Which New York design and applied arts program has the lowest debt?

Suffolk County Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $9,132, with first-year pay of $24,907.

How much do design and applied arts graduates earn in New York?

The median across 10 New York design and applied arts associate's programs is $20,079 in the first year after graduating and $35,313 five years after.

How many design and applied arts associate's programs are in New York?

10 New York programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 7 of them also report federal debt.

Design and Applied Arts (Associate's) Programs in New York, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

10 programs report first-year pay
7 also report federal debt
Associate's in Design and Applied Arts

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median New York design and applied arts associate's program pays its graduates $20,079 in their first year, $6,523 less than the national median. The New School reports the highest first-year pay ($44,640), and Suffolk County Community College the lowest median debt ($9,132).

Median first-year pay$20,079National $26,602

Median pay after 5 years$35,313National $34,159

Median federal debt$10,600National $14,657

Debt-to-earnings48%National 54%

All 10 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.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	The New SchoolNew York · private nonprofit	$44,640	$56,224	$21,211	48%
2	Monroe Community CollegeRochester · public	$27,718	$38,571	$10,250	37%
3	Bryant & Stratton College-BuffaloBuffalo · private nonprofit	$25,506	$39,599	$17,511	69%
4	Suffolk County Community CollegeSelden · public	$24,907	$38,842	$9,132	37%
5	Mohawk Valley Community CollegeUtica · public	$21,012	Not reported	$9,534	45%
6	Kingsborough Community CollegeBrooklyn · public	$19,146	$33,696	Not reported	Not reported
7	Nassau Community CollegeGarden City · public	$18,107	$34,571	$10,600	59%
8	Fashion Institute of TechnologyNew York · public	$14,361	$44,559	$12,000	84%
9	LaGuardia Community CollegeLong Island City · public	$13,554	$21,605	Not reported	Not reported
10	Hostos Community CollegeBronx · public	$12,863	$33,160	Not reported	Not reported

Kingsborough Community College, LaGuardia Community College, and Hostos Community College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. 2 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York design and applied arts program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 7 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

The New School$44,640
Monroe Community College$27,718
Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo$25,506
Suffolk County Community College$24,907
Mohawk Valley Community College$21,012

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"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 design and applied arts, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Graphic Designers

$77,340

Median pay in New York. 14,530 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $43,680Top 10%: $131,250

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$120,990

Median pay in New York. 16,560 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $63,960Top 10%: $204,510

Interior Designers

$75,580

Median pay in New York. 5,340 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $35,990Top 10%: $125,620

Art Directors

$137,320

Median pay in New York. 8,720 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $80,060Top 10%: $280,320

Common questions

The New School in New York reports the highest median first-year pay, $44,640. Its median federal debt is $21,211.

Design and Applied Arts (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked83 programs by pay and debt Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's) programs in New York, ranked18 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 New York rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the design and applied arts associate'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

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, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024