Digital Marketing Salary in United States

Compare current average salaries linked to digital marketing roles and careers, from entry-level positions to senior leadership and directorship jobs, and evaluate how to position your recruitment drive or approach negotiations with a new employer as a digital marketing professional.

$68,880 / Per Year

Two digital marketers collaborating on a project

Although salaries naturally vary between locations and depending on the expertise, skills, and qualifications you bring to the position, the median average across all US digital marketing jobs is currently $68,880, relying on numerous data sources and our extensive digital marketing listings.

Recognizing averages is highly relevant to businesses, agencies, and recruiters who need to assess how likely their offered salary is to attract top talent to a vacancy, and to applicants and digital marketing professionals keen to identify the type of salary they should be earning for a particular role.

In this guide we examine the US salary for digital marketing jobs, beginning with interns and juniors, and continuing to VPs, directors and senior leaders.

Overview of Average US Digital Marketing Salaries

Before we discuss the averages, it’s important to clarify that they are only indicative, and can’t factor in locations, specific niches or abilities, proven experience, or the track record of any individual. Therefore, it’s wise to use an average as a guideline, rather than an exact figure.

In much the same way, if you’re already working in a digital marketing team for an employer and plan to branch out as an independent freelancer or take up a position with an agency, this may influence the average salary payable, even if the roles in each setting are similar.

Job applicants should also consider other remuneration instead of basing career decisions solely on a basic salary. Additional benefits like health insurance, paid sick leave, dental coverage, 401K plans, a company vehicle, expense accounts, and other perks can make a substantial difference to the appeal of a marginally lower salary.

The real-time value of a pay package with numerous added benefits can outweigh the basic salary alone. Funded training opportunities and formal certifications may also be highly advantageous.

Entry-Level Digital Marketing Salary in USA

The average entry-level or digital marketing internship salary in the US is $51,401.

An entry-level role is often suited to applicants with basic skills and know-how but without any real-world experience working in digital marketing. Internships are ideal for candidates keen to learn on the job and progress up the career ladder, whereas other positions might be great for applicants who are interested in workplace experience in an administrative or support role.

Junior digital marketing roles in the US could include:

  • Digital Marketing Intern: Working in a digital marketing department or agency office, helping with research and organizing campaigns, overseeing tasks such as extracting reports from social media advertising, or assisting functions such as data analytics or customer service teams.
  • Digital Marketing Specialist: Assisting and supporting more experienced digital marketing colleagues, researching trends, reviewing competitor activity and products, creating reports around digital traffic measurement, or publishing approved online content.

Mid-Level Digital Marketing Salary

Digital marketers with mid-level seniority earn an average US salary of $88,710.

Marketing roles at the mid-level are a good fit for digital marketing professionals with a few years of experience who have the know-how, confidence, and expertise in client liaison and campaign management to take on greater levels of responsibility and decision-making.

Examples of US digital marketing jobs with a mid-level salary include:

  • Digital Marketing Manager: This job could involve running specific campaigns or projects for a business or agency client, being responsible for web analytics, developing new campaign ideas and strategies for growth, or working on lead generation and development.
  • Paid Media Manager: Many mid-level jobs are highly specific and might be appropriate for digital marketers with reasonable experience who have found a niche or specialism that matches their skills well. Paid Media Managers take a hands-on role in handling paid media campaigns and overseeing performance.

Senior Digital Marketing Salary

US digital marketing jobs at a senior managerial level pay an average salary of $150,733.

Digital marketers with several years of experience, and who have the reputation, talent, and track record to progress upward can apply for senior digital marketing jobs. Their salaries reflect their proficiency either as general digital marketers with established management capabilities or as specialists with a refined and targeted skill set.

Senior digital marketing roles working for US companies or agencies might be as follows:

  • Senior Digital Marketing Manager: As a senior manager, a digital marketer will have greater oversight and autonomy over spending budgets, or making decisions about creating campaigns that align with client or organizational objectives. Most will steer projects, manage small teams, or work alongside other senior leadership colleagues to oversee junior workforces.
  • Senior Digital Marketing Executive: Higher-level executives are equally responsible for deciding on aspects such as the marketing mix used on a particular campaign, selecting channels or platforms for online content publication, and handling the background research and analytics that contribute to each campaign.

VP or Director Level Digital Marketing Salary

VPs and directors working in digital marketing earn an average salary of $226,952 in the United States.

Senior directors or VPs are at the pinnacle of an organization and often have the final say or a weighted vote when making decisions about strategy, steering, or marketing directions. Many have accumulated years of experience or have a standout reputation that makes them well-positioned to be a brand or agency representative.

