Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2017

27-1011 Art Directors

Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual communications media, such as print, broadcasting, and advertising. Direct workers engaged in art work or layout design.


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
38,110 2.3 % $49.76 $103,510 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $24.58 $32.27 $44.47 $60.76 $81.84
Annual Wage (2) $51,130 $67,110 $92,500 $126,390 $170,230


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services 12,570 2.54 $51.34 $106,790
Motion Picture and Video Industries 3,420 0.80 $58.74 $122,180
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers 3,390 0.96 $44.23 $92,000
Specialized Design Services 2,510 1.79 $49.53 $103,010
Management of Companies and Enterprises 1,990 0.09 $54.95 $114,290

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services 12,570 2.54 $51.34 $106,790
Specialized Design Services 2,510 1.79 $49.53 $103,010
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers 3,390 0.96 $44.23 $92,000
Motion Picture and Video Industries 3,420 0.80 $58.74 $122,180
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers 390 0.76 $49.27 $102,480

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing 80 0.03 $60.20 $125,220
Software Publishers 480 0.13 $60.19 $125,200
Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers 340 0.23 $59.20 $123,140
Motion Picture and Video Industries 3,420 0.80 $58.74 $122,180
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) 30 0.14 $58.22 $121,110


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 7,970 0.87 3.24 $60.79 $126,440
California 6,920 0.41 1.55 $60.76 $126,370
Illinois 2,300 0.39 1.45 $44.56 $92,680
Texas 1,890 0.16 0.60 $41.69 $86,720
Massachusetts 1,410 0.40 1.50 $47.41 $98,600




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 720 1.02 3.80 $39.73 $82,630
New York 7,970 0.87 3.24 $60.79 $126,440
Oregon 1,100 0.60 2.24 $52.43 $109,060
California 6,920 0.41 1.55 $60.76 $126,370
Massachusetts 1,410 0.40 1.50 $47.41 $98,600




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 7,970 0.87 3.24 $60.79 $126,440
California 6,920 0.41 1.55 $60.76 $126,370
Oregon 1,100 0.60 2.24 $52.43 $109,060
Missouri 840 0.30 1.13 $50.37 $104,760
New Jersey 810 0.20 0.76 $48.80 $101,510



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Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 7,410 1.11 4.14 $61.56 $128,050
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 3,540 0.80 2.99 $61.93 $128,820
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 2,070 0.57 2.12 $45.56 $94,760
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 1,150 1.03 3.85 $66.73 $138,790
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division 1,080 0.59 2.19 $48.20 $100,250
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 1,030 0.41 1.52 $41.19 $85,680
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 1,020 0.88 3.29 $53.86 $112,030
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 760 0.39 1.46 $42.39 $88,180
Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division 640 0.52 1.94 $36.29 $75,480
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 590 0.24 0.88 $41.34 $85,990


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Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 7,410 1.11 4.14 $61.56 $128,050
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 1,150 1.03 3.85 $66.73 $138,790
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 1,020 0.88 3.29 $53.86 $112,030
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 3,540 0.80 2.99 $61.93 $128,820
Boulder, CO 140 0.76 2.83 $43.08 $89,600
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 280 0.68 2.56 $49.32 $102,590
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division 1,080 0.59 2.19 $48.20 $100,250
Framingham, MA NECTA Division 100 0.58 2.16 $44.37 $92,290
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 2,070 0.57 2.12 $45.56 $94,760
Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division 640 0.52 1.94 $36.29 $75,480


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Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 1,150 1.03 3.85 $66.73 $138,790
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 3,540 0.80 2.99 $61.93 $128,820
Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division 310 0.27 1.01 $61.90 $128,760
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 7,410 1.11 4.14 $61.56 $128,050
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 330 0.30 1.12 $60.70 $126,250
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 250 0.17 0.65 $58.11 $120,880
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division 110 0.11 0.42 $55.87 $116,210
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 500 0.31 1.16 $54.87 $114,130
St. Louis, MO-IL 470 0.34 1.28 $54.79 $113,950
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 1,020 0.88 3.29 $53.86 $112,030


About May 2017 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2017 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 30, 2018