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Job outlook for executive creative directors in the United States
Executive creative director job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected executive creative director job growth rate is 4% from 2018-2028.
About 4,700 new jobs for executive creative directors are projected over the next decade.
Executive creative director salaries have increased 8% for executive creative directors in the last 5 years.
There are over 13,012 executive creative directors currently employed in the United States.
There are 72,952 active executive creative director job openings in the US.
The average executive creative director salary is $162,850.
Are executive creative director jobs in demand?
Executive creative director job and salary trends over time
Executive creative director jobs over time
Executive creative director job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13,012 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 12,667 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 13,263 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 12,436 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 11,800 | 0.00% |
Average executive creative director salary over time
Executive creative director salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $162,850 | $78.29 | +3.2% |
| 2024 | $157,744 | $75.84 | +1.6% |
| 2023 | $155,333 | $74.68 | +0.3% |
| 2022 | $154,864 | $74.45 | +3.0% |
| 2021 | $150,377 | $72.30 | +0.1% |
Executive creative director jobs by state
Most common states for executive creative directors
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,451 | 21% |
| 2 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 836 | 17% |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 3,930,864 | 664 | 17% |
| 4 | Louisiana | 4,684,333 | 765 | 16% |
| 5 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 165 | 16% |
| 6 | Vermont | 623,657 | 99 | 16% |
| 7 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,878 | 15% |
| 8 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 834 | 15% |
| 9 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 825 | 15% |
| 10 | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 436 | 15% |
| 11 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 157 | 15% |
| 12 | Delaware | 961,939 | 134 | 14% |
| 13 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,170 | 13% |
| 14 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,130 | 13% |
| 15 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 967 | 13% |
| 16 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 168 | 13% |
| 17 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 99 | 13% |
| 18 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 1,260 | 12% |
| 19 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 424 | 12% |
| 20 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 387 | 12% |
Most common cities for executive creative directors
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlotte | 1 | 0% | $147,066 |
| 2 | Chicago | 1 | 0% | $192,035 |
| 3 | Detroit | 1 | 0% | $148,612 |
| 4 | Los Angeles | 1 | 0% | $151,345 |
| 5 | Washington | 1 | 0% | $135,715 |
Executive Creative Director job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of executive creative director experts
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Indiana University Bloomington
Bethel University
Moravian College
Troy University
Humboldt State University
University of Findlay
Villanova University
Case Western Reserve University
Texas Tech University
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
University of Pittsburgh
The One Club
American University
Fordham University
What general advice would you give to an Executive Creative Director?
Frances Zhu: Get competing offers and negotiate a higher salary. Foster skills that lend to higher salaries. For example, even though marine biology may not pay the highest, if you have some coding experience, you will be one of the higher paid marine biologists in the field.
What Executive Creative Director skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Frances Zhu: Do not feel locked into a career trajectory. Find some great mentors. So much information is conveyed through word of mouth. Put yourself in the way of luck (as assert yourself in situations of opportunities). Advocate for yourself as if your friend were advocating on your behalf.
What will help Executive Creative Directors increase their earning potential?
Frances Zhu: With the rise of AI, we're seeing a lot of skills become irrelevant. Just 5 years ago, a software engineering job seemed ludicrous. Now those are the fastest jobs being replaced by AI. A skill that will never be irrelevant is creativity, which is a skill you can cultivate. Create content and think in new ways that no one (even AI) has ever thought of.
What will help Executive Creative Directors increase their earning potential?
Dr. Joyce Stoner: Salaries are not very high in art conservation as you start out. But if you work with a mentor, publish and give talks, have a high profile for your knowledge and expertise, and eventually go into private work, especially in modern and contemporary paintings, to my knowledge that is where the higher salaries are found.
What general advice would you give to an Executive Creative Director?
George Logothetis Jr: Create work that is undeniably great. Work that turns heads, shows daring and provocative thinking, and is attention-getting and impossible to ignore.
What Executive Creative Director skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
George Logothetis Jr: Being able to flex between the various media channels and show competence and imagination in them all. Young creatives have to be versatile and fluent on all communication platforms. It’s also important to maximize your craft and continually hone it. Whether you are art or copy, having a heightened sense of design and writing will not only make the job easier, but you will be more productive. The better your skills are the more work you can create. If you bring lots of work to every meeting, you will always be appreciated.
What will help Executive Creative Directors increase their earning potential?
George Logothetis Jr: Be focused on the strategic approaches that inform the creative process. Don’t think that being a creative person in advertising is solely about being creative. Show insight and appreciation for business initiatives and how strategies define them.
