000	$115,000	5
Irvine	Lead	$159,000 – $235,000	$211,000	12
London	Entry	£42,000 – £52,000	£43,000	18
London	Lead	£82,000 – £143,000	£119,000	5
London	Senior	£59,000 – £70,000	£70,000	18
Los Angeles	Entry	$65,000 – $99,000	$84,000	50
Los Angeles	Lead	$152,500 – $176,250	$163,200	16
Los Angeles	Mid	$88,353 – $97,000	$92,750	6
Los Angeles	Senior	$110,625 – $118,125	$112,500	6
Manchester	Entry	£42,000 – £44,000	£42,000	6
Manchester	Senior	£44,000 – £64,000	£52,000	6
Miami	Entry	$52,000 – $59,000	$52,000	5
Minneapolis	Lead	$130,000 – $180,000	$145,000	13
New York	Entry	$80,000 – $107,000	$94,000	52
New York	Lead	$149,125 – $198,125	$166,675	52
New York	Mid	$93,500 – $138,600	$112,500	19
New York	Senior	$95,000 – $122,500	$110,000	17
Redmond	Lead	$195,000 – $234,000	$219,000	6
San Francisco	Entry	$82,000 – $160,000	$130,000	19
San Francisco	Lead	$178,750 – $262,875	$199,125	16
San Francisco	Mid	$100,000 – $175,000	$157,250	9
San Francisco	Senior	$100,000 – $184,000	$142,000	14
San Jose	Lead	$207,000 – $213,000	$213,000	5
Seattle	Lead	$167,000 – $199,000	$169,000	11
Seattle	Mid	$84,000 – $124,000	$105,000	5
Seattle	Senior	$91,000 – $138,000	$116,000	7
Toronto	Entry	CA$54,000 – CA$74,000	CA$61,000	6
Toronto	Lead	CA$126,250 – CA$153,750	CA$147,850	7
Toronto	Mid	CA$83,000 – CA$130,000	CA$108,750	6
Toronto	Senior	CA$92,000 – CA$140,000	CA$99,000	6
Vancouver	Lead	CA$106,000 – CA$156,000	CA$119,000	7
Washington	Lead	$158,000 – $193,000	$172,000	9

Ranges span the 25th to 75th percentile of employer-stated base pay for the market and level. Median is the 50th percentile. Sample is the number of postings measured.

Every measured range

Open creative roles · 197 with stated pay