US College Programs

Graphic Communications (Bachelor's) Programs in California, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

  • 8 programs report first-year pay
  • 8 also report federal debt
  • Bachelor's in Graphic Communications

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median California graphic communications bachelor's program pays its graduates $26,981 in their first year, $1,652 more than the national median. Art Center College of Design reports the highest first-year pay ($67,010), and Cal Poly SLO the lowest median debt ($17,961).

Median first-year pay$26,981National $25,330
Median pay after 5 years$56,685National $48,826
Median federal debt$29,000National $27,000
Debt-to-earnings97%National 106%

All 8 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

Debt and first-year pay at every California graphic communications program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Art Center College of Design$67,010
  2. Cal Poly SLO$49,029
  3. University of Silicon Valley$33,727
  4. Academy of Art University$27,481
  5. California College of the Arts$26,481

Lowest median debt

  1. Cal Poly SLO$17,961
  2. UC Santa Cruz$20,714
  3. California College of the Arts$27,000
  4. Laguna College of Art and Design$27,000
  5. University of Silicon Valley$31,000

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Cal Poly SLO37%
  2. Art Center College of Design53%
  3. UC Santa Cruz82%
  4. University of Silicon Valley92%
  5. California College of the Arts102%

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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 all experience levels.

Printing Press Operators

$46,110

Median pay in California. 12,320 people work in this job in California. 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%: $36,580Top 10%: $63,910

Data Entry Keyers

$47,010

Median pay in California. 14,520 people work in this job in California. 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%: $37,490Top 10%: $61,520

Prepress Technicians and Workers

$53,860

Median pay in California. 2,020 people work in this job in California. 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%: $38,870Top 10%: $76,420

Special Effects Artists and Animators

$130,540

Median pay in California. 7,410 people work in this job in California. 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%: $71,710Top 10%: $206,160

Common questions

Art Center College of Design in Pasadena reports the highest median first-year pay, $67,010. Its median federal debt is $35,593.

Related pages

Graphic Communications (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked56 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.
  • Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California rankings when their main campus is in another state.
  • Medians are across the graphic communications bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024