What general advice would you give to an Executive Creative Director?
Becki Graves M.A.: I often refer to the 'swiss army knife' in my field. These students can sing, write songs, set up a stage, chart a song, lead a team, lead a room in worship, run worship software, and lead their peers. Don't just keep to one lane, try to learn the most about all of them.
What Executive Creative Director skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Becki Graves M.A.: It is already vital in the field of creative arts and creative ministry but being a researcher. Research the current products on the market, trends in attendance, etc. This is a vital tool in being able to build the programs or ministry teams you envision.
What will help Executive Creative Directors increase their earning potential?
Becki Graves M.A.: Try anything and everything—no work or job is beneath you. All your experiences will culminate into who you are as a person and employee and leader. Be ready to work several jobs. Most creative types end up being bi-vocational at some point in their career. Try to see this a gift—creative inspiration flows from having multiple lids open at once.
Dr. MaryJo Rosania-Harvie
Assistant Professor of Practice | Art Education Coordinator | Interim Art Department ChairMoravian College
Fine And Studio Arts
What will help Executive Creative Directors increase their earning potential?
Dr. MaryJo Rosania-Harvie: For someone beginning their career, I would advise them to consider the problem-solving and critical thinking skills they developed in school, and highlight those skills when meeting with potential employers and clients. They can consider themselves entrepreneurs, and should try to be flexible and open-minded.
What general advice would you give to an Executive Creative Director?
Christopher Stagl MFA: This industry is all about connections with people. You have to network and market yourself. This will lead to opportunities for you creatively - which may start small but you build upon success, grow your clients, and progressively begin to charge more and more as you grow in to your field. Never stop learning, never stop making (even if it's mistakes), and never stop networking.
What Executive Creative Director skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Christopher Stagl MFA: Definitely video, motion, animation, and effects will continue to grow as some of the most needed skills - but if you can't think creatively, if you can't be unique and different in your problem solving and design thinking approach - then it doesn't matter how much technology you know or how good you are at Ai - you won't have a place in the industry. This industry is based on ideas - not technology. Skills can be learned, the most successful creatives think different.
What will help Executive Creative Directors increase their earning potential?
Christopher Stagl MFA: a. Remain curious about creative problem solving with diverse and unique approaches. b. Seek feedback. Just because your classroom projects are over doesn't mean you still shouldn't be reaching out your peers and mentors to get feedback. c. Do your research, always. Never just assume you know the market or the demographic - do your due diligence and ask all the right questions to learn about your client. d. Tell a good story. The creative industry is really about people - figure out who the people are you're speaking for and speaking to and find the story that lives in those thrulines. e. Be Hungry and Hustle. Nobody is going to do this for you - creative work isn't going to come to you - you have to go get it.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Executive Creative Directors?
Elizabeth McPherson: College courses that focus on entrepreneurship, creativity, and flexibility are very important in this age.
How have salaries changed over time for Executive Creative Directors?
Elizabeth McPherson: I actually do not know. Many performers' salaries have been cut or eliminated, but I do not have hard facts about this.
Hope this helps.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Executive Creative Directors?
Rae Robison: Live theatre will definitely be impacted, but the opening of more film, television and recorded projects will continue to expand. Specifically my design tech students are still working, just in different ways. There's never been a point in human history where we don't seek entertainment in some form or another so there will always be a need for the arts and artists.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Executive Creative Directors?
Rae Robison: This year has really hit home that performers need to have a better knowledge of lighting and costume. What does my light look like? Why is my white shirt flaring? Since so many are working from their homes they need answers to these questions so they can produce their best audition tape or performance. Everyone needs to embrace some tech knowledge so that we can continue to push our new art forms into the 21st century.
What will help Executive Creative Directors increase their earning potential?
Rae Robison: Less specificity and more holistic learning. If you only design sets, you are limited to art direction in a physical space or choosing Zoom backgrounds. If you know scenic, costume, lighting and sound your earning potential is so much more possible. I always train my students to work in live venues and multiple recorded formats to expand their marketability.
What general advice would you give to an Executive Creative Director?
Anne Beekman: For your first job, be willing to take a design position that is not creative, churning out work that is not beautiful, and that is low paying. It will give you needed experience, and you will learn to work fast and accurately. But don't settle there. After a year or two, start looking for a position where you can move up, within the company or elsewhere.
Edward Sobel
Associate Professor, Resident DirectorVillanova University
Department of Theatre
What general advice would you give to an Executive Creative Director?
