Benchmark
You're Losing Creatives
Because You're Guessing.
Real salary data for art directors, senior editors, UX leads, and brand strategists — across agencies, studios, and in-house teams. Not ranges. Actual numbers.
salaries benchmarked
this quarter
What you think the market is.
These are real offers made in 2025. The blue column is what the candidate actually accepted. Every row is a resignation letter.
| Role | City | Your Offer | Accepted | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Art Director | Los Angeles | $95K | $128K | +$33K |
| UX Lead | New York | $118K | $152K | +$34K |
| Brand Strategist | Chicago | $82K | $107K | +$25K |
| Senior Motion Designer | Los Angeles | $90K | $124K | +$34K |
| Creative Director | San Francisco | $145K | $188K | +$43K |
| Senior Editor | New York | $88K | $114K | +$26K |
| Head of Content | Austin | $95K | $122K | +$27K |
| Design Director | Seattle | $130K | $165K | +$35K |
Based on 12,400+ verified salary acceptances, Q1 2026. Roles anonymized. Data updated monthly.
These aren't hypotheticals.
They're your last five hires.
Offer Extended
$95,000
Candidate Accepted
$128,000
The Gap
+$33,000
Role: Senior Motion Designer
City: Los Angeles
Company: 80-person agency
"We thought $95K was generous for LA. Turns out the candidate had two other offers above $120K. We never heard back."
What happened next
Candidate joined a streaming platform. Role sat open for 4 months.
Now you know exactly
where the number should land.
Filter by role, city, company size, and experience band. Every row is sourced from verified offer acceptances.
| Role | City | Co. Size | Level | 25th %ile | Median | 75th %ile | 90th %ile | YoY ↑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art Director | New York | mid | senior | $95K | $115K | $138K | $162K | +8.2% |
| Art Director | Los Angeles | mid | senior | $90K | $108K | $128K | $150K | +7.5% |
| UX Lead | New York | large | lead | $130K | $152K | $178K | $205K | +11.3% |
| UX Lead | San Francisco | large | lead | $140K | $165K | $192K | $220K | +9.8% |
| Brand Strategist | Chicago | mid | senior | $80K | $97K | $115K | $132K | +6.4% |
| Senior Editor | New York | large | senior | $88K | $108K | $128K | $148K | +5.9% |
| Motion Designer | Los Angeles | startup | senior | $85K | $105K | $128K | $148K | +12.1% |
| Creative Director | San Francisco | large | lead | $158K | $185K | $215K | $248K | +10.5% |
| Creative Director | New York | mid | lead | $145K | $172K | $200K | $230K | +9.2% |
| Head of Content | Austin | mid | lead | $95K | $118K | $140K | $162K | +14.3% |
| Design Director | Seattle | large | lead | $140K | $162K | $188K | $215K | +8.7% |
| Copywriter | Chicago | startup | mid | $62K | $78K | $95K | $112K | +5.1% |
| Senior Producer | Los Angeles | large | senior | $102K | $122K | $145K | $168K | +7.8% |
| Campaign Manager | New York | mid | senior | $85K | $102K | $122K | $142K | +6.9% |
Data from 12,400+ verified salary acceptances. Percentiles reflect offers accepted, not posted ranges. Updated Q1 2026.
No credit card. Instant results for your role and market.
The data that ends the guessing.
12,400+
Verified salary acceptances
Q1 2026
47
Creative roles tracked
Across disciplines
28
US metros covered
From NYC to Austin
94%
Offer accuracy within 8%
Vs. accepted compensation
Talent teams at these agencies use Benchmark
“We were losing senior creatives to in-house teams and had no idea why our offers kept getting declined. After one month with Benchmark, we adjusted our Creative Director band by $28K. We've closed three senior hires since — all accepted first offer.”
Priya Nair
Head of Talent, 140-person independent agency, Chicago
3/3
Senior hires
accepted first offer
4 months
avg time to fill reduced
Every table row is a lost candidate.
Enter your numbers. Leave with certainty.
Benchmark Your Next Offer
Step 1 of 3 — Role & Location2025 Creative Salary Report
47 roles × 28 cities × 4 experience bands. The most comprehensive creative compensation dataset published this year. 84 pages. Free.
All data anonymized. No individual salaries are ever shared.
Updated monthly from verified offer-acceptance records.
Results in under 60 seconds. No sales call required.