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Best Design Schools (2026): 92 Ranked by Salary & ROI

92 schools ranked by TSW Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Design, ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Design graduate earns $28,654/yr across 92 schools.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$28,654/yr

Avg TSW Score

46/100

#1 School

Miami Ad School-Atlanta

$56,833/yr

BLS projects 2.6% employment growth for occupations in this field from 2024–2034, with approximately 101 annual job openings per related program area.

All Design Programs Ranked

Click any row for full earnings projections and career path breakdown.

#	School	TSW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Miami Ad School-Atlanta Atlanta, GA · Design	60 56–62	$56,833/yr	36.5x
2	Century College White Bear Lake, MN · Design	64 61–66	$43,778/yr	69.8x
3	Miami Ad School Miami, FL · Design	60 56–62	$56,833/yr	36.5x
4	Gnomon Hollywood, CA · Design	60 56–62	$80,221/yr	26.5x
5	Austin Community College District Austin, TX · Design	64 61–67	$40,289/yr	85.2x
6	Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale, AZ · Design	64 60–65	$38,676/yr	77.4x
7	Oakland Community College Auburn Hills, MI · Design	61 58–63	$38,657/yr	63.0x
8	Palm Beach State College Lake Worth, FL · Design	59 56–61	$36,768/yr	59.3x
9	Gwinnett Technical College Lawrenceville, GA · Design	56 51–58	$32,851/yr	57.5x
10	Waukesha County Technical College Pewaukee, WI · Design	56 53–57	$39,095/yr	35.8x
11	Collin County Community College District McKinney, TX · Design	61 58–63	$33,456/yr	88.7x
12	Arapahoe Community College Littleton, CO · Design	54 48–56	$32,100/yr	51.1x
13	College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL · Design	58 55–60	$32,133/yr	73.4x
14	Johnson County Community College Overland Park, KS · Design	59 55–61	$32,030/yr	80.9x
15	Century College White Bear Lake, MN · Design	53 51–55	$39,850/yr	31.8x
16	Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte, NC · Design	54 51–56	$30,979/yr	57.2x
17	Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, NC · Design	65 60–67	$32,153/yr	187.0x
18	Dallas College Dallas, TX · Design	57 54–59	$31,478/yr	65.4x
19	Miami Dade College Miami, FL · Design	53 51–55	$30,466/yr	52.7x
20	Seminole State College of Florida Sanford, FL · Design	53 50–55	$31,347/yr	47.6x
21	Minneapolis Community and Technical College Minneapolis, MN · Design	54 51–56	$40,230/yr	25.9x
22	Metropolitan Community College Area Omaha, NE · Design	53 48–55	$29,902/yr	54.8x
23	Forsyth Technical Community College Winston-Salem, NC · Design	55 52–57	$29,715/yr	64.9x
24	Salt Lake Community College Salt Lake City, UT · Design	52 50–54	$34,227/yr	37.9x
25	Interior Designers Institute Newport Beach, CA · Design	52 49–54	$52,768/yr	7.2x
26	Fox Valley Technical College Appleton, WI · Design	50 47–52	$32,673/yr	35.9x
27	College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL · Design	49 47–51	$31,463/yr	35.4x
28	Montana State University Bozeman, MT · Design	49 46–51	$36,931/yr	21.8x
29	Alexandria Technical & Community College Alexandria, MN · Design	48 44–51	$31,830/yr	32.1x
30	Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown, NC · Design	53 46–55	$24,827/yr	75.2x
31	Oklahoma City Community College Oklahoma City, OK · Design	48 46–50	$30,101/yr	36.1x
32	Northern Virginia Community College Annandale, VA · Design	48 46–50	$33,232/yr	28.1x
33	Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee, WI · Design	49 41–51	$27,795/yr	42.5x
34	Kirkwood Community College Cedar Rapids, IA · Design	47 45–49	$32,116/yr	25.9x
35	Delgado Community College New Orleans, LA · Design	47 45–49	$30,248/yr	31.9x
36	Saint Louis Community College Bridgeton, MO · Design	47 43–49	$25,929/yr	43.2x
37	The New School New York, NY · Design	48 43–50	$44,640/yr	4.0x
38	Sinclair Community College Dayton, OH · Design	48 42–51	$24,490/yr	52.2x
39	Portland Community College Portland, OR · Design	47 40–49	$26,285/yr	44.3x
40	Virginia Western Community College Roanoke, VA · Design	47 45–49	$31,440/yr	29.5x
41	Madison Area Technical College Madison, WI · Design	48 45–50	$30,710/yr	31.1x
42	Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI · Design	47 44–49	$29,734/yr	34.2x
43	Cuyahoga Community College District Cleveland, OH · Design	46 39–48	$22,517/yr	48.0x
44	Seattle Central College Seattle, WA · Design	46 44–48	$29,775/yr	29.6x
45	Des Moines Area Community College Ankeny, IA · Design	44 38–47	$25,265/yr	39.3x
46	Monroe Community College Rochester, NY · Design	45 40–48	$27,718/yr	31.9x
47	Front Range Community College Westminster, CO · Design	44 42–46	$21,397/yr	44.1x
48	Macomb Community College Warren, MI · Design	40 34–43	$17,057/yr	61.9x
49	Nashville State Community College Nashville, TN · Design	44 42–46	$27,412/yr	29.5x
50	Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN · Design	44 40–46	$26,602/yr	30.1x
51	Rasmussen University-Minnesota St. Cloud, MN · Design	44 40–46	$32,246/yr	13.8x
52	Rasmussen University-North Dakota Fargo, ND · Design	43 39–45	$32,246/yr	11.7x
53	Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology Okmulgee, OK · Design	44 41–46	$28,438/yr	23.6x
54	Lehigh Carbon Community College Schnecksville, PA · Design	44 41–46	$27,896/yr	25.7x
55	Western Technical College La Crosse, WI · Design	43 37–46	$23,032/yr	35.9x
56	Rasmussen University-Wisconsin Green Bay, WI · Design	43 40–45	$32,246/yr	12.5x
57	Rasmussen University-Florida Ocala, FL · Design	42 39–44	$32,246/yr	9.7x
58	Suffolk County Community College Selden, NY · Design	42 36–45	$24,907/yr	29.2x
59	Rasmussen University-Illinois Rockford, IL · Design	43 39–45	$32,246/yr	10.9x
60	Rasmussen University-Kansas Topeka, KS · Design	42 38–44	$32,246/yr	9.5x
61	Henry Ford College Dearborn, MI · Design	41 37–43	$19,911/yr	36.0x
62	International Business College-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Design	40 37–42	$30,284/yr	8.1x
63	Horry-Georgetown Technical College Conway, SC · Design	41 36–43	$22,024/yr	30.5x
64	Chattanooga State Community College Chattanooga, TN · Design	41 34–43	$20,165/yr	33.2x
65	CUNY Kingsborough Community College Brooklyn, NY · Design	39 32–41	$19,146/yr	31.1x
66	Fashion Institute of Technology New York, NY · Design	34 28–37	$14,361/yr	35.1x
67	Tidewater Community College Norfolk, VA · Design	40 35–42	$22,935/yr	25.2x
68	Spokane Falls Community College Spokane, WA · Design	39 36–41	$21,508/yr	25.5x
69	Texas State Technical College Waco, TX · Design	39 34–41	$23,345/yr	21.5x
70	Northampton County Area Community College Bethlehem, PA · Design	39 32–41	$19,022/yr	27.8x
71	Moraine Park Technical College Fond du Lac, WI · Design	38 35–40	$21,388/yr	21.7x
72	Community Care College Tulsa, OK · Design	39 35–41	$17,889/yr	—
73	Clary Sage College Tulsa, OK · Design	39 35–41	$17,889/yr	—
74	Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo Buffalo, NY · Design	37 32–39	$25,506/yr	9.4x
75	CUNY Hostos Community College Bronx, NY · Design	34 28–37	$12,863/yr	30.8x
76	Nassau Community College Garden City, NY · Design	37 30–39	$18,107/yr	26.3x
77	Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA · Design	37 32–39	$26,478/yr	6.8x
78	Bryant & Stratton College-Syracuse North Liverpool, NY · Design	37 32–39	$25,506/yr	9.3x
79	Bryant & Stratton College-Greece Rochester, NY · Design	37 32–39	$25,506/yr	9.1x
80	Mohawk Valley Community College Utica, NY · Design	36 33–38	$21,012/yr	16.2x
81	New England Institute of Technology East Greenwich, RI · Design	36 32–39	$26,282/yr	5.6x
82	Bryant & Stratton College-Wauwatosa Wauwatosa, WI · Design	37 32–39	$25,506/yr	8.9x
83	FIDM-Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Los Angeles, CA · Design	35 31–37	$24,393/yr	5.2x
84	Sessions College for Professional Design Tempe, AZ · Design	34 29–36	$19,275/yr	16.0x
85	Full Sail University Winter Park, FL · Design	34 30–36	$23,719/yr	3.5x
86	CUNY LaGuardia Community College Long Island City, NY · Design	35 29–37	$13,554/yr	19.7x
87	Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL · Design	33 28–35	$20,360/yr	4.3x
88	NUC University Bayamon, PR · Design	31 28–33	$9,509/yr	10.8x
89	EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San Sebastian San Sebastian, PR · Design	31 27–33	$12,994/yr	8.2x
90	EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San Juan San Juan, PR · Design	31 27–33	$12,994/yr	8.2x
91	EDP University of Puerto Rico-Humacao Humacao, PR · Design	31 27–33	$12,994/yr	8.2x
92	EDP University of Puerto Rico-Manati Manati, PR · Design	31 27–33	$12,994/yr	8.2x

