Which Wisconsin design and applied arts program has the lowest debt?

Western Technical College (Wisconsin) reports the lowest median federal debt, $12,057, with first-year pay of $23,032.

How much do design and applied arts graduates earn in Wisconsin?

The median across 7 Wisconsin design and applied arts associate's programs is $29,734 in the first year after graduating and $35,553 five years after.

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

7 Wisconsin programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

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

7 programs report first-year pay
5 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 Wisconsin design and applied arts associate's program pays its graduates $29,734 in their first year, $3,132 more than the national median. Waukesha County Technical College reports the highest first-year pay ($39,095), and Western Technical College (Wisconsin) the lowest median debt ($12,057).

Median first-year pay$29,734National $26,602

Median pay after 5 years$35,553National $34,159

Median federal debt$15,554National $14,657

Debt-to-earnings51%National 54%

All 7 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	Waukesha County Technical CollegePewaukee · public	$39,095	$34,755	$15,554	40%
2	Fox Valley Technical CollegeAppleton · public	$32,673	$36,286	$16,582	51%
3	Madison Area Technical CollegeMadison · public	$30,710	Not reported	$15,750	51%
4	Gateway Technical CollegeKenosha · public	$29,734	$34,173	$15,500	52%
5	Milwaukee Area Technical CollegeMilwaukee · public	$27,795	$43,680	Not reported	Not reported
6	Western Technical College (Wisconsin)La Crosse · public	$23,032	$34,819	$12,057	52%
7	Moraine Park Technical CollegeFond du Lac · public	$21,388	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported

Milwaukee Area Technical College and Moraine Park Technical College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Waukesha County Technical College$39,095
Fox Valley Technical College$32,673
Madison Area Technical College$30,710
Gateway Technical College$29,734
Milwaukee Area Technical College$27,795

Lowest median debt

Western Technical College (Wisconsin)$12,057
Gateway Technical College$15,500
Waukesha County Technical College$15,554
Madison Area Technical College$15,750
Fox Valley Technical College$16,582

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

$59,900

Median pay in Wisconsin. 4,130 people work in this job in Wisconsin. 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%: $42,680Top 10%: $85,050

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$95,340

Median pay in Wisconsin. 880 people work in this job in Wisconsin. 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%: $57,980Top 10%: $138,410

Interior Designers

$62,740

Median pay in Wisconsin. 1,200 people work in this job in Wisconsin. 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%: $35,740Top 10%: $99,940

Art Directors

$81,130

Median pay in Wisconsin. 730 people work in this job in Wisconsin. 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%: $58,470Top 10%: $131,850

Common questions

Waukesha County Technical College in Pewaukee reports the highest median first-year pay, $39,095. Its median federal debt is $15,554.

Design and Applied Arts (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked83 programs by pay and debt Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's) programs in Wisconsin, ranked9 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 Wisconsin 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