Best Artist programs in Iowa, ranked by enrollment
All artists and related workers not listed.
26 schools in Iowa run programs that feed this job, graduating 342 people a year. The job pays a median of $39,550 in Iowa across about 70 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Iowa that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
6 programs in Iowa that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Iowa (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 Iowa page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0409In Iowa → | 159 | 46.5% | 14 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0402In Iowa → | 102 | 29.8% | 5 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0702In Iowa → | 37 | 10.8% | 7 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0102In Iowa → | 30 | 8.8% | 3 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 5 | CIP 50.0101In Iowa → | 11 | 3.2% | 2 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 6 | CIP 50.0799In Iowa → | 3 | 0.9% | 2 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
Top 25 schools in Iowa
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 5 of the 26 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa State University Ames, IA Public · 2 feeder programs | 98 | Graphic Design | $37,565 | 75% | — | 89% |
| 2 | Des Moines Area Community College Ankeny, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 69 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $25,265 | 39% | — | — |
| 3 | University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA Public · 2 feeder programs | 29 | Graphic Design | $38,637 | 68% | — | 93% |
| 4 | Hawkeye Community College Waterloo, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Graphic Design | — | 43% | — | — |
| 5 | Iowa Central Community College Fort Dodge, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Digital Arts | — | 42% | — | — |
| 6 | Kirkwood Community College Cedar Rapids, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Digital Arts | — | 43% | — | — |
| 7 | Upper Iowa University Fayette, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $31,122 | 34% | $22,697 | 96% |
| 8 | Drake University Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 74% | $28,855 | 64% |
| 9 | Clarke University Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 9 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 56% | $21,417 | 72% |
| 10 | Maharishi International University Fairfield, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 50% | $19,927 | 96% |
| 11 | Northeast Iowa Community College Calmar, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Graphic Design | — | 51% | — | — |
| 12 | Simpson College Indianola, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Graphic Design | — | 63% | $20,710 | 86% |
| 13 | Dordt University Sioux Center, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Graphic Design | — | 70% | $24,569 | 68% |
| 14 | Iowa Lakes Community College Estherville, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 50% | — | — |
| 15 | Wartburg College Waverly, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 64% | $20,228 | 76% |
| 16 | Grand View University Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 4 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 54% | $20,840 | 99% |
| 17 | Grinnell College Grinnell, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $20,111 | 88% | $14,470 | 15% |
| 18 | Morningside University Sioux City, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 4 | Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other | — | 50% | $22,816 | 71% |
| 19 | Buena Vista University Storm Lake, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Graphic Design | — | 62% | $17,609 | 78% |
| 20 | Mount Mercy University Cedar Rapids, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Graphic Design | — | 58% | $23,054 | 83% |
| 21 | Northwestern College Orange City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Graphic Design | — | 66% | $22,419 | 80% |
| 22 | Briar Cliff University Sioux City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Graphic Design | — | 48% | $21,731 | — |
| 23 | Ellsworth Community College Iowa Falls, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Graphic Design | — | 38% | — | — |
| 24 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Digital Arts | — | 75% | — | 84% |
| 25 | Saint Ambrose University Davenport, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other | — | 61% | $21,680 | 77% |
All 26 schools in Iowa
Every school in Iowa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa State University | Ames | Public | 98 | 2 |
| Des Moines Area Community College | Ankeny | Public | 69 | 1 |
| University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls | Public | 29 | 2 |
| Hawkeye Community College | Waterloo | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Iowa Central Community College | Fort Dodge | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Kirkwood Community College | Cedar Rapids | Public | 13 | 1 |
| Upper Iowa University | Fayette | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| Drake University | Des Moines | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| Clarke University | Dubuque | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 2 |
| Maharishi International University | Fairfield | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 1 |
| Northeast Iowa Community College | Calmar | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Simpson College | Indianola | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 1 |
| Dordt University | Sioux Center | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 2 |
| Iowa Lakes Community College | Estherville | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Wartburg College | Waverly | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
What artists and related workers, all other earn in Iowa
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $71,240. Iowa pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
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 Iowa
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 Iowa.
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 159 degrees in Iowa in 2024-25, 46.5% 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 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Design and Applied Arts, Visual and Performing Arts, Fine and Studio Arts. Together they graduate about 342 people a year in Iowa.
How much do artists and related workers, all other earn in Iowa?+
The median is $39,550 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 44.5% 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 Iowa?+
26 institutions in Iowa 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.
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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