As consumer expectations rise and business competition intensifies, marketing and creative teams are under growing pressure to drive brand and customer growth and deliver measurable results. At the same time, advancements in AI and automation are transforming how these teams execute and optimize campaigns and enhance the user experience. In fact, the market is splitting into candidates with and without AI skills, creating a new hiring—and salary—dynamic.

However, many leaders are finding it difficult to align with candidates on salary expectations for critical roles. Offering a total compensation package that considers both financial and nonfinancial incentives can be key to securing the talent a firm needs to stand out in today’s transformed marketing and creative environment.

Hiring managers: Schedule a walk-through to get customized salary data and insights from a Robert Half talent solutions professional.

Job seekers: Explore opportunities and grow your career.

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View salaries by job category

The salaries below default to national averages. Select a job category and city to find figures for a specific market. Starting compensation can vary significantly based on a candidate’s skills, experience and certifications, as well as other factors including industry, company size and revenue, and demand for the role. To reflect this variability, we report our compensation data in 3 levels: low, mid and high.

Agency Account Management

Content and Social Media

Design and Production

Digital Marketing

Marketing and Communications

UX Design and Development

Job Title

Low

Mid

High

Account Director

96750

118000

143500

Account Supervisor

80750

93750

108250

Account Manager/Executive

53500

67750

86250

Account Coordinator

42750

49250

59000

Low

The candidate is new to the role or has limited experience and is building necessary skills.

Mid

The candidate has moderate experience in the role, meets most requirements or has equivalent transferable skills, and may also have relevant certifications.

High

The candidate has extensive experience and advanced skills for the role, and may also have specialized certifications.

2026 Marketing and Creative Compensation Trends

Year-over-year salary gains

+1.5%

projected average increase across marketing and creative roles

+3.3%

for content strategists, digital project managers and marketing analytics professionals due to high market demand

+2.4%

for digital marketing roles, driven by their importance in executing complex, personalized campaigns and measuring ROI

+1.9%

for UX design and development roles as companies prioritize seamless user experiences across platforms

The value of advanced skills

78% of marketing and creative leaders typically offer higher salaries to candidates with specialized skills than to those without them in the same role.

Top skills leaders are willing to pay more for:

Digital marketing strategy

AI and machine learning

Marketing automation

Marketing research and analytics

Web and mobile development and design

Digital projects fuel salary pressure

Demand for specialized marketers and creatives is driving up salaries in roles responsible for strategizing, optimizing and delivering complex digital marketing initiatives, campaigns and customer journeys.

Corporate marketing and creative departments increasingly seek professionals skilled in AI, data analytics and emerging marketing technologies.

Agencies supporting client campaigns and projects need experts in content creation, data analytics and marketing automation.

Managing pay expectations

80% of marketing and creative leaders express concern about keeping pace with candidates’ pay expectations. Many recognize they must prioritize strategies that address job seekers’ needs and streamline the hiring process.

Including salary ranges in job descriptions

Increasing starting salaries

Adding new benefits and perks

While salary remains a priority for job seekers, the entire compensation package—including benefits and perks—can create room for negotiation.

standard

of marketing and creative candidates say they’re willing to work fully in-office for a higher salary.

standard

of those say they’d want an increase of 10% or more.

The need for skilled contract talent

When budgets don’t allow hiring for new permanent roles, many organizations engage contract professionals to help close skills gaps and manage heavy workloads, and to serve as a trial period for potential future hires.

Bringing in contract talent can also help managers better allocate resources because they’re paying for specialized expertise only when it’s needed for specific projects.

Top certifications, industries, emerging roles

Candidates with in-demand certifications like those listed below can often command higher starting salaries, notably in sectors experiencing active hiring and strong demand for specialized skills.

Adobe Certified Professional (ACP)

Google Ads Certification

Google Data Analytics Certification

Hubspot Inbound Marketing Certification

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Salesforce CRM Certification

Many companies in the following industries are willing to pay more for the right combination of skills and experience. Likewise, these industries are providing greater opportunities for career advancement and salary growth.

Healthcare

Professional services

Retail trade and e-commerce

Technology

Below are a few marketing and creative positions gaining traction in 2026. As these and other new roles evolve and grow in demand, setting competitive salaries can be challenging—prompting 39% of leaders to turn to recruiters for guidance.

AI content strategist: Plans, creates and manages AI-generated content that balances efficiency with creativity and authenticity while supporting business needs

AI marketing specialist: Leverages AI to enhance and personalize marketing outreach, and drives data analysis, campaign optimization, personalized customer experiences and compliance with regulations

AI designer: Accelerates and enhances design using AI tools to produce personalized content and innovative visuals, concepts and user experiences

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The salary benchmarks listed in the Salary Guide From Robert Half are the result of a rigorous, multistep process so that our projections accurately reflect the marketplace. They are based on actual compensation for professionals Robert Half has matched with employers across the country and third-party job posting data from Textkernel that we use to independently validate the salary levels. Learn more about our methodology.

Non-salary data referenced in the Salary Guide is based on online surveys developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. Respondents include hiring managers and workers from small (10-99 employees), midsize (100-999 employees) and large (1,000-plus employees) private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across the United States.