Connecticut·Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations·SOC 27-1019

Best Artist programs in Connecticut, ranked by enrollment

All artists and related workers not listed.

15 schools in Connecticut run programs that feed this job, graduating 450 people a year. The job pays a median of $103,740 in Connecticut across about jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledFramerColorerCopyistColoristDesignerVisualizerAutographerTaxidermist
Graduates / yr
450
in Connecticut
Median pay · Connecticut
$103,740
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
people employed
Schools
15
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
68%
across those schools
Median net price
$27,183
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Connecticut that lead to this job

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

6 programs in Connecticut that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Connecticut (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 Connecticut page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1212
47.1%
9$24,447$25,294
2124
27.6%
4$31,611$26,000
367
14.9%
2$24,752$25,963
443
9.6%
1$31,611$26,000
52
0.4%
1$25,027$27,000
62
0.4%
1$24,447$25,294

Top 15 schools in Connecticut

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 7 of the 15 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Connecticut State Community College
New Britain, CT Public · 3 feeder programs
188Graphic Design24%
2University of Hartford
West Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
43Illustration$29,51554%$28,31196%
3University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
38Fine/Studio Arts, General$24,41983%52%
4Eastern Connecticut State University
Willimantic, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
37Fine/Studio Arts, General$23,53458%83%
5Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
36Fine/Studio Arts, General93%$16,46716%
6Southern Connecticut State University
New Haven, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
33Fine/Studio Arts, General$26,54950%91%
7Yale University
New Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
18Graphic Design96%$27,0254%
8Connecticut College
New London, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
17Fine/Studio Arts, General$36,56482%$27,18337%
9Quinnipiac University
Hamden, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Graphic Design$35,88476%$36,13772%
10University of New Haven
West Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
11Graphic Design$26,42563%$32,61460%
11Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
6Fine/Studio Arts, General52%87%
12Trinity College
Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Fine/Studio Arts, General84%$25,24529%
13Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Fine/Studio Arts, General84%$36,84533%
14Holy Apostles College and Seminary
Cromwell, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry79%$16,073
15University of Bridgeport
Bridgeport, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Visual and Performing Arts, General41%$25,14983%

All 15 schools in Connecticut

Every school in Connecticut 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 Connecticut that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Connecticut State Community CollegeNew BritainPublic1883
University of HartfordWest HartfordPrivate not-for-profit431
University of ConnecticutStorrsPublic381
Eastern Connecticut State UniversityWillimanticPublic371
Wesleyan UniversityMiddletownPrivate not-for-profit361
Southern Connecticut State UniversityNew HavenPublic331
Yale UniversityNew HavenPrivate not-for-profit181
Connecticut CollegeNew LondonPrivate not-for-profit171
Quinnipiac UniversityHamdenPrivate not-for-profit131
University of New HavenWest HavenPrivate not-for-profit112
Western Connecticut State UniversityDanburyPublic61
Trinity CollegeHartfordPrivate not-for-profit41
Fairfield UniversityFairfieldPrivate not-for-profit31
Holy Apostles College and SeminaryCromwellPrivate not-for-profit21
University of BridgeportBridgeportPrivate not-for-profit11

What artists and related workers, all other earn in Connecticut

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

Median annual in Connecticut
$103,740
Mean annual
$112,010
Jobs in state
What the range looks like
10th pct$81,140Median$103,74090th pct$186,000
Versus the national median
+45.6%

U.S. median $71,240. Connecticut pays above the national figure.

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+0.8%
Little or no change
Openings per year
1,200
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
100
13,900 → 14,000
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 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 Connecticut

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 Connecticut.

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 Fine/Studio Arts, General, which awarded 212 degrees in Connecticut in 2024-25, 47.1% 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 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Fine and Studio Arts, Design and Applied Arts, Visual and Performing Arts, Crafts/Craft Design. Together they graduate about 450 people a year in Connecticut.

How much do artists and related workers, all other earn in Connecticut?+

The median is $103,740 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 45.6% above 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 Connecticut?+

15 institutions in Connecticut reported graduates from at least one of the 6 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.

Artists and Related Workers, All Other in other statesCaliforniaFloridaTexasNorth CarolinaOhioPennsylvaniaNew HampshireMassachusetts

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

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