Best Craft Artist programs in Colorado, ranked by enrollment
Create or reproduce handmade objects for sale and exhibition using a variety of techniques, such as welding, weaving, pottery, and.
4 schools in Colorado run programs that feed this job, graduating 66 people a year. The job pays a median of $43,620 in Colorado across about — jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Colorado that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in Colorado that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Colorado (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 Colorado page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0101In Colorado → | 39 | 59.1% | 1 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0701In Colorado → | 27 | 40.9% | 3 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
Top 4 schools in Colorado
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 4 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | $30,966 | 47% | — | 97% |
| 2 | Colorado Mesa University Grand Junction, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Art/Art Studies, General | $27,136 | 41% | — | 82% |
| 3 | University of Denver Denver, CO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Art/Art Studies, General | $28,964 | 76% | $29,726 | 78% |
| 4 | Regis University Denver, CO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 61% | $22,407 | 86% |
All 4 schools in Colorado
Every school in Colorado 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Colorado Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs | Public | 39 | 1 |
| Colorado Mesa University | Grand Junction | Public | 18 | 1 |
| University of Denver | Denver | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| Regis University | Denver | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
What craft artists earn in Colorado
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $46,080. Colorado pays below the national figure.
Metro areas in Colorado
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 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
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Colorado
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 Colorado.
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 Visual and Performing Arts, General, which awarded 39 degrees in Colorado in 2024-25, 59.1% 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 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Visual and Performing Arts, Fine and Studio Arts. Together they graduate about 66 people a year in Colorado.
How much do craft artists earn in Colorado?+
The median is $43,620 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.3% below 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 Colorado?+
4 institutions in Colorado reported graduates from at least one of the 2 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 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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