Expert Art Director salary in San Francisco, CA

Based on 10 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level IV in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Menlo Park, Oakland, Lafayette, Union City, Redwood City.

Median salary$235,288
Middle 50%$205k–$257.6k
vs. all levels here+18%comparison median $200,075
Filings10FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $200,075 and $351,450.
PercentileSalary
10th$200,075
25th$204,970
50th (median)$235,288
75th$257,630
90th$274,500

Cost of living

San Francisco's median expert Art Director salary of $235,288 is worth about $203,500 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; San Francisco = 115.6).

Compared with all workers here

All Art Directors in the San Francisco, CA area earned a median of $165,210 in May 2025 (2,390 employed). The H-1B median here is $235,288, 42% higher.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Metatoo few4
Adobetoo few2

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I too few 2
Mid-level · Level II – 0
Senior · Level III – 0
Expert · Level IV $235,288 10

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Expert · Level IV$200,075$235,28810

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.