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

Best Artist programs in New Jersey, ranked by enrollment

All artists and related workers not listed.

31 schools in New Jersey run programs that feed this job, graduating 673 people a year. The job pays a median of $85,500 in New Jersey across about jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledFramerColorerCopyistColoristDesignerVisualizerAutographerTaxidermist
Graduates / yr
673
in New Jersey
Median pay · New Jersey
$85,500
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
people employed
Schools
31
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
45%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,094
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in New Jersey that lead to this job

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

7 programs in New Jersey that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in New Jersey (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 New Jersey page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1191
28.4%
14$24,447$25,294
2173
25.7%
9$24,752$25,963
3136
20.2%
11$31,611$26,000
483
12.3%
3$24,447$25,294
562
9.2%
3$31,611$26,000
626
3.9%
2$24,752$25,963
72
0.3%
1$31,611$26,000

Top 25 schools in New Jersey

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 31 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1County College of Morris
Randolph, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
74Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other$33,88136%
2Ocean County College
Toms River, NJ Public · 3 feeder programs
74Visual and Performing Arts, General42%
3Stockton University
Galloway, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
55Fine/Studio Arts, General$25,09969%89%
4Mercer County Community College
West Windsor, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
47Commercial and Advertising Art25%
5Hudson County Community College
Jersey City, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
42Fine/Studio Arts, General$22,61926%
6Bloomfield College of Montclair State University
Bloomfield, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
31Visual and Performing Arts, General$17,62538%$20,94070%
7Raritan Valley Community College
Branchburg, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
30Fine/Studio Arts, General31%
8Sussex County Community College
Newton, NJ Public · 3 feeder programs
28Graphic Design37%
9Brookdale Community College
Lincroft, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
27Graphic Design30%
10Ramapo College of New Jersey
Mahwah, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
27Visual and Performing Arts, General70%71%
11Bergen Community College
Paramus, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
26Commercial and Advertising Art21%
12Middlesex College
Edison, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
26Visual and Performing Arts, General33%
13Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus
Madison, NJ Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
23Graphic Design$24,35767%$23,57395%
14Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
23Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other87%$34,82748%
15Montclair State University
Montclair, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
20Graphic Design$26,02765%88%
16Rowan College at Burlington County
Mount Laurel, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
16Graphic Design36%
17Berkeley College - Woodland Park
Woodland Park, NJ Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
15Graphic Design$27,93744%$23,170
18Atlantic Cape Community College
Mays Landing, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
14Fine/Studio Arts, General30%
19Rider University
Lawrenceville, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
12Graphic Design$29,44561%$23,84479%
20Drew University
Madison, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
11Fine/Studio Arts, General70%$23,09468%
21Passaic County Community College
Paterson, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
9Fine/Studio Arts, General19%
22Camden County College
Blackwood, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
7Fine/Studio Arts, General31%
23Georgian Court University
Lakewood, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Digital Arts54%$19,50479%
24Kean University
Union, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
7Fine/Studio Arts, General$25,92847%76%
25Salem Community College
Carneys Point, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
6Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other40%

All 31 schools in New Jersey

Every school in New Jersey 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 New Jersey that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
County College of MorrisRandolphPublic742
Ocean County CollegeToms RiverPublic743
Stockton UniversityGallowayPublic552
Mercer County Community CollegeWest WindsorPublic472
Hudson County Community CollegeJersey CityPublic421
Bloomfield College of Montclair State UniversityBloomfieldPublic311
Raritan Valley Community CollegeBranchburgPublic301
Sussex County Community CollegeNewtonPublic283
Brookdale Community CollegeLincroftPublic272
Ramapo College of New JerseyMahwahPublic271
Bergen Community CollegeParamusPublic261
Middlesex CollegeEdisonPublic261
Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham CampusMadisonPrivate not-for-profit232
Stevens Institute of TechnologyHobokenPrivate not-for-profit231
Montclair State UniversityMontclairPublic201

What artists and related workers, all other earn in New Jersey

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

Median annual in New Jersey
$85,500
Mean annual
$85,010
Jobs in state
What the range looks like
10th pct$42,060Median$85,50090th pct$152,630
Versus the national median
+20.0%

U.S. median $71,240. New Jersey 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 New Jersey

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 New Jersey.

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 191 degrees in New Jersey in 2024-25, 28.4% 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 Fine and Studio Arts, Design and Applied Arts, Visual and Performing Arts. Together they graduate about 673 people a year in New Jersey.

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

The median is $85,500 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.0% 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 New Jersey?+

31 institutions in New Jersey 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.

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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