Edward Sobel: It's important to know that theater is a relationship-based career. Look to build relationships with those with whom you share a common aesthetic and a sense of purpose. Building relationships takes time and care, and only sometimes pays immediate dividends. Remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. Be persistent. You may not ever be able to make a living in the theater. But if you quit, you definitely won't.
I'll add, many but not all who obtain a degree in theater wish to work in the profession. A theater degree, particularly within a liberal arts context, offers highly marketable and desirable skills. The theater is a collaborative art form, making those with a theater degree experience working as part of a team. The theater is storytelling. Those with a theater degree have learned how to construct a compelling narrative and to communicate it clearly. They have practiced analytical and presentational skills. They have embodied empathy. All of this position a graduate well in many other occupations, including law, teaching, advertising/marketing, social work, etc.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Executive Creative Directors?
Steven Ciampaglia: While there is a lot of worry over how the pandemic's economic impact will affect the creative arts, I am not that pessimistic. In troubled times, people always turn toward the arts for solace. Witness how individuals have spent their time in quarantine re-engaging with books, movies, music, videogames, etc. And even though the end of the pandemic may be in sight with the announcement of vaccines, I believe that this re-engagement with the arts is not going away. Therefore, the market for young artists will stay elevated, which is good news for art majors graduating this year.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Executive Creative Director job market given the pandemic?
Mark Charney Ph.D.: Indeed, the epidemic has presented the art time to assess. I believe we'll find a more bearable work week, less exploitation (especially in unpaid internships and fellowships), and, hopefully, greater attention to equality, inclusion, and diversity. While performance and pedagogical jobs will still exist, choices will be more purposeful, honestly assessing needs and community engagement. And the skills of those majoring in the arts will continue to feature excellent communication skills, especially in writing.
How do you envision technology impacting Executive Creative Directors in the next 5 years?
Cynthia Tovar: There very well may be an enduring impact from the coronavirus pandemic on museum collection operations, such as reconsidering the need for couriers and how installation crews work together, but how long this will last remains to be seen. So far, the most immediate impact would be having a new hire join on in a remote work scenario and conducting training and integration to museum culture in a virtual manner.
What experience really stands out on Executive Creative Director resumes?
Aaron Henderson: In-person experience working in the field is invaluable, as is ongoing and well-developed work.
What general advice would you give to an Executive Creative Director?
Yash Egami: A recent Forrester report says that the ad industry will lose 50,000 jobs through 2021, with 35,000 of them already lost since the pandemic. The traditional ad agency model was already in trouble, with many brands hiring away talent and creating their own in-house agencies. Add to that the recent reckoning with the Black Lives Matter movement, and what we're seeing is an industry that is being forced to go through monumental change in order to survive.
While traditional roles like art director or copywriter are on the decline, the good news is that, in an effort to reinvent themselves, agencies are seeking creatives with digital skills like UX design and programming. The rise of in-house creative departments has also meant more opportunities for job seekers within brands rather than agencies. And because of the demand for more diversity from clients and those within advertising, recruiters are making more of an effort to hire multicultural talent.
At The One Club for Creativity, we've been at the forefront of change in the industry through our diversity and inclusion, professional development and gender equality programs. We recently hosted our annual multicultural career fair, "Where Are All the Black People?" that brought together thousands of diverse talent with 40 agencies and companies looking to hire. We launched One School, a free online program for Black creatives who want to get into the industry but don't have a portfolio or the economic means to afford to go to ad school. And we're working on upskilling courses for professionals who want to reinvent themselves or keep up with the changing demands of our industry.
So if you're a recent graduate who specializes in art direction, our advice would be to keep an open mind about what kind of company you want to work for and think about expanding your skillset to include digital skills so that you can future-proof your career. Where you are isn't as important because, since the pandemic, agencies have become more comfortable with working remotely and they are more open to having a workforce not centered on the traditional agency hubs, like New York or Los Angeles.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Executive Creative Directors?
Nancy Snider: Absolutely, on them and all the rest of us. We are living through one of the significant moments in human history. It cannot help but shape everything to come in profound ways.
Stephan Apicella-Hitchcock
Clinical Associate ProfessorFordham University
Department of Theatre and Visual Art
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Executive Creative Directors?
Stephan Apicella-Hitchcock: Graduates will undoubtedly experience the impact of the coronavirus for years to come. A number of our alumni have traditionally worked within the art and museum industries, which have been functioning in a limited capacity since the start of the pandemic. Those venues are starting to open up once again; however, there is no guarantee that they will return to the same operating and staffing levels as before.