Creative Staffing in Los Angeles for Agency, Brand and Entertainment Teams
Art directors, producers, designers and marketing talent for Los Angeles teams, on contract or direct hire.
KORE1 is a creative staffing agency for Los Angeles agencies, brands and studios, placing art directors, producers, designers, editors and marketing talent on contract, contract-to-hire or direct hire.
Last updated: November 5, 2026
Los Angeles doesn’t have one creative job market. It has two. One makes the work, the editors and animators and producers the city is known for. The other plans, buys and sells it, and its numbers look a lot like the rest of the country’s. Same freeways. Different markets.
That split changes how I search. Take a producer in Burbank and a marketing manager in Santa Monica. Different employers. Different reasons to say yes. So they don’t get priced from the same sheet.
- This desk
- Creative, marketing and media seats at Los Angeles agencies, brands, studios and production companies, from art directors and producers to designers and brand strategists.
- Routed elsewhere
- Technology roles go to our IT staffing team in Los Angeles, and every other Los Angeles role to our Los Angeles staffing agency team.
This desk sits inside KORE1’s digital and creative staffing practice and runs on the same terms as our contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire work, so the pay schedule, the conversion terms and the paperwork are the ones you’d get anywhere else at KORE1. KORE1 is based in Irvine, in Orange County, and doesn’t list a Los Angeles office. Better to know now.
How Much Do Creative Jobs Pay in Los Angeles?
Twelve creative and marketing occupations from the federal wage survey, numbered in the order Los Angeles concentrates them. Read it like a record. Side A is where the city is the market. Side B is where it’s just a market.
| Seat | Los Angeles median | U.S. median | Premium over U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side ALos Angeles is the market. At least twice the U.S. share of jobs. | |||
| 1Film and video editors | $83,210 | $75,420 | +10% |
| 2Special effects artists and animators | $124,590 | $102,030 | +22% |
| 3Camera operators, television, video and film | $107,620 | $74,990 | +44% |
| 4Producers and directors | $131,600 | $90,360 | +46% |
| 5Art directors | $137,560 | $114,850 | +20% |
| 6Editors | $100,050 | $77,920 | +28% |
| 7Web and digital interface designers | $106,550 | $104,000 | +2% |
| Side BLos Angeles is a market. Under twice the U.S. share. | |||
| 8Graphic designers | $72,400 | $62,960 | +15% |
| 9Advertising and promotions managers | $167,930 | $133,660 | +26% |
| 10Marketing managers | $171,900 | $166,790 | +3% |
| 11Market research analysts and marketing specialists | $82,990 | $78,760 | +5% |
| 12Public relations specialists | $79,860 | $74,750 | +7% |
Here’s what stands out. The middle seat on Side A pays 22% over the national median, and the middle seat on Side B pays 7%. Los Angeles as a whole sits 10% above the country across every job, so a marketing manager at +3% is getting less of the city’s bump than the average worker. The premium follows the concentration. Mostly.
Two Side A seats break the pattern. Film and video editors are the most concentrated job in the table and land right on the 10% line, and web and digital interface designers have twice the national share and pay 2% more. Why? I don’t have a clean reason for either, and I’d rather say so than invent one. Freelance rates sit outside all of this.
Which Creative Roles Does KORE1 Fill in Los Angeles?
I recruit the people who make and manage the work. Art directors and creative directors. Brand strategists. Creative project managers. Executive producers. Then the agency side, with account directors, media buyers and ad operations leads. Designers, copywriters and motion designers come in on contract more often than not.
I don’t staff sets. Grips, camera crews and day-of event help belong to a different kind of firm, and if a set crew is what you need, I’ll say so on the first call rather than let you wait on a search I can’t fill.
Which seat are you actually missing? Companies often ask me for a designer and, twenty minutes in, we’ve landed on a brand strategist, which is why I start with the blueprint, not the finished house. Want numbers? My marketing and creative salaries guide has my ranges from recent searches, and the art director, creative director and motion designer guides go seat by seat.
92,454
private-sector jobs in Los Angeles County’s motion picture and video industries, 9.3 times the U.S. share
14,504
jobs at Los Angeles County advertising agencies, 2.4 times the U.S. share
3 days
median from accepted offer to start date across KORE1 contract hires, all roles (n=1,997)
92%
of KORE1 placements still in the job after twelve months
Both Los Angeles figures are 2025 annual averages from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages for private employers, NAICS 5121 and 541810. KORE1’s figures come from our own placement data for 2019 to 2026 (an export from October 16, 2026) and cover every desk, so read them as KORE1 numbers and not as Los Angeles creative quotes. The twelve-month retention figure is the one KORE1 publishes across all its desks. For what the work involves, the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook explains what art directors do, what producers and directors do and what graphic designers do.
Where in Los Angeles Do These Creative Jobs Sit?
Los Angeles creative work is spread out and clumped at the same time. Here’s a rough map, not a data table.
- Hollywood, West Hollywood and Century City
- Entertainment marketing, talent and the agencies that work beside them.
- Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena
- Studios and animation, with design and engineering schools in Pasadena.
- Culver City and Playa Vista
- Streaming, gaming and Silicon Beach teams.
- Santa Monica, Venice and El Segundo
- Software, ad tech and consumer brands, with aerospace in El Segundo.
- Downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach
- Agencies, fashion and design studios downtown, and the port economy around Long Beach.
Commute decides more than people expect. A candidate in Glendale says yes to Burbank, a few miles away, and thinks twice about Playa Vista, which is a different drive entirely. Hybrid schedules help without erasing the days in the office, and our Los Angeles temporary staffing guide maps how far a seat can reach. Why mention it? The BLS table above counts Los Angeles and Orange counties as one metro area, which means KORE1’s home county is inside those numbers.
Contract, Contract-to-Hire or Direct Hire for Los Angeles Creative Roles?
Tighter budgets are pushing more of my clients toward contract-to-full-time and project-based hires, because nobody wants a full-time salary on the books before the account holds. The calls come in bunches. A company cuts its internal recruiters or wins a new account. It needs senior people fast.
How long does it take? A role with a hiring manager who answers within a day can close in two to three weeks, and a search that has already stalled inside the company runs one to two months. Those are timelines from my own searches across agency, media and entertainment clients, not a KORE1 benchmark. California adds a step. An employer with 15 or more employees has to put a pay scale on the job posting, so settle the range before you list the role.
On contract, KORE1 is the W2 employer and pays contractors every Friday, and after 1,040 hours a contractor can join your payroll with no KORE1 conversion fee. Direct hire is 20% of first-year base with a 60-day replacement guarantee. There is no replacement guarantee on contract. We won’t imply one.
Which Kind of Los Angeles Team Are You?
Four kinds of client call me most. Each has its own page with the seats and the pay in more detail.
Agencies
Advertising agency teams
Account directors, strategists, art directors and producers for agencies that just won a pitch or lost a senior lead.
Advertising agency recruitersMedia
Media agency teams
Planners, buyers and ad operations leads for media shops onboarding a new client and short on senior people.
Media agency recruitersEntertainment
Entertainment marketing teams
Creative directors, producers and project managers for the marketing arms of studios and streaming services.
Entertainment marketing recruitersBrands
Consumer brand teams
Brand strategists, designers and marketing leads for consumer brands building or rebuilding an in-house creative team.
CPG marketing recruiters
Common Questions
How much do creative professionals make in Los Angeles?
Art directors in the Los Angeles metro area have a median wage of $137,560, producers and directors $131,600 and graphic designers $72,400, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for May 2025. Those medians cover payroll employees only, and the metro area includes Orange County, so freelance day rates and your own offer can differ.
Does KORE1 have an office in Los Angeles?
KORE1 doesn’t list a Los Angeles office. It’s headquartered in Irvine, in Orange County, and runs Los Angeles creative searches from there. What matters more is whether your recruiter knows how Burbank, Culver City and Santa Monica hire, and how far a candidate will commute to each.
Should we hire Los Angeles creatives on contract or full-time?
Contract fits work with an end date, a new account you haven’t won yet, or a role you’re not sure about. Full-time fits a seat you’ll need for years. Contract-to-hire sits between the two, and it’s where more of my clients are landing right now.
How long does it take to fill a creative role in Los Angeles?
Two to three weeks when the hiring manager answers within a day, and one to two months when the role has already stalled inside the company. Those timelines come from my own searches across agency, media and entertainment clients. They aren’t a KORE1 benchmark or a Los Angeles figure.
What does a creative staffing agency in Los Angeles charge?
For a direct hire, 20% of first-year base salary with a 60-day replacement guarantee. Contract work is billed hourly. KORE1 doesn’t publish a creative bill rate, because we haven’t placed enough contract creatives to publish one honestly.
Let’s Talk About Your Los Angeles Search
Send the role, the level, the neighborhood, how many days you’re in the office and when you need someone, and I’ll tell you what I’d price it against, who I’d call first and how long I think it takes.
Let’s Talk About Your Search →Not sure what you need yet? Fine. That’s a good place to start. You can also find Samantha on LinkedIn.
