Arizona·Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations·SOC 27-1012

Best Craft Artist programs in Arizona, ranked by enrollment

Create or reproduce handmade objects for sale and exhibition using a variety of techniques, such as welding, weaving, pottery, and.

20 schools in Arizona run programs that feed this job, graduating 4,858 people a year. The job pays a median of $46,300 in Arizona across about jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledArtistFiber ArtistGlass ArtistTextile ArtistInkerFramerArtisanColorer
Graduates / yr
4,858
in Arizona
Median pay · Arizona
$46,300
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
people employed
Schools
20
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
26%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,166
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Arizona that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in Arizona that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Arizona (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Arizona page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 50.0701In Arizona
4,754
97.9%
15$24,447$25,294
2
CIP 50.0101In Arizona
99
2.0%
6$24,752$25,963
3
CIP 50.0708In Arizona
5
0.1%
1$24,447$25,294

Top 20 schools in Arizona

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 20 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Mesa Community College
Mesa, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
793Art/Art Studies, General16%
2Glendale Community College
Glendale, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
718Art/Art Studies, General16%
3Estrella Mountain Community College
Avondale, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
551Art/Art Studies, General32%
4Chandler - Gilbert Community College
Chandler, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
522Art/Art Studies, General30%
5Paradise Valley Community College
Phoenix, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
447Art/Art Studies, General19%
6Phoenix College
Phoenix, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
401Art/Art Studies, General14%
7Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
273Art/Art Studies, General17%
8Rio Salado College
Tempe, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
268Art/Art Studies, General9%
9South Mountain Community College
Phoenix, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
253Art/Art Studies, General16%
10Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs
251Art/Art Studies, General$27,76268%90%
11Arizona State University Digital Immersion
Scottsdale, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs
223Art/Art Studies, General$27,7620%67%
12GateWay Community College
Phoenix, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
62Art/Art Studies, General29%
13Pima Community College
Tucson, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
52Visual and Performing Arts, General$25,34428%
14Cochise County Community College District
Sierra Vista, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
11Art/Art Studies, General30%
15Central Arizona College
Coolidge, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
9Visual and Performing Arts, General27%
16Yavapai College
Prescott, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
8Art/Art Studies, General34%
17Prescott College
Prescott, AZ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Visual and Performing Arts, General56%$23,16695%
18Dine College
Tsaile, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
5Painting13%
19Coconino Community College
Flagstaff, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
4Visual and Performing Arts, General24%
20Mohave Community College
Kingman, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
1Art/Art Studies, General38%

All 20 schools in Arizona

Every school in Arizona with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Arizona that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Mesa Community CollegeMesaPublic7931
Glendale Community CollegeGlendalePublic7181
Estrella Mountain Community CollegeAvondalePublic5511
Chandler - Gilbert Community CollegeChandlerPublic5221
Paradise Valley Community CollegePhoenixPublic4471
Phoenix CollegePhoenixPublic4011
Scottsdale Community CollegeScottsdalePublic2731
Rio Salado CollegeTempePublic2681
South Mountain Community CollegePhoenixPublic2531
Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempePublic2512
Arizona State University Digital ImmersionScottsdalePublic2232
GateWay Community CollegePhoenixPublic621
Pima Community CollegeTucsonPublic521
Cochise County Community College DistrictSierra VistaPublic111
Central Arizona CollegeCoolidgePublic91

What craft artists earn in Arizona

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Arizona
$46,300
Mean annual
$48,980
Jobs in state
What the range looks like
10th pct$31,430Median$46,30090th pct$58,840
Versus the national median
+0.5%

U.S. median $46,080. Arizona pays above the national figure.

Metro areas in Arizona

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
$46,300median

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+2.1%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
1,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
200
11,600 → 11,900
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential
Plus long-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Craft Artists page.

How to become a Craft Artist

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential
On-the-job training
Long-term on-the-job training

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingMonitoringActive ListeningSpeakingReading ComprehensionWriting

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Arizona

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 11 majors mapped to Craft Artists11 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 50.0101Visual and Performing Arts, General
  • 50.0201Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry
  • 50.0701Art/Art Studies, General
  • 50.0705Drawing
  • 50.0708Painting
  • 50.0709Sculpture
  • 50.0710Printmaking
  • 50.0711Ceramic Arts and Ceramics
  • 50.0712Fiber, Textile and Weaving Arts
  • 50.0713Jewelry Arts
  • 50.0714Metal Arts

Common questions

Answers for people weighing craft artists programs in Arizona.

What degree do you need to become a Craft Artist?+

No formal educational credential is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Art/Art Studies, General, which awarded 4,754 degrees in Arizona in 2024-25, 97.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Craft Artist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Fine and Studio Arts, Visual and Performing Arts. Together they graduate about 4,858 people a year in Arizona.

How much do craft artists earn in Arizona?+

The median is $46,300 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 0.5% above the U.S. median of $46,080. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for craft artists growing?+

BLS projects a +2.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Arizona?+

20 institutions in Arizona reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do craft artists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Artist, Fiber Artist, Glass Artist, Textile Artist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-1012.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

All Clema data sources and release dates →

Explore every U.S. college in one conversation

Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.

Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card