Start with the answer
Art Directors pay in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and Springfield, MO
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Art Directors is $170,140 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. It is $70,690 per year in Springfield, MO. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 140.7% above Springfield, MO on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 27-1011 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 600 wage and salary jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and 40 in Springfield, MO. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings