Best Artist programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment
All artists and related workers not listed.
51 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,416 people a year. The job pays a median of $81,850 in North Carolina across about 80 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in North Carolina that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
7 programs in North Carolina that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in North Carolina (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 North Carolina page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0402In North Carolina → | 467 | 33.0% | 17 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0409In North Carolina → | 429 | 30.3% | 24 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0702In North Carolina → | 429 | 30.3% | 20 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0102In North Carolina → | 41 | 2.9% | 2 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 5 | CIP 50.0101In North Carolina → | 31 | 2.2% | 5 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 6 | CIP 50.0799In North Carolina → | 12 | 0.8% | 1 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 7 | CIP 50.0201In North Carolina → | 7 | 0.5% | 1 | $25,027 | $27,000 |
Top 25 schools in North Carolina
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 14 of the 51 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 257 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $32,153 | 33% | — | — |
| 2 | East Carolina University Greenville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 105 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $21,271 | 63% | — | 89% |
| 3 | Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 97 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $30,979 | 31% | — | — |
| 4 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 85 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $25,855 | 69% | — | 80% |
| 5 | Alamance Community College Graham, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 75 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 39% | — | — |
| 6 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 71 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $18,745 | 56% | — | 89% |
| 7 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 70 | Graphic Design | $34,722 | 75% | — | 90% |
| 8 | Mitchell Community College Statesville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 68 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 28% | — | — |
| 9 | Fayetteville Technical Community College Fayetteville, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 49 | Graphic Design | — | 24% | — | — |
| 10 | University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 46 | Digital Arts | $23,023 | 54% | — | 92% |
| 11 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $20,072 | 71% | — | 64% |
| 12 | Wilkes Community College Wilkesboro, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 43 | Graphic Design | — | 55% | — | — |
| 13 | High Point University High Point, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 30 | Graphic Design | — | 74% | $37,072 | 75% |
| 14 | Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $24,253 | 60% | — | 82% |
| 15 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Graphic Design | $44,930 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 16 | Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 27 | Graphic Design | $24,827 | 31% | — | — |
| 17 | Pitt Community College Winterville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Graphic Design | — | 35% | — | — |
| 18 | Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Graphic Design | — | 44% | — | 64% |
| 19 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $24,005 | 91% | — | 15% |
| 20 | Warren Wilson College Swannanoa, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 42% | $22,259 | 71% |
| 21 | Meredith College Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 17 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 70% | $19,552 | 74% |
| 22 | Catawba Valley Community College Hickory, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 35% | — | — |
| 23 | University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 44% | — | 93% |
| 24 | Lenoir Community College Kinston, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Graphic Design | — | 36% | — | — |
| 25 | Southwestern Community College Sylva, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 53% | — | — |
All 51 schools in North Carolina
Every school in North Carolina 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Technical Community College | Raleigh | Public | 257 | 2 |
| East Carolina University | Greenville | Public | 105 | 1 |
| Central Piedmont Community College | Charlotte | Public | 97 | 2 |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte | Public | 85 | 2 |
| Alamance Community College | Graham | Public | 75 | 2 |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro | Public | 71 | 1 |
| Appalachian State University | Boone | Public | 70 | 2 |
| Mitchell Community College | Statesville | Public | 68 | 1 |
| Fayetteville Technical Community College | Fayetteville | Public | 49 | 2 |
| University of North Carolina Asheville | Asheville | Public | 46 | 2 |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington | Wilmington | Public | 44 | 1 |
| Wilkes Community College | Wilkesboro | Public | 43 | 2 |
| High Point University | High Point | Private not-for-profit | 30 | 2 |
| Western Carolina University | Cullowhee | Public | 29 | 1 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | Raleigh | Public | 28 | 1 |
What artists and related workers, all other earn in North Carolina
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $71,240. North Carolina pays above 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 North Carolina
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 North Carolina.
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 Commercial and Advertising Art, which awarded 467 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 33.0% 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 Design and Applied Arts, Fine and Studio Arts, Visual and Performing Arts, Crafts/Craft Design. Together they graduate about 1,416 people a year in North Carolina.
How much do artists and related workers, all other earn in North Carolina?+
The median is $81,850 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 14.9% 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 North Carolina?+
51 institutions in North Carolina 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.
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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