How much does an advertising director make?

The average advertising director salary in the United States is $116,829. Advertising director salaries typically range between $71,000 and $191,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for advertising directors is $56.17 per hour. Advertising director salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Advertising directors earn the highest average salary in Nevada.

Advertising director salary

Q: What state pays Advertising Directors the most?

Nevada pays Advertising Directors the most in the United States, with an average salary of $144,874 per year, or $69.65 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an advertising director?

You know if you are being paid fairly as an advertising director if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Washington you should be paid close to $122,762 per year.

Average advertising director salary

$116,829

$56.17 hourly rate

Entry-level advertising director salary

$71,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding the Advertising Director Salary

An Advertising Director typically earns an average salary of $116,829 per year. This figure varies across different states and industries, reflecting local market demands and cost of living. For example, states like California and New York often offer higher salaries due to increased competition and business activity.

In addition to geographic location, factors influencing salary include years of experience and the specific sector within advertising. Directors in larger firms or those managing high-profile campaigns frequently command higher salaries. Entry-level positions typically start lower, but with substantial experience and a proven track record, professionals can see significant salary increases.

Moreover, the role encompasses a range of responsibilities, including crafting advertising strategies, collaborating with creative teams, and analyzing campaign performance. As the advertising landscape evolves, staying informed about industry trends can enhance career prospects and salary potential.

Career Advancement Opportunities

Networking and continual learning are essential for career advancement in this field. Attending industry conferences, obtaining advanced certifications, and joining professional organizations can open new doors and lead to higher-paying opportunities.

On this page

Advertising director salary by:

Let Zippi find your next advertising director job

Let Zippi find your next advertising director job

Where can an Advertising Director earn more?

Compare salary by location

157k

137k

117k

97k

77k

57k

37k

Columbus, OH$132,452

Weston, FL$66,511

Compare salary by company

209k

189k

169k

149k

129k

109k

89k

69k

49k

Netflix$183,862

American Learning Corporation$79,052

Advertising director salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter and Comparably, the average salary for an advertising director typically falls between $70,500 and $188,223.

zippia

$116,829yearly

glassdoor[1]

$167,000yearly

indeed[2]

$116,127yearly

comparably[3]

$99,315yearly

Salary.com[4]

$188,223yearly

ZipRecruiter[5]

$70,500yearly

Average advertising director salary by state

The average advertising director salary in Nevada, Washington, and California are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average advertising director salary states are North Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for advertising directors

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	New York	$120,958	$58.15
2	Nevada	$144,874	$69.65
3	Washington	$122,762	$59.02
4	Louisiana	$108,189	$52.01
5	California	$121,698	$58.51
6	Idaho	$121,292	$58.31
7	Montana	$113,845	$54.73
8	Colorado	$115,713	$55.63
9	Arizona	$114,389	$54.99
10	Utah	$104,651	$50.31
11	Massachusetts	$107,995	$51.92
12	New Jersey	$109,144	$52.47
13	Maine	$111,488	$53.60
14	Vermont	$100,372	$48.26
15	Oklahoma	$94,186	$45.28
16	Oregon	$102,656	$49.35
17	Connecticut	$102,476	$49.27
18	New Mexico	$105,417	$50.68
19	Wisconsin	$99,834	$48.00
20	Arkansas	$91,271	$43.88
21	New Hampshire	$101,843	$48.96
22	Pennsylvania	$94,355	$45.36
23	Texas	$95,232	$45.78
24	Wyoming	$101,261	$48.68
25	Alabama	$89,641	$43.10
26	Rhode Island	$95,013	$45.68
27	South Dakota	$98,489	$47.35
28	Ohio	$93,405	$44.91
29	Indiana	$95,991	$46.15
30	Mississippi	$84,510	$40.63
31	West Virginia	$92,142	$44.30
32	Michigan	$91,318	$43.90
33	District of Columbia	$89,051	$42.81
34	Minnesota	$87,751	$42.19
35	Delaware	$92,283	$44.37
36	Hawaii	$98,048	$47.14
37	Virginia	$88,893	$42.74
38	Georgia	$83,959	$40.36
39	Iowa	$77,253	$37.14
40	North Carolina	$82,940	$39.88
41	Maryland	$92,272	$44.36
42	Kentucky	$85,805	$41.25
43	Tennessee	$85,318	$41.02
44	Illinois	$80,407	$38.66
45	Kansas	$81,894	$39.37
46	Nebraska	$77,006	$37.02
47	Alaska	$86,066	$41.38
48	Missouri	$76,345	$36.70
49	Florida	$69,739	$33.53
50	North Dakota	$77,394	$37.21
51	South Carolina	$73,695	$35.43