Programs by State

Top states by program availability. Click a state for the full in-state ranking.

State	Programs	Avg Earnings	Avg TSW Score
New York	12	$22,736/yr	31
Wisconsin	9	$29,131/yr	37
Florida	7	$33,106/yr	39
Puerto Rico	5	$12,297/yr	22
Minnesota	5	$37,587/yr	43
Texas	4	$32,142/yr	43
Oklahoma	4	$23,579/yr	34
North Carolina	4	$29,419/yr	44
California	4	$45,965/yr	37
Virginia	3	$29,202/yr	37
Michigan	3	$25,208/yr	39
Illinois	3	$31,947/yr	40
Washington	2	$25,642/yr	35
Tennessee	2	$23,789/yr	34
Pennsylvania	2	$23,459/yr	33

About This Ranking

What we ranked

Best Design Schools ranks 92 programs across the United States by the TradeSchoolOutlook Score, which combines graduate earnings, return on investment, and job-market demand into a single 0-100 metric.

Data sources

Earnings figures come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, which tracks graduate income one and five years after program completion. Job-market projections use Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024-2034 employment data.

How to read the table

Use the sort controls below the headline to re-rank by earnings, ROI, or other metrics. Click any school name for full earnings projections, three-scenario modeling, and detailed program data. Most students attend a school within driving distance — local rankings are usually more actionable than national.

Caveats & limitations

Rankings reflect what the data can measure: post-graduation earnings, debt levels, and broad labor-market trends. They cannot capture program quality nuances like instructor expertise, hands-on equipment access, or industry connections. Treat rankings as a starting point — visit schools and talk to current students before committing.

Methodology

Programs are ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score, which combines graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (projected earnings vs. program tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Design?

Based on our TradeSchoolOutlook Score, Miami Ad School-Atlanta ranks #1 for Design with a score of 60/100 and graduate earnings of $56,833/yr.

How much do Design graduates earn?

Across 92 schools, Design graduates earn an average of $28,654/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $80,221/yr.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections). Last updated 2025.