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Producer director salary

Quoted expert
Johnathan Paul

Average producer director salary

$54,924

$26.41 hourly rate

Entry-level producer director salary
$33,000 yearly salary
Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding Producer Director Salaries

As of October 2025, the average producer director salary in the United States is approximately $54,924 per year, translating to around $26 per hour. Salaries can vary based on multiple factors, including geographic location, years of experience, and the specific field of production. For instance, producer directors working in high-demand markets or major cities often see higher compensation compared to their counterparts in smaller towns.

Salary Variations by State

States like California and New York typically offer the highest salaries for producer directors, often exceeding the national average. Conversely, states with less industry presence, such as North Dakota or South Dakota, may offer lower average salaries. Understanding these regional differences is crucial for aspiring professionals looking to maximize their earning potential.

Career Advancement Opportunities

For those aiming to advance in this field, pursuing specialized roles such as executive producer or showrunner can lead to significantly increased salaries. Networking within the industry and gaining experience through varied projects can enhance job prospects and salary potential.

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Where can a Producer Director earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
104k
84k
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Columbus, OH$91,648
Manhattan, KS$33,687
Compare salary by company
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151k
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Apple$134,973
Kansas State University$41,142

Average producer director salary by state

The average producer director salary in California, Nevada, and Connecticut are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average producer director salary states are Wisconsin, Indiana, and South Carolina.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for producer directors

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1California$82,104$39.47
2Oklahoma$68,760$33.06
3Connecticut$76,802$36.92
4New York$74,223$35.68
5New Jersey$63,473$30.52
6District of Columbia$61,043$29.35
7Nevada$78,449$37.72
8Oregon$54,794$26.34
9Rhode Island$54,427$26.17
10New Hampshire$65,516$31.50
11Virginia$55,614$26.74
12West Virginia$54,260$26.09
13Georgia$50,251$24.16
14Washington$52,690$25.33
15Massachusetts$52,546$25.26
16Arkansas$44,466$21.38
17North Dakota$54,807$26.35
18Vermont$48,186$23.17
19North Carolina$49,499$23.80
20New Mexico$54,222$26.07
21Colorado$49,216$23.66
22Wyoming$45,358$21.81
23Delaware$54,752$26.32
24Pennsylvania$46,818$22.51
25Maryland$54,945$26.42
26Kentucky$49,944$24.01
27Iowa$42,162$20.27
28Texas$44,078$21.19
29Mississippi$41,775$20.08
30Arizona$47,531$22.85
31Alabama$41,415$19.91
32Louisiana$41,541$19.97
33Minnesota$46,224$22.22
34Illinois$44,988$21.63
35Alaska$47,318$22.75
36Michigan$42,041$20.21
37Idaho$44,764$21.52
38Ohio$41,004$19.71
39Utah$40,966$19.70
40Tennessee$39,739$19.11
41Wisconsin$38,164$18.35
42Nebraska$40,363$19.41
43Missouri$40,597$19.52
44Hawaii$35,788$17.21
45South Dakota$39,251$18.87
46Florida$39,864$19.17
47South Carolina$37,355$17.96
48Montana$39,364$18.93
49Maine$35,292$16.97
50Indiana$38,153$18.34
51Kansas$33,780$16.24

Highest paying cities for producer directors

The highest-paying cities for producer directors are San Francisco, CA, Las Vegas, NV, and Bristol, CT.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1San Francisco, CA$91,648$44.06
2Las Vegas, NV$77,473$37.25
3Bristol, CT$76,188$36.63
4New York, NY$74,715$35.92
5Tulsa, OK$67,650$32.52
6Wayne, NJ$63,577$30.57
7Washington, DC$61,098$29.37
8Burke, VA$57,721$27.75
9Portland, OR$54,108$26.01
10Seattle, WA$53,222$25.59
11Atlanta, GA$50,309$24.19
12Denver, CO$49,097$23.60
13Phoenix, AZ$47,837$23.00
14Little Rock, AR$44,686$21.48
15San Antonio, TX$44,031$21.17
16Salt Lake City, UT$40,660$19.55
17Grand Rapids, MI$40,595$19.52
18Miami, FL$39,431$18.96
19Manhattan, KS$33,687$16.20

