Creative salary

55 market ranges · employer-stated pay · updated Sep 24, 2026

These figures come from 465 creative postings where the employer stated pay, covering 16 cities. The single best-evidenced figure is New York at lead, where 76 postings put the middle half between $150,000 and $212,500, with a median of $180,000.

Pay rises with seniority. Typical figures run entry-level around $88,000, mid-level around $108,000, senior around $125,000 and lead around $177,000. Moving from entry-level to lead is worth roughly 102% more.

Location moves the number too. Of the 3 cities with enough disclosures to rank, San Francisco pays most at around $166,000 and Los Angeles least at around $104,000, a gap of roughly 59%.

Every range here is counted from real postings, never modelled. 20 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

55 by market and level

Market	Level	Market range	Median	Sample
United States · country-wide	Entry	$64,250 – $79,050	$71,000	8hint
United States · country-wide	Mid	$86,967 – $129,500	$102,500	119
Canada · country-wide	Mid	CA$86,813 – CA$136,050	CA$108,750	8hint
United Kingdom · country-wide	Mid	£40,625 – £53,750	£49,250	8hint
United States · country-wide	Senior	$103,500 – $152,500	$122,500	96
United Kingdom · country-wide	Senior	£53,500 – £72,500	£70,000	7hint
United States · country-wide	Lead	$143,983 – $204,475	$174,725	228
Canada · country-wide	Lead	CA$123,900 – CA$160,000	CA$149,188	18
United Kingdom · country-wide	Lead	£74,154 – £137,500	£120,000	5hint
Remote · United States	Mid	$80,000 – $121,250	$100,845	25
Remote · United States	Senior	$97,000 – $138,988	$111,250	18
Remote · United States	Lead	$140,000 – $194,250	$162,500	47
Austin	Lead	$144,000 – $185,000	$175,000	5hint
Boston	Entry	$40,000 – $54,000	$40,000	8hint
Boston	Senior	$112,000 – $139,000	$115,000	7hint
Boston	Lead	$125,150 – $176,250	$155,000	8hint
Burbank	Entry	$67,000 – $73,000	$73,000	6hint
Burbank	Lead	$80,000 – $180,000	$153,000	5hint
Chicago	Lead	$133,750 – $149,285	$149,285	5hint
Culver City	Entry	$61,000 – $62,000	$62,000	8hint
Culver City	Lead	$169,000 – $202,000	$172,000	5hint
Denver	Entry	$66,000 – $73,000	$70,000	6hint
Denver	Lead	$110,000 – $148,000	$115,000	5hint
Irvine	Lead	$159,000 – $235,000	$211,000	12
London	Entry	£42,000 – £52,000	£43,000	18
London	Mid	£48,875 – £61,250	£50,000	6hint
London	Senior	£70,000 – £75,000	£70,000	5hint
London	Lead	£82,000 – £143,000	£119,000	5hint
Los Angeles	Entry	$65,000 – $99,000	$84,000	50
Los Angeles	Mid	$88,902 – $98,750	$95,500	7hint
Los Angeles	Senior	$96,000 – $112,500	$110,304	9hint
Los Angeles	Lead	$155,000 – $180,000	$163,900	17
Manchester	Entry	£42,000 – £44,000	£42,000	6hint
Manchester	Senior	£44,000 – £64,000	£52,000	6hint
Miami	Entry	$52,000 – $59,000	$52,000	5hint
Minneapolis	Lead	$130,000 – $180,000	$145,000	13
New York	Entry	$80,000 – $107,000	$94,000	52
New York	Mid	$83,125 – $121,875	$102,500	26
New York	Senior	$98,750 – $145,601	$119,000	32
New York	Lead	$150,000 – $212,500	$180,000	76
Redmond	Lead	$195,000 – $234,000	$219,000	6hint
San Francisco	Entry	$82,000 – $160,000	$130,000	19
San Francisco	Mid	$102,500 – $169,750	$134,625	10
San Francisco	Senior	$164,000 – $209,363	$199,225	6hint
San Francisco	Lead	$178,750 – $262,875	$204,715	20
San Jose	Lead	$207,000 – $213,000	$213,000	5hint
Seattle	Mid	$84,000 – $124,000	$105,000	5hint
Seattle	Senior	$91,000 – $138,000	$116,000	7hint
Seattle	Lead	$167,000 – $199,000	$169,000	11
Toronto	Entry	CA$54,000 – CA$74,000	CA$61,000	6hint
Toronto	Mid	CA$89,500 – CA$137,100	CA$115,000	7hint
Toronto	Senior	CA$92,000 – CA$140,000	CA$99,000	6hint
Toronto	Lead	CA$120,000 – CA$155,625	CA$148,113	12
Vancouver	Lead	CA$106,000 – CA$156,000	CA$119,000	7hint
Washington	Lead	$158,000 – $193,000	$172,000	9hint

Entry is junior titles. Mid is mid-level and manager titles. Senior is senior titles. Lead is director, VP and above. Rows marked hint rest on fewer than 10 postings: read them as a hint, not a benchmark.

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.