Design & Creative Salaries.
38 roles. 81 cities.
National salary data. Last updated April 2026.
Highest Paying
$205,000
AI Video Generation Specialist
Industry Median
$122,000
Product Designer
Entry Level
$38,000
UX Design Intern
Salary data sourced from SEC filings, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and aggregated job postings across 50+ platforms. Ranges reflect 25th to 75th percentile for full-time positions. Last updated April 2026.
The design & creative industry includes 38 tracked roles with national median salaries ranging from $38,000 to $205,000. The highest-paying role is AI Video Generation Specialist at $205,000 national median. Design and creative roles shape the experiences users have with products and brands.
About design & creative salaries
Design and creative roles shape the experiences users have with products and brands. From UX designers crafting interfaces to motion designers producing video content, this industry values both aesthetic skill and the ability to drive measurable engagement. AI is transforming creative workflows, creating new hybrid roles that command premium pay.
All design & creative roles by salary
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | AI Video Generation Specialist | $205,000 | $160,000 – $267,000 |
| 2 | AI Creative Director | $185,000 | $140,000 – $240,000 |
| 3 | Motion Planning AI Engineer | $180,000 | $135,000 – $235,000 |
| 4 | AI Video Understanding Engineer | $175,000 | $137,000 – $228,000 |
| 5 | Product Design Manager | $165,000 | $129,000 – $215,000 |
| 6 | AI Image Generation Engineer | $165,000 | $129,000 – $215,000 |
| 7 | Synthetic Media Engineer | $160,000 | $120,000 – $212,000 |
| 8 | UX Design Manager | $160,000 | $125,000 – $208,000 |
| 9 | AI Video Engineer | $155,000 | $120,000 – $195,000 |
| 10 | AI UX Designer | $150,000 | $115,000 – $195,000 |
| 11 | AI Avatar/Digital Human Designer | $148,000 | $110,000 – $198,000 |
| 12 | Human-AI Collaboration Designer | $145,000 | $108,000 – $192,000 |
| 13 | AI UX Researcher | $138,000 | $105,000 – $182,000 |
| 14 | Synthetic Media Specialist | $135,000 | $100,000 – $178,000 |
| 15 | AI Interaction Designer | $132,000 | $100,000 – $175,000 |
| 16 | Conversational UX Designer | $130,000 | $98,000 – $172,000 |
| 17 | AI Prompt Designer | $128,000 | $95,000 – $170,000 |
| 18 | AI Creative Technologist | $128,000 | $95,000 – $165,000 |
| 19 | AI Content Strategist | $125,000 | $90,000 – $170,000 |
| 20 | Product Designer | $122,000 | $92,000 – $158,000 |
| 21 | AI Video Production Specialist | $115,000 | $85,000 – $155,000 |
| 22 | UX Designer | $105,000 | $80,000 – $135,000 |
| 23 | AI Sound Design Specialist | $105,000 | $78,000 – $142,000 |
| 24 | UI/UX Designer | $105,000 | $82,000 – $137,000 |
| 25 | UX/UI Designer | $105,000 | $82,000 – $137,000 |
| 26 | AI Copywriting Specialist | $98,000 | $72,000 – $132,000 |
| 27 | Brand Strategist | $92,000 | $70,000 – $122,000 |
| 28 | Motion Designer | $88,000 | $68,000 – $115,000 |
| 29 | AI Image / Video Artist | $88,000 | $62,000 – $122,000 |
| 30 | Architect | $88,000 | $68,000 – $118,000 |
| 31 | Content Strategist | $86,000 | $66,000 – $112,000 |
| 32 | Game Designer | $82,000 | $62,000 – $112,000 |
| 33 | Video Producer | $74,000 | $56,000 – $98,000 |
| 34 | Copywriter | $70,000 | $52,000 – $92,000 |
| 35 | Podcast Producer | $66,000 | $50,000 – $88,000 |
| 36 | Graphic Designer | $62,000 | $48,000 – $82,000 |
| 37 | Interior Designer | $60,000 | $46,000 – $80,000 |
| 38 | UX Design Intern | $38,000 | $30,000 – $49,000 |
Top cities for design & creative
Cities ranked by average median salary across all 38 design & creative roles.
| # | City | Avg Median | COL Index |
|---|
| 1 | San Jose, CA | $165,711 | 1.38x |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $162,947 | 1.35x |
| 3 | Honolulu, HI | $156,395 | 1.30x |
| 4 | New York, NY | $153,079 | 1.28x |
| 5 | Seattle, WA | $149,263 | 1.24x |
| 6 | Washington DC, DC | $149,158 | 1.25x |
| 7 | Boston, MA | $146,921 | 1.22x |
| 8 | Arlington, VA | $146,868 | 1.22x |
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