Which state pays design and applied arts associate's graduates the most?

Wisconsin, where the median program pays its graduates $29,734 in their first year, the highest of 2 state rankings. New York is next, at $20,079.

Which design and applied arts associate's program pays the most?

Interior Designers Institute in California reports the highest first-year pay of the 70 programs ranked here, $52,768. Its median federal debt is $23,814.

How much debt do design and applied arts associate's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $14,657 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 54% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Design and Applied Arts (Associate's) Programs in the US

83 programs report first-year pay
2 state rankings
Associate's in Design and Applied Arts

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median design and applied arts associate's program in the US pays its graduates $26,602 in their first year and $34,159 five years after. Wisconsin has the highest state median ($29,734), and New York the lowest ($20,079). The median program leaves its graduates with $14,657 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$26,602Across 83 programs

Median pay after 5 years$34,159Across 117 programs

Median federal debt$14,657Across 77 programs

Debt-to-earnings54%Across 67 programs

All 70 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Interior Designers InstituteNewport Beach, CA · private for-profit	$52,768	$47,659	$33,394	$23,814	45%
2	The New SchoolNew York, NY · private nonprofit	$44,640	$41,364	$56,224	$21,211	48%
3	Austin Community College DistrictAustin, TX · public	$40,289	$41,511	$43,956	$19,939	49%
4	Minneapolis Community and Technical CollegeMinneapolis, MN · public	$40,230	$40,793	$32,939	$18,601	46%
5	Century College (Minnesota)White Bear Lake, MN · public	$39,850	$40,407	$40,545	$15,000	38%
6	Waukesha County Technical CollegePewaukee, WI · public	$39,095	$41,548	$34,755	$15,554	40%
7	Scottsdale Community CollegeScottsdale, AZ · public	$38,676	Not adjusted	$36,987	Not reported	Not reported
8	Oakland Community CollegeAuburn Hills, MI · public	$38,657	$40,177	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
9	Montana StateBozeman, MT · public	$36,931	$39,021	Not reported	$18,880	51%
10	Palm Beach State CollegeLake Worth, FL · public	$36,768	$35,554	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
11	Salt Lake Community CollegeSalt Lake City, UT · public	$34,227	$34,620	$33,160	$10,766	31%
12	Collin County Community College DistrictMcKinney, TX · public	$33,456	$34,470	Not reported	$6,900	21%
13	Northern Virginia Community CollegeAnnandale, VA · public	$33,232	$32,869	Not reported	$18,250	55%
14	Gwinnett Technical CollegeLawrenceville, GA · public	$32,851	$34,116	$39,266	$18,997	58%
15	Fox Valley Technical CollegeAppleton, WI · public	$32,673	$34,723	$36,286	$16,582	51%
16	Rasmussen UniversitySt. Cloud, MN · private for-profit	$32,246	$32,697	Not reported	$28,722	89%
17	Kirkwood Community CollegeCedar Rapids, IA · public	$32,116	$36,594	Not reported	$10,519	33%
18	Arapahoe Community CollegeLittleton, CO · public	$32,100	$31,149	$44,854	$15,000	47%
19	Johnson County Community CollegeOverland Park, KS · public	$32,030	$35,562	$38,139	$13,625	43%
20	Alexandria Technical & Community CollegeAlexandria, MN · public	$31,830	$32,275	$41,084	$12,000	38%
21	Dallas CollegeDallas, TX · public	$31,478	Not adjusted	Not reported	$11,835	38%
22	College of DuPageGlen Ellyn, IL · public	$31,463	$31,476	Not reported	$10,653	34%
23	Virginia Western Community CollegeRoanoke, VA · public	$31,440	$31,097	$32,086	Not reported	Not reported
24	Seminole State College of FloridaSanford, FL · public	$31,347	Not adjusted	Not reported	$10,667	34%
25	Central Piedmont Community CollegeCharlotte, NC · public	$30,979	$32,842	$32,514	Not reported	Not reported
26	Madison Area Technical CollegeMadison, WI · public	$30,710	$32,637	Not reported	$15,750	51%
27	Miami Dade CollegeMiami, FL · public	$30,466	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
28	Vet Tech Institute of IndianaIndianapolis, IN · private for-profit	$30,284	$32,449	$29,876	$10,143	33%
29	Delgado Community CollegeNew Orleans, LA · public	$30,248	$34,292	$30,770	$19,500	64%
30	Oklahoma City Community CollegeOklahoma City, OK · public	$30,101	$34,267	Not reported	$14,250	47%
31	Metropolitan Community College AreaOmaha, NE · public	$29,902	$33,186	$36,677	$12,526	42%
32	Seattle Central CollegeSeattle, WA · public	$29,775	$27,824	Not reported	$14,085	47%
33	Gateway Technical CollegeKenosha, WI · public	$29,734	$31,600	$34,173	$15,500	52%
34	Forsyth Technical Community CollegeWinston-Salem, NC · public	$29,715	$31,502	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
35	Oklahoma State University Institute of TechnologyOkmulgee, OK · public	$28,438	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
36	Lehigh Carbon Community CollegeSchnecksville, PA · public	$27,896	$28,590	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
37	Milwaukee Area Technical CollegeMilwaukee, WI · public	$27,795	$29,539	$43,680	Not reported	Not reported
38	Monroe Community CollegeRochester, NY · public	$27,718	$25,684	$38,571	$10,250	37%
39	Nashville State Community CollegeNashville, TN · public	$27,412	$29,838	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
40	Ivy Tech Community CollegeIndianapolis, IN · public	$26,602	$28,503	$30,514	$12,710	48%
41	Academy of Art UniversitySan Francisco, CA · private for-profit	$26,478	Not adjusted	$43,707	$33,437	126%
42	Portland Community CollegePortland, OR · public	$26,285	$25,430	$45,682	$17,512	67%
43	New England Institute of TechnologyEast Greenwich, RI · private nonprofit	$26,282	$25,696	$46,923	$12,000	46%
44	Saint Louis Community CollegeBridgeton, MO · public	$25,929	$28,551	$32,360	Not reported	Not reported
45	Bryant & Stratton College-BuffaloBuffalo, NY · private nonprofit	$25,506	$23,634	$39,599	$17,511	69%
46	Des Moines Area Community CollegeAnkeny, IA · public	$25,265	$28,788	$44,720	$13,625	54%
47	Suffolk County Community CollegeSelden, NY · public	$24,907	$23,079	$38,842	$9,132	37%
48	Guilford Technical Community CollegeJamestown, NC · public	$24,827	$26,320	$35,360	$19,000	77%
49	Sinclair Community CollegeDayton, OH · public	$24,490	$26,397	$36,535	$11,000	45%
50	Full Sail UniversityWinter Park, FL · private for-profit	$23,719	Not adjusted	Not reported	$34,679	146%
51	Texas State Technical CollegeWaco, TX · public	$23,345	$24,053	$32,318	$15,679	67%
52	Western Technical College (Wisconsin)La Crosse, WI · public	$23,032	$24,477	$34,819	$12,057	52%
53	Tidewater Community CollegeNorfolk, VA · public	$22,935	$22,685	$29,918	$12,320	54%
54	Cuyahoga Community College DistrictCleveland, OH · public	$22,517	$24,271	$36,586	$11,795	52%
55	Horry-Georgetown Technical CollegeConway, SC · public	$22,024	$23,493	$28,147	$17,500	79%
56	Spokane Falls Community CollegeSpokane, WA · public	$21,508	$20,098	Not reported	$14,657	68%
57	Moraine Park Technical CollegeFond du Lac, WI · public	$21,388	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
58	Mohawk Valley Community CollegeUtica, NY · public	$21,012	$19,470	Not reported	$9,534	45%
59	Keiser UniversityFort Lauderdale, FL · private nonprofit	$20,360	$19,688	$25,603	$24,792	122%
60	Chattanooga State Community CollegeChattanooga, TN · public	$20,165	$21,949	$31,084	$11,681	58%
61	Henry Ford CollegeDearborn, MI · public	$19,911	$20,694	$25,623	$19,075	96%
62	Sessions CollegeTempe, AZ · private for-profit	$19,275	Not adjusted	$42,234	$27,678	144%
63	Kingsborough Community CollegeBrooklyn, NY · public	$19,146	$17,741	$33,696	Not reported	Not reported
64	Northampton County Area Community CollegeBethlehem, PA · public	$19,022	$19,495	$30,533	$15,250	80%
65	Nassau Community CollegeGarden City, NY · public	$18,107	$16,778	$34,571	$10,600	59%
66	Macomb Community CollegeWarren, MI · public	$17,057	$17,728	$45,307	$10,500	62%
67	Fashion Institute of TechnologyNew York, NY · public	$14,361	$13,307	$44,559	$12,000	84%
68	LaGuardia Community CollegeLong Island City, NY · public	$13,554	$12,559	$21,605	Not reported	Not reported
69	EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San JuanSan Juan, PR · private nonprofit	$12,994	Not adjusted	Not reported	$7,900	61%
70	Hostos Community CollegeBronx, NY · public	$12,863	$11,919	$33,160	Not reported	Not reported

