Best Artist programs in California, ranked by enrollment
All artists and related workers not listed.
161 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 5,068 people a year. The job pays a median of $60,540 in California across about 740 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
7 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (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 California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0409In California → | 1,647 | 32.5% | 76 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0702In California → | 1,547 | 30.5% | 44 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0101In California → | 1,032 | 20.4% | 99 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0102In California → | 311 | 6.1% | 10 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 5 | CIP 50.0410In California → | 305 | 6.0% | 6 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 6 | CIP 50.0402In California → | 131 | 2.6% | 14 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 7 | CIP 50.0799In California → | 95 | 1.9% | 5 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 28 of the 161 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 303 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $22,839 | 70% | — | 91% |
| 2 | Art Center College of Design Pasadena, CA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 259 | Illustration | $47,053 | 79% | $48,578 | 75% |
| 3 | Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA Private for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 215 | Illustration | $20,829 | 34% | $40,294 | — |
| 4 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 215 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $21,493 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 5 | Otis College of Art and Design Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 214 | Digital Arts | $21,558 | 66% | $44,867 | 82% |
| 6 | Santa Monica College Santa Monica, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 205 | Graphic Design | — | 36% | — | — |
| 7 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 201 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 69% | — | 85% |
| 8 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 111 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 86% | — | 27% |
| 9 | Sierra College Rocklin, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 108 | Graphic Design | — | 42% | — | — |
| 10 | California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 106 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $33,220 | 48% | — | 97% |
| 11 | California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 100 | Graphic Design | $30,065 | 68% | — | 75% |
| 12 | Fullerton College Fullerton, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 97 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 13 | Laguna College of Art and Design Laguna Beach, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 93 | Illustration | $27,785 | 52% | $41,341 | 94% |
| 14 | California State University - San Marcos San Marcos, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 85 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | $27,741 | 55% | — | 95% |
| 15 | San Diego City College San Diego, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 83 | Graphic Design | — | 30% | — | — |
| 16 | Victor Valley College Victorville, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 80 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 62% | — | — |
| 17 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 74 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $20,368 | 93% | — | 11% |
| 18 | Gnomon North Hollywood, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 73 | Digital Arts | — | 100% | $44,138 | 42% |
| 19 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 68 | Digital Arts | — | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 20 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 65 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 83% | — | 33% |
| 21 | Foothill College Los Altos Hills, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 61 | Graphic Design | — | 56% | — | — |
| 22 | California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 59 | Graphic Design | $32,240 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 23 | California Institute of the Arts Valencia, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 56 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 67% | $42,045 | 32% |
| 24 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 54 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $22,700 | 86% | — | 42% |
| 25 | Riverside City College Riverside, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 53 | Graphic Design | — | 37% | — | — |
All 161 schools in California
Every school in California 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton | Public | 303 | 1 |
| Art Center College of Design | Pasadena | Private not-for-profit | 259 | 4 |
| Academy of Art University | San Francisco | Private for-profit | 215 | 4 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 215 | 1 |
| Otis College of Art and Design | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 214 | 4 |
| Santa Monica College | Santa Monica | Public | 205 | 2 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose | Public | 201 | 4 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 111 | 2 |
| Sierra College | Rocklin | Public | 108 | 2 |
| California State University - East Bay | Hayward | Public | 106 | 1 |
| California State Polytechnic University - Pomona | Pomona | Public | 100 | 1 |
| Fullerton College | Fullerton | Public | 97 | 3 |
| Laguna College of Art and Design | Laguna Beach | Private not-for-profit | 93 | 3 |
| California State University - San Marcos | San Marcos | Public | 85 | 1 |
| San Diego City College | San Diego | Public | 83 | 2 |
What artists and related workers, all other earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $71,240. California pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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 Artists and Related Workers, All Other page.
How to become a Artist
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Artists and Related Workers, All Other9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 50.0101Visual and Performing Arts, General
- 50.0102Digital Arts
- 50.0201Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry
- 50.0402Commercial and Advertising Art
- 50.0409Graphic Design
- 50.0410Illustration
- 50.0702Fine/Studio Arts, General
- 50.0799Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other
- 50.1101Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art
Common questions
Answers for people weighing artists and related workers, all other programs in California.
What degree do you need to become an 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 Graphic Design, which awarded 1,647 degrees in California in 2024-25, 32.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Artist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Design and Applied Arts, Fine and Studio Arts, Visual and Performing Arts. Together they graduate about 5,068 people a year in California.
How much do artists and related workers, all other earn in California?+
The median is $60,540 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 15.0% below the U.S. median of $71,240. 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 artists and related workers, all other growing?+
BLS projects a +0.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 1,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
161 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 7 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.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'Long-term on-the-job training' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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