Highly experienced digital marketing professionals in the US could apply for roles such as:

  • VP of Digital Marketing: VPs act as board or committee members and take ultimate responsibility for ensuring that all digital marketing activities contribute to big-picture targets, such as forward development, market share gains, and promotional events that assist with revenue growth.
  • Senior Director of Digital Marketing: Senior directors work above other directors, often as board members, and might be tasked with developing and implementing performance-based marketing strategies while managing budgets, measuring outcomes, and reporting to the board with suggestions about further improvements.

Factors That Impact Digital Marketing Salaries and Remuneration Packages in the United States

Average digital marketing salaries reflect the median pay rate. Still, it is important to reiterate that the highest and lowest salaries for a comparable role may differ significantly based on elements such as your location, the organization you work for, your experience, and any specialist know-how or skills you have that amplify the salary you can command.

Below, we’ve summarized some of the most important factors that may affect whether the salary you receive or offer for a role is above or below the average.

State

As in all sectors, digital marketing salaries vary by state. For instance, the highest average salaries tend to be paid in New Jersey, Delaware, California, and New Hampshire, followed closely by New York. States with the lowest average salaries include Louisiana, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Hawaii. Therefore, the region or city you live in may impact your salary expectations or the offer you make to prospective employees.

Professional Experience

The greater your experience, the higher the salary you might expect, especially at mid and senior-level positions, where real-world knowledge or management abilities can make one candidate more desirable than another, even if their qualifications are relatively similar.

Marketers also find that if they have a period of tenure with a particular organization, albeit in a different field or department, this is reflected in their salary since the employer is rewarding their length of service – and paying more than they otherwise might for a new colleague applying for the same position.

Credentials

While formal qualifications, certifications, and accreditations are not always mandatory, a digital marketing professional with a demonstrable level of education could be paid more than another candidate with a basic diploma or high school education.

Much depends on the business or agency and the industries it trades in because some more technical fields, such as legal, financial, pharmaceutical, or healthcare companies, will offer better salary packages for digital marketers with at least an undergraduate degree – even if they have then pursued a career in digital marketing.

Nature of Employment

Digital marketers have great flexibility in the types of roles they apply for, the structure of the companies or agencies they represent, and the areas or niches they choose to specialize in.

That diversity can also impact the salary you might expect to earn, where a freelance marketer, a digital marketer working for an agency, and an in-house member of a brand’s digital marketing team will often see variations in their gross pay. Likewise, digital marketers who work for an agency or business on a remote basis usually have different average salaries than those with on-site roles.

Organization Size

Undoubtedly, the size and maturity of the organization you work for or represent as a recruiter will affect the average salaries across the board. Larger, established, and well-known companies tend to prioritize the highest caliber candidates because they have the resources to offer above-average pay rates to attract top talent.

In contrast, a start-up or entrepreneurial company without substantial reserves might offer towards the lower end of the scale. However, working for a company at this stage can be risky, but it also attracts alternative forms of remuneration, such as employee shares, which could become more valuable in the future if the business succeeds.

Digital Marketing Salary USA – FAQs

How Does Digital Marketing Jobs Arrive at Average US Digital Marketing Salaries?

We extract data and metrics from multiple sources to calculate the average digital marketing salary at each level of experience, based on the most-used recruitment sites, our own extensive job listings, and industry averages based on federal trends.

Alongside US digital marketing job ads, we consult Glassdoor, PayScale, and Salary.com to ensure averages are a fair representation of salaries paid across the board.

What Qualifications Do I Need to Apply for Entry-Level Digital Marketing Jobs?

Most employers and digital marketing agencies won’t expect entry-level, junior, and internship applicants to already hold formal qualifications – but they might prefer candidates with some form of education or look for junior marketers with a baseline certification or bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, communications, or a similar subject.

You can learn more about job requirements and criteria through our extensive library of job descriptions, which outline the responsibilities associated with each entry-level role, the essential and desirable criteria most recruiters have, and the abilities you’ll need to be considered.

What Is the Best Way to Set Salary Expectations for a US-Based Digital Marketing Role?

As we’ve seen, salaries can differ due to numerous factors. While averages can help you understand what other organizations are paying, and what other digital marketers are earning, it’s best to assess your own position before making any decisions.

For example, if you are looking for a digital marketing job, you might want to update and refresh your resume, ensure you’ve listed all relevant experience and qualifications, and then compare that information to the requirements of the digital marketing vacancy you’re most interested in.

Recruiters can also browse our job board to view digital marketing jobs in the US to find similar roles in the same state, or with the same working structure, and compare the salary they are offering to see how this stacks up.