Which state pays graphic communications bachelor's graduates the most?

California, where the median program pays its graduates $26,981 in their first year, the highest of 2 state rankings. New York is next, at $20,711.

Which graphic communications bachelor's program pays the most?

Baker College in Michigan reports the highest first-year pay of the 54 programs ranked here, $74,387. Its median federal debt is $32,714.

How much debt do graphic communications bachelor's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $27,000 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 106% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Graphic Communications (Bachelor's) Programs in the US

56 programs report first-year pay
2 state rankings
Bachelor's in Graphic Communications

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median graphic communications bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $25,330 in their first year and $48,826 five years after. California has the highest state median ($26,981), and New York the lowest ($20,711). The median program leaves its graduates with $27,000 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$25,330Across 56 programs

Median pay after 5 years$48,826Across 52 programs

Median federal debt$27,000Across 53 programs

Debt-to-earnings106%Across 50 programs

All 54 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	Baker CollegeOwosso, MI · private nonprofit	$74,387	Not adjusted	Not reported	$32,714	44%
2	Art Center College of DesignPasadena, CA · private nonprofit	$67,010	$60,522	Not reported	$35,593	53%
3	Cal Poly SLOSan Luis Obispo, CA · public	$49,029	$44,282	$87,135	$17,961	37%
4	UW-StoutMenomonie, WI · public	$48,744	Not adjusted	$61,093	$25,937	53%
5	UMGCAdelphi, MD · public	$46,581	$44,380	$73,041	$26,038	56%
6	Ringling College of Art and DesignSarasota, FL · private nonprofit	$44,048	Not adjusted	$74,421	$27,000	61%
7	Carroll UniversityWaukesha, WI · private nonprofit	$40,825	$43,387	$55,027	$27,000	66%
8	NJITNewark, NJ · public	$39,134	$35,967	$51,686	$25,875	66%
9	BYUProvo, UT · private nonprofit	$38,725	$39,170	$87,288	Not reported	Not reported
10	Bowling Green StateBowling Green, OH · public	$38,489	$41,487	$48,089	$26,981	70%
11	DigiPen Institute of TechnologyRedmond, WA · private for-profit	$37,605	$35,141	$53,376	$27,000	72%
12	University of Minnesota-DuluthDuluth, MN · public	$36,557	$37,068	Not reported	$24,500	67%
13	University of Northern IowaCedar Falls, IA · public	$36,419	$41,497	$49,336	$21,070	58%
14	University of Silicon ValleySan Jose, CA · private for-profit	$33,727	$30,462	$56,685	$31,000	92%
15	RITRochester, NY · private nonprofit	$32,044	Not adjusted	$77,838	$27,000	84%
16	Drexel UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · private nonprofit	$31,790	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
17	Florida State College at JacksonvilleJacksonville, FL · public	$30,795	$29,778	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
18	Pittsburg StatePittsburg, KS · public	$30,270	$33,608	$43,447	$25,500	84%
19	Ferris StateBig Rapids, MI · public	$30,059	$31,241	$49,604	$27,000	90%
20	ASUTempe, AZ · public	$29,305	$29,108	$54,254	$18,964	65%
21	George MasonFairfax, VA · public	$29,192	$28,873	$61,613	$23,000	79%
22	Indian River State CollegeFort Pierce, FL · public	$28,874	$27,921	$34,990	$12,500	43%
23	Academy of Art UniversitySan Francisco, CA · private for-profit	$27,481	$24,820	$54,175	$36,717	134%
24	California College of the ArtsSan Francisco, CA · private nonprofit	$26,481	$23,917	$48,315	$27,000	102%
25	Columbia College ChicagoChicago, IL · private nonprofit	$26,309	$26,320	$65,596	$25,000	95%
26	University of IdahoMoscow, ID · public	$25,848	$27,068	$49,983	$26,958	104%
27	UC Santa CruzSanta Cruz, CA · public	$25,358	$22,903	Not reported	$20,714	82%
28	Chowan UniversityMurfreesboro, NC · private nonprofit	$25,301	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
29	Bradley UniversityPeoria, IL · private nonprofit	$24,941	$24,951	$58,232	$27,000	108%
30	Morgan StateBaltimore, MD · public	$24,843	Not adjusted	Not reported	$31,000	125%
31	Minneapolis College of Art and DesignMinneapolis, MN · private nonprofit	$24,427	$24,769	$41,878	$27,000	111%
32	New Mexico StateLas Cruces, NM · public	$24,115	$26,152	Not reported	$22,500	93%
33	SCADSavannah, GA · private nonprofit	$23,451	Not adjusted	$49,365	$26,748	114%
34	Rocky Mountain College of Art and DesignLakewood, CO · private for-profit	$23,247	$22,559	Not reported	$32,982	142%
35	Eastern Michigan UniversityYpsilanti, MI · public	$22,795	$23,691	$47,299	$27,047	119%
36	School of Visual ArtsNew York, NY · private for-profit	$22,478	$20,828	$35,236	$27,000	120%
37	SUNY College of Technology at AlfredAlfred, NY · public	$21,373	$19,804	$36,674	$27,000	126%
38	East Tennessee StateJohnson City, TN · public	$20,802	$22,643	$37,167	$24,217	116%
39	College for Creative StudiesDetroit, MI · private nonprofit	$20,720	$21,535	$42,209	$27,000	130%
40	Columbus College of Art & DesignColumbus, OH · private nonprofit	$20,110	$21,676	$37,010	$27,000	134%
41	Pratt InstituteBrooklyn, NY · private nonprofit	$20,048	$18,577	$53,693	$26,724	133%
42	Cleveland Institute of ArtCleveland, OH · private nonprofit	$19,409	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,000	139%
43	DePaul UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	$19,178	$19,186	$50,382	$25,864	135%
44	SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at CobleskillCobleskill, NY · public	$19,120	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
45	Laguna College of Art and DesignLaguna Beach, CA · private nonprofit	$17,941	$16,204	$62,659	$27,000	150%
46	Kansas City Art InstituteKansas City, MO · private nonprofit	$17,852	Not adjusted	$38,437	$27,000	151%
47	Webster UniversitySaint Louis, MO · private nonprofit	$17,593	Not adjusted	$30,759	Not reported	Not reported
48	Lynn UniversityBoca Raton, FL · private nonprofit	$17,099	$16,535	Not reported	$35,503	208%
49	UH ManoaHonolulu, HI · public	$16,556	$15,058	$34,302	$23,250	140%
50	Huntington UniversityHuntington, IN · private nonprofit	$16,522	Not adjusted	$28,856	$27,000	163%
51	Regent UniversityVirginia Beach, VA · private nonprofit	$16,280	$16,102	$37,868	$26,000	160%
52	Los Angeles Film SchoolHollywood, CA · private for-profit	$15,529	$14,025	Not reported	$33,250	214%
53	Atlantic UniversityGuaynabo, PR · private nonprofit	$15,397	Not adjusted	Not reported	$5,440	35%
54	Fashion Institute of TechnologyNew York, NY · public	$12,261	$11,361	Not reported	$19,875	162%

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 40 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 14, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

6 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. 2 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.

Graphic Communications (Bachelor's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's graphic communications bachelor's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
California	8	$26,981	$29,000
New York	6	$20,711	$27,000

Programs in 25 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

Cal Poly SLO, CA$17,961
Fashion Institute of Technology, NY$19,875
UC Santa Cruz, CA$20,714
Pratt Institute, NY$26,724
RIT, NY$27,000
California College of the Arts, CA$27,000
School of Visual Arts, NY$27,000
SUNY College of Technology at Alfred, NY$27,000
Laguna College of Art and Design, CA$27,000
University of Silicon Valley, CA$31,000

Lowest debt for the pay

Cal Poly SLO, CA37%
Art Center College of Design, CA53%
UC Santa Cruz, CA82%
RIT, NY84%
University of Silicon Valley, CA92%
California College of the Arts, CA102%
School of Visual Arts, NY120%
SUNY College of Technology at Alfred, NY126%
Pratt Institute, NY133%
Academy of Art University, CA134%

Only the 13 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 graphic communications, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Printing Press Operators

$45,780

Median pay in the US. 144,260 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $33,330Top 10%: $63,520

Data Entry Keyers

$41,340

Median pay in the US. 127,080 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 26% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $31,200Top 10%: $58,790

Prepress Technicians and Workers

$48,690

Median pay in the US. 23,840 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 15% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $35,810Top 10%: $66,080

Special Effects Artists and Animators

$102,030

Median pay in the US. 19,970 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $58,600Top 10%: $177,110

Common questions

The median graphic communications bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $25,330 in their first year and $48,826 five years after.

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