Art Directors Salary — Seattle, Washington

The average Art Directors in Seattle, Washington earns $133,830 a year.

$133,830 / year, mean
↓ 0.8% below national average 100th percentile in Washington

Seattle sits at the very top of the range for this role in Washington — among the highest-paying cities in the state for this occupation. That's close to the national average for art directors — a fairly typical rate for this role. Cost of living here runs meaningfully above the national average. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within Washington

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
520
Estimate confidence
RSE 4.6%
Cost of living 111 #7 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2245 #169 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $750,279 #12 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $112,594 #5 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Seattle ranks #7 for cost of living and #12 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

San Jose $182,620 San Francisco $169,940 New York $161,120 Portland $158,630 Los Angeles $156,680 Stockton $147,650 Santa Cruz $144,450 San Diego $137,320 Seattle $133,830 Oxnard $130,960 Trenton $128,590 Indianapolis $127,190 Syracuse $125,230 Fresno $123,560 Austin $122,130 Kiryas Joel $122,050 Santa Maria $121,830 Riverside $120,670 Sacramento $119,720 Chicago $116,590 Rochester $116,390 Albany $116,140 Atlantic City $114,670 Santa Rosa $113,570 Orlando $110,560 Philadelphia $110,300 Miami $108,760 Ann Arbor $106,420 Baltimore $105,160 Eugene $103,750 Detroit $103,310 Buffalo $103,220 Richmond $102,330 Jacksonville $102,030 Allentown $101,470 Spokane $100,720 Tampa $99,930 Dallas $98,450 Harrisburg $98,280 Houston $97,900 Virginia Beach $95,480 Pittsburgh $95,440 Lansing $94,810 Grand Rapids $93,820 San Antonio $93,670 Peoria $93,040 Louisville $92,010 Lancaster $90,940 Fort Myers $88,280 Tallahassee $81,170 Lexington $80,730
CityMean salaryvs. Seattle
Albany, New York$116,140-13.2%
Allentown, Pennsylvania$101,470-24.2%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$106,420-20.5%
Atlantic City, New Jersey$114,670-14.3%
Austin, Texas$122,130-8.7%
Baltimore, Maryland$105,160-21.4%
Buffalo, New York$103,220-22.9%
Fort Myers, Florida$88,280-34.0%
Chicago, Illinois$116,590-12.9%
Dallas, Texas$98,450-26.4%
Detroit, Michigan$103,310-22.8%
Eugene, Oregon$103,750-22.5%
Fresno, California$123,560-7.7%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$93,820-29.9%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$98,280-26.6%
Houston, Texas$97,900-26.8%
Indianapolis, Indiana$127,190-5.0%
Jacksonville, Florida$102,030-23.8%
Kiryas Joel, New York$122,050-8.8%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$90,940-32.0%
Lansing, Michigan$94,810-29.2%
Lexington, Kentucky$80,730-39.7%
Los Angeles, California$156,680+17.1%
Louisville, Kentucky$92,010-31.2%
Miami, Florida$108,760-18.7%
New York, New York$161,120+20.4%
Orlando, Florida$110,560-17.4%
Oxnard, California$130,960-2.1%
Peoria, Illinois$93,040-30.5%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$110,300-17.6%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$95,440-28.7%
Portland, Oregon$158,630+18.5%
Richmond, Virginia$102,330-23.5%
Riverside, California$120,670-9.8%
Rochester, New York$116,390-13.0%
Sacramento, California$119,720-10.5%
San Antonio, Texas$93,670-30.0%
San Diego, California$137,320+2.6%
San Francisco, California$169,940+27.0%
San Jose, California$182,620+36.5%
Santa Cruz, California$144,450+7.9%
Santa Maria, California$121,830-9.0%
Santa Rosa, California$113,570-15.1%
Spokane, Washington$100,720-24.7%
Stockton, California$147,650+10.3%
Syracuse, New York$125,230-6.4%
Tallahassee, Florida$81,170-39.3%
Tampa, Florida$99,930-25.3%
Trenton, New Jersey$128,590-3.9%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$95,480-28.7%
Gross salary
133,830/yr
Estimated take-home
102,739/yr
Est. total withheld
23.2%

Single filer, federal income tax + FICA only, 2025 rates — Washington has no state income tax on wages. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Art Directors salaries in Washington → All Art Directors salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 27-1011 SOC code
Official area Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 42660 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: wa_dor_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
TacomaBellevue
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Washington

Population (metro area)
4,021,467