Producer director salary details

A producer director's salary ranges from $33,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $91,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average producer director salary graph
Average producer director salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a producer director's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$91,000$7,583$44
75th Percentile$71,000$5,917$34
Average$54,924$4,577$26
25th Percentile$42,000$3,500$20
10th Percentile$33,000$2,750$16

Highest paying producer director jobs

The highest paying types of producer directors are executive producer, director, and senior producer.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Stage Manager$50,142$4,178$24.11699
Freelance Producer$62,218$5,185$29.919,703
Editor & Producer$50,200$4,183$24.1314,409
Content Producer$56,255$4,688$27.0516,750
Writer/Producer$55,163$4,597$26.5220,026
Video Producer$58,612$4,884$28.1810,484

How would you rate the starting salaries for producer directors, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Johnathan Paul

Adjunct Professor, University of North Texas

Trying to pinpoint a starting salary in the film and television industry is incredibly challenging. There are so many different avenues that a recent graduate can go into, and each one of those job tracks has a benchmark for what number their starting salary begins at. For example, someone joining a film crew as a Production Assistant will typically make less than someone taking an entry level office job at a studio. The video game industry tends to have better starting salaries; however, many of those jobs are temporarily based on a development cycle. Freelance and contract work are just a reality of the media industry, and it's something I try to prepare my students for.

Top companies hiring producer directors now:

  1. Google jobs (6)
  2. Cox Communications jobs (12)
  3. ESPN jobs (14)
  4. AT&T jobs (6)
  5. Comcast jobs (22)

Which companies pay producer directors the most?

Producer director salaries at Apple and Fox News are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average producer director salary at companies like Warner Bros. and ESPN are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Apple$134,973$64.89
2Fox News$105,494$50.72
3Warner Bros.$96,064$46.18
4ESPN$88,236$42.42
5Mayo Clinic$86,215$41.45
6Univision Holdings, Inc.$82,123$39.48
7CNN$75,547$36.32
8Boeing$74,796$35.96
9Voice of America$70,541$33.91
10The E.W. Scripps Company$62,752$30.17
11WarnerMedia$62,233$29.92
12Tube City IMS$60,362$29.02
13*n/a*$60,093$28.89
14Kansas State University$41,142$19.78

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$55,000$54,600$54,200$53,800$53,400$53,000
MaleFemale

Producer director salary trends

The average producer director salary has risen by $4,126 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average producer director earned $50,798 annually, but today, they earn $54,924 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for producer directors over the last decade.

Compare producer director salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average producer director salary over time

Compare producer director salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Producer director salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$54,900$26.41+2.6%
2024$53,500$25.72+3.7%
2023$51,500$24.77+0.1%
2022$51,500$24.75+0.9%
2021$51,000$24.52+3.5%

Recently added producer director salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
Adecco Group Inc.LHH Recruitment Solutions-Producing Director Perm-HybridLos Angeles, CA06/17/2025$68,172
Mayo ClinicProducer DirectorRochester, MN05/18/2025$86,632
Adecco Group Inc.LHH Recruitment Solutions-Producing Director Perm-Hybrid-RochelleRochelle Park, NJ02/20/2025$57,780
Mayo Clinic Healthcare LLPProducer/DirectorJacksonville, FL02/19/2025$73,029
Quantinuum Ltd.Director-Hardware Producibility and Manufacturing COEBroomfield, CO02/19/2025$224,000
UTNProducer/DirectorSalt Lake City, UT02/18/2025$52,000
WaxandwaneActor/Producer/Director/WriterNunez, GA02/16/2025$62,610
Adecco Group Inc.LHH Recruitment Solutions-Producing Director Temp-Hybrid-PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA02/15/2025$68,172
University of MississippiProducer/Director IOxford, MS02/07/2025$42,640
Bespoke DigitalProducer & DirectorNew York, NY12/27/2024$7,322,135

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