Creative salary

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

The best-evidenced figure here is for creative roles at lead level across the United States: 281 postings where the employer stated pay put the middle half between $144,000 and $203,680, with a median of $170,000.

Pay rises with seniority across the United States: the medians run entry-level $72,500, mid-level $102,500, senior $128,000 and lead $170,000. Moving from entry-level to lead is worth roughly 134% more.

Every range here is counted from real postings, never modelled. 28 of the 55 ranges in the table rest on fewer than 10 postings and are marked hint: treat those as hints rather than benchmarks.

Every measured range

55 by market and level

Market	Level	Market range	Median	Sample
United States · country-wide	Entry	$70,000 – $100,200	$72,500	13
United States · country-wide	Mid	$84,300 – $127,844	$102,500	159
Canada · country-wide	Mid	CA$83,375 – CA$125,925	CA$112,500	11
United Kingdom · country-wide	Mid	£40,625 – £65,625	£50,000	8hint
United States · country-wide	Senior	$105,800 – $154,375	$128,000	122
United Kingdom · country-wide	Senior	£57,000 – £74,000	£70,000	9hint
United States · country-wide	Lead	$144,000 – $203,680	$170,000	281
Canada · country-wide	Lead	CA$123,900 – CA$161,875	CA$149,575	22
United Kingdom · country-wide	Lead	£74,154 – £137,500	£120,000	5hint
Remote · United States	Mid	$82,874 – $122,188	$105,000	30
Remote · United States	Senior	$98,000 – $147,694	$120,000	23
Remote · United States	Lead	$140,375 – $196,113	$163,750	54
Remote · Canada	Lead	CA$149,150 – CA$200,000	CA$171,000	5hint
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	$122,625 – $173,125	$141,250	10
Burbank	Entry	$67,000 – $73,000	$73,000	6hint
Burbank	Lead	$80,000 – $180,000	$153,000	5hint
Chicago	Lead	$149,285 – $167,500	$158,125	10
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	£50,000 – £66,875	£57,500	6hint
London	Senior	£67,500 – £74,500	£70,000	7hint
Los Angeles	Entry	$65,000 – $99,000	$84,000	50
Los Angeles	Mid	$90,000 – $134,000	$97,500	9hint
Los Angeles	Senior	$106,500 – $134,250	$112,500	12
Los Angeles	Lead	$145,250 – $180,000	$162,500	23
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	$85,000 – $130,000	$106,800	35
New York	Senior	$101,250 – $154,313	$122,500	42
New York	Lead	$150,000 – $202,122	$171,425	82
Redmond	Lead	$195,000 – $234,000	$219,000	6hint
San Francisco	Entry	$82,000 – $160,000	$130,000	19
San Francisco	Mid	$105,000 – $168,500	$155,400	11
San Francisco	Senior	$161,750 – $199,225	$178,500	11
San Francisco	Lead	$178,750 – $266,000	$220,000	28
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$102,500 – CA$135,000	CA$115,000	9hint
Toronto	Senior	CA$92,000 – CA$140,000	CA$99,000	6hint
Toronto	Lead	CA$120,000 – CA$155,000	CA$147,850	13
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.

Every measured range

Creative work from LinkedIn, X, Reddit and Upwork, in one list.

Pay by market

Open creative roles · 23 with stated pay