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Job outlook for advertising directors in the United States
Advertising director job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected advertising director job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028.
About 33,700 new jobs for advertising directors are projected over the next decade.
Advertising director salaries have increased 32% for advertising directors in the last 5 years.
There are over 9,077 advertising directors currently employed in the United States.
There are 16,270 active advertising director job openings in the US.
The average advertising director salary is $116,829.
Are advertising director jobs in demand?
Advertising director job and salary trends over time
Advertising director jobs over time
Advertising director job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9,077 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 8,978 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 9,937 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 9,940 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 10,942 | 0.00% |
Average advertising director salary over time
Advertising director salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $116,829 | $56.17 | +6.3% |
| 2025 | $109,870 | $52.82 | +7.2% |
| 2024 | $102,534 | $49.30 | +10.4% |
| 2023 | $92,905 | $44.67 | +5.3% |
| 2022 | $88,248 | $42.43 | +5.1% |
Advertising director jobs by state
Most common states for advertising directors
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 521 | 17% |
| 2 | Arkansas | 3,004,279 | 500 | 17% |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 3,930,864 | 457 | 12% |
| 4 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 86 | 12% |
| 5 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 523 | 11% |
| 6 | Louisiana | 4,684,333 | 502 | 11% |
| 7 | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 306 | 10% |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 336 | 5% |
| 9 | Vermont | 623,657 | 29 | 5% |
| 10 | New York | 19,849,399 | 695 | 4% |
| 11 | California | 39,536,653 | 1,183 | 3% |
| 12 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 301 | 3% |
| 13 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 222 | 3% |
| 14 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 152 | 3% |
| 15 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 152 | 3% |
| 16 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 138 | 3% |
| 17 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 98 | 3% |
| 18 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 98 | 3% |
| 19 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 34 | 3% |
| 20 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 27 | 3% |
Most common cities for advertising directors
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 1 | 0% | $121,669 |
Advertising Director job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of advertising director experts
University of Scranton
Abhijit Roy
Professor of MarketingUniversity of Scranton
School of Management
What soft skills should all Advertising Directors possess?
Abhijit Roy: These are very important, yet harder to quantify skills, not only for marketing professionals but for business graduates in general. They include the ability to make sound decisions under pressure, having a high emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) as embodied by having empathy towards coworkers and subordinates, delegating appropriately, mentoring, communicating, time management, maintaining positivity despite setbacks and adapting to unforeseen challenges, being flexible, being persuasive and assertive at appropriate moments, yet being collaborative, seeking feedback, and the ability to negotiate and resolve conflicts when needed, amongst others.
Soft skills are typically more instrumental in enabling candidates to fit into an organization's culture and be strong candidates for promotion. Most marketing jobs involve candidates representing their brand initiatives and building strong client relationships, so interpersonal, and other soft skills are often valued more than hard skills. The strongest case for having excellent soft skills is that they are more easily transferable across various jobs and industries.