Top advertising director jobs near you

Highest paying cities for advertising directors

The highest-paying cities for advertising directors are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and New York, NY.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	San Francisco, CA	$132,452	$63.68
2	Seattle, WA	$123,897	$59.57
3	New York, NY	$121,669	$58.49
4	Denver, CO	$115,468	$55.51
5	Trenton, NJ	$108,822	$52.32
6	Bridgewater, MA	$108,366	$52.10
7	Lehi, UT	$105,586	$50.76
8	Hartford, CT	$102,577	$49.32
9	Horsham, PA	$95,181	$45.76
10	Dover, DE	$91,714	$44.09
11	Houston, TX	$91,635	$44.06
12	Rockville, MD	$91,547	$44.01
13	Washington, DC	$89,093	$42.83
14	Chicago, IL	$81,062	$38.97
15	Weston, FL	$66,511	$31.98

Advertising director salary details

An advertising director's salary ranges from $71,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $191,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average advertising director salary graph, trends, and summary

What is an advertising director's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$191,000	$15,917	$92
75th Percentile	$151,000	$12,583	$73
Average	$116,829	$9,736	$56
25th Percentile	$90,000	$7,500	$43
10th Percentile	$71,000	$5,917	$34

Highest paying advertising director jobs

The highest paying types of advertising directors are director of sales and marketing, marketing director, and director.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Promotion Manager	$76,152	$6,346	$36.61	8,515
Business To Business Sales Manager	$75,242	$6,270	$36.17	168,304
Arts Manager	$88,844	$7,404	$42.71	1,428
Director Of Sales & Business Development	$82,584	$6,882	$39.70	163,561
Director Of Sales And Marketing	$117,348	$9,779	$56.42	132,459
Regional Marketing Manager	$85,217	$7,101	$40.97	115,987

Top companies hiring advertising directors now:

Which companies pay advertising directors the most?

Advertising director salaries at Netflix and Microsoft are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average advertising director salary at companies like Amazon and The New York Times Company are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Netflix	$183,862	$88.40
2	Microsoft	$163,080	$78.40
3	Amazon	$149,171	$71.72
4	The New York Times Company	$147,151	$70.75
5	Snap	$122,492	$58.89
6	Global Eagle Entertainment	$119,341	$57.38
7	CafeMedia	$117,531	$56.51
8	Solar.com	$112,721	$54.19
9	SoundCloud	$103,745	$49.88
10	Piano	$101,665	$48.88
11	Glaxosmithkline	$101,365	$48.73
12	Johnson & Johnson	$99,186	$47.69
13	Simulmedia	$98,788	$47.49
14	Metric Theory	$97,960	$47.10
15	VaynerMedia	$89,732	$43.14
16	FIGG	$87,093	$41.87
17	American Learning Corporation	$79,052	$38.01

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$114,000$112,000$110,000$108,000$106,000$104,000

MaleFemale

Advertising director salary trends

The average advertising director salary has risen by $40,101 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average advertising director earned $76,728 annually, but today, they earn $116,829 a year. That works out to a 32% change in pay for advertising directors over the last decade.

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

Average advertising director salary over time

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

Advertising director salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$117,000	$56.17	+6.0%
2024	$110,000	$52.82	+6.7%
2023	$103,000	$49.30	+9.4%
2022	$92,900	$44.67	+5.0%
2021	$88,200	$42.43	+4.9%

Recently added advertising director salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Microsoft Corporation	Director of Advertising	Redmond, WA	06/25/2025	$165,600
Microsoft Corporation	Director of Advertising	Mountain View, CA	06/25/2025	$165,600
Mastercard	Director, Offers Transformation Advertiser Lead	New York, NY	06/17/2025	$178,000
Guardian International Inc.	Director of Advertising Partnerships	New York, NY	06/10/2025	$190,000
Localiq	Director of Advertising	New York, NY	05/23/2025	$125,000
College of Charleston	Director of Advertising and Integrated Media*	Charleston, SC	05/22/2025	$55,986
Guardian International Inc.	Director of Advertising Partnerships	New York, NY	04/28/2025	$190,000
Guardian International Inc.	Director of Advertising Partnerships	New York, NY	03/29/2025	$190,000
Localiq	Director of Advertising	New York, NY	03/19/2025	$125,000
Guardian International Inc.	Director of Advertising Partnerships	New York, NY	02/25/2025	$190,000

Advertising director salary FAQs

What state pays Advertising Directors the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an advertising director?

Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.

Search for advertising director jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs