California Retains Ad Production Crown, Gains Market Share

Ad production may have expanded out more beyond just California and New York in 2025, but that doesn't mean the Golden State is being dethroned any time soon.

The XR (Extreme Reach) State Of Pay report dives into the geographic shifts around where commercial ad productions occurred last year, and the biggest takeaway may be that California's still king, at a dominant 42.2% of volume (up 1.2 points vs. 2019).

• California did gain in terms of share of production volume, even if volume also declined in the state in the same 2019 to 2025 timeframe.
• But volume declined across the board as well: XR data shows 25% fewer ad productions last year vs. pre-pandemic levels, though drops have also stabilized as advertisers are getting more assets out of production days.
• California's dominance comes in part from the existing location of talent – 2021 data from CBRE revealed that L.A. had over 1 million creative professionals at that time (second only to New York, at 1.3 million).

Learn more about how ad productions continue to shift, and download XR's State of Pay report today.