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Creative Director Salary and Equity in Chicago 2026

How much does a Creative Director expect to make at Chicago-based startups? The average expected salary for Creative Directors in Chicago-based startups is 143k per year, with a range from 68k to 280k. These amounts were gathered from Wellfound self-reported data and represent the median salary range. The salary range for Creative Directors in Chicago startups varies depending on factors such as industry, experience, skills, and startup stage.

143.0k

Average Salary

1 years

Average years of experience

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Salary

By quarter
The average salary for a Creative Director in Chicago is $143,000, which is 26.7% higher than the average Chicago startup salary of$112,875. Creative Director salaries in Chicago are based on exclusive Wellfound data. All data is updated on a weekly basis. Factors that may influence salary include: years of experience, title, size of company, skill-set, and industry.

Top of market

$194,583/yr

Range $128k - $280k

Average

$143,000/yr

Range $124k - $192k

Below Average

$100,083/yr

Range $68k - $117k


Industries

The highest average salary a Creative Director in Chicago can get in Enterprise Software, that is $191,500. This pay is 30.1% higher than the average Creative Director salary in Chicago, which is $147,167. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Enterprise Software (avg $191,500 per year), Software (avg $181,500 per year), Mobile (avg $127,500 per year).

Years of experience

Below Average

Average

Top of Market

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