Louisiana·Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations·SOC 27-1024

Best Graphic Designer programs in Louisiana, ranked by enrollment

Design or create graphics to meet specific commercial or promotional needs, such as packaging, displays, or logos.

14 schools in Louisiana run programs that feed this job, graduating 255 people a year. The job pays a median of $49,910 in Louisiana across about 1,750 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledArtistDesignerGraphic ArtistGraphic DesignerLabel MakerLayout ArtistBrand DesignerConcept Artist
Graduates / yr
255
in Louisiana
Median pay · Louisiana
$49,910
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,750
people employed
Schools
14
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
47%
across those schools
Median net price
$22,906
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Louisiana that lead to this job

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

7 programs in Louisiana that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Louisiana (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 Louisiana page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 50.0401In Louisiana
73
28.6%
4$31,611$26,000
2
Graphic Designmain feeder
CIP 50.0409In Louisiana
63
24.7%
4$31,611$26,000
3
CIP 11.0801In Louisiana
48
18.8%
3$33,504$27,000
4
Digital Artsmain feeder
CIP 50.0102In Louisiana
26
10.2%
3$24,752$25,963
5
CIP 11.0803In Louisiana
25
9.8%
1$33,504$27,000
6
CIP 50.0402In Louisiana
11
4.3%
1$31,611$26,000
7
CIP 50.0404In Louisiana
9
3.5%
1$31,611$26,000

Top 14 schools in Louisiana

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 14 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Tulane University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
41Design and Visual Communications, General86%$33,10614%
2South Louisiana Community College
Lafayette, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
38Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design30%
3Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
30Graphic Design$29,14664%86%
4Academy of Interactive Entertainment
Lafayette, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
25Computer Graphics100%$33,93143%
5Delgado Community College
New Orleans, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
24Graphic Design$30,24824%
6Baton Rouge Community College
Baton Rouge, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
17Commercial and Advertising Art31%
7Louisiana State University - Shreveport
Shreveport, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
17Digital Arts38%51%
8Bossier Parish Community College
Bossier City, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
16Graphic Design15%
9Loyola University New Orleans
New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
14Design and Visual Communications, General59%$22,90693%
10SOWELA Technical Community College
Lake Charles, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
14Design and Visual Communications, General43%
11University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Lafayette, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
9Industrial and Product Design$28,20653%87%
12Delta College of Arts & Technology
Baton Rouge, LA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Design and Visual Communications, General65%$19,973
13Louisiana Christian University
Pineville, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Graphic Design44%$16,97177%
14Southern University at Shreveport
Shreveport, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
2Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design10%

All 14 schools in Louisiana

Every school in Louisiana 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 Louisiana that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Tulane University of LouisianaNew OrleansPrivate not-for-profit411
South Louisiana Community CollegeLafayettePublic381
Louisiana Tech UniversityRustonPublic301
Academy of Interactive EntertainmentLafayettePrivate not-for-profit251
Delgado Community CollegeNew OrleansPublic242
Baton Rouge Community CollegeBaton RougePublic172
Louisiana State University - ShreveportShreveportPublic171
Bossier Parish Community CollegeBossier CityPublic162
Loyola University New OrleansNew OrleansPrivate not-for-profit141
SOWELA Technical Community CollegeLake CharlesPublic141
University of Louisiana at LafayetteLafayettePublic91
Delta College of Arts & TechnologyBaton RougePrivate for-profit41
Louisiana Christian UniversityPinevillePrivate not-for-profit41
Southern University at ShreveportShreveportPublic21

What graphic designers earn in Louisiana

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

Median annual in Louisiana
$49,910
Mean annual
$54,850
Jobs in state
1,750
What the range looks like
10th pct$35,910Median$49,91090th pct$76,300
Versus the national median
-20.7%

U.S. median $62,960. Louisiana pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.71×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Louisiana

New Orleans-Metairie, LA
$51,710median
560 jobs
Baton Rouge, LA
$51,020median
420 jobs
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
$51,080median
140 jobs
Monroe, LA
$45,340median
100 jobs
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA
$47,340median
100 jobs
Lafayette, LA
$47,310median
210 jobs
Lake Charles, LA
$45,610median
70 jobs

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
20,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
5,700
265,900 → 271,500
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

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 Graphic Designers page.

How to become a Graphic Designer

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Active ListeningSpeakingActive LearningCritical ThinkingWritingReading Comprehension

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Louisiana

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 7 majors mapped to Graphic Designers7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0801Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design
  • 11.0803Computer Graphics
  • 50.0102Digital Arts
  • 50.0401Design and Visual Communications, General
  • 50.0402Commercial and Advertising Art
  • 50.0404Industrial and Product Design
  • 50.0409Graphic Design

Common questions

Answers for people weighing graphic designers programs in Louisiana.

What degree do you need to become a Graphic Designer?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Design and Visual Communications, General, which awarded 73 degrees in Louisiana in 2024-25, 28.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Graphic Designer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Design and Applied Arts, Computer Software and Media Applications, Visual and Performing Arts. Together they graduate about 255 people a year in Louisiana.

How much do graphic designers earn in Louisiana?+

The median is $49,910 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.7% below the U.S. median of $62,960. 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 graphic designers growing?+

BLS projects a +2.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 20,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

14 institutions in Louisiana 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.

What other job titles do graphic designers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Artist, Designer, Graphic Artist, Graphic Designer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-1024.

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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