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 60 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 10, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

16 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked. 13 more programs report pay but aren't listed, because College Scorecard's school file doesn't name their schools. The national medians above still count them.

Design and Applied Arts (Associate's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's design and applied arts associate's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Wisconsin	7	$29,734	$15,554
New York	10	$20,079	$10,600

Programs in 28 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Lowest median debt

Suffolk County Community College, NY$9,132
Mohawk Valley Community College, NY$9,534
Monroe Community College, NY$10,250
Nassau Community College, NY$10,600
Fashion Institute of Technology, NY$12,000
Western Technical College (Wisconsin), WI$12,057
Gateway Technical College, WI$15,500
Waukesha County Technical College, WI$15,554
Madison Area Technical College, WI$15,750
Fox Valley Technical College, WI$16,582

Lowest debt for the pay

Suffolk County Community College, NY37%
Monroe Community College, NY37%
Waukesha County Technical College, WI40%
Mohawk Valley Community College, NY45%
The New School, NY48%
Fox Valley Technical College, WI51%
Madison Area Technical College, WI51%
Gateway Technical College, WI52%
Western Technical College (Wisconsin), WI52%
Nassau Community College, NY59%

Only the 12 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to design and applied arts, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Graphic Designers

$62,960

Median pay in the US. 197,830 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $39,520Top 10%: $104,910

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$104,000

Median pay in the US. 113,330 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $53,750Top 10%: $201,550

Interior Designers

$67,190

Median pay in the US. 71,500 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $41,420Top 10%: $114,140

Art Directors

$114,850

Median pay in the US. 53,070 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $64,900Top 10%: $213,050

Common questions

The median design and applied arts associate's program in the US pays its graduates $26,602 in their first year and $34,159 five years after.

Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked297 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024