Best degree programs for Commercial and Industrial Designers, ranked by enrollment
5 college programs and 491 schools train Commercial and Industrial Designers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $83,910 median wage, 33,490 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
5 college programs at 491 schools train commercial and industrial designers, graduating 12,292 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Design and Visual Communications, General. The job pays a median of $83,910 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About commercial and industrial designers
Design and develop manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and children's toys. Combine artistic talent with research on product use, marketing, and materials to create the most functional and appealing product design.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
5 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0401 | 6,709 | 54.6% | 249 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0402 | 3,097 | 25.2% | 161 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0404 | 1,432 | 11.6% | 64 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 4 | CIP 15.1701 | 681 | 5.5% | 76 | $63,554 | $17,750 |
| 5 | CIP 15.1503 | 373 | 3.0% | 10 | $68,912 | $25,236 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What commercial and industrial designers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $89,640 | 2,400 | 1.15× | 30 | 1,241 |
| Utah | $62,620 | 480 | 1.29× | 7 | 1,234 |
| California | $100,770 | 5,300 | 1.35× | 43 | 1,045 |
| Texas | — | 2,350 | 0.78× | 26 | 1,000 |
| Ohio | $79,470 | 1,190 | 1.00× | 23 | 680 |
| North Carolina | $80,620 | 1,000 | 0.94× | 20 | 555 |
| Georgia | $91,360 | 360 | 0.34× | 13 | 533 |
| Indiana | $88,040 | 1,110 | 1.61× | 17 | 444 |
| Virginia | $82,230 | 1,480 | 1.67× | 16 | 389 |
| South Carolina | $77,300 | 810 | 1.63× | 10 | 388 |
| Florida | $78,720 | 1,990 | 0.93× | 15 | 375 |
| Pennsylvania | $82,610 | 770 | 0.59× | 27 | 333 |
| Washington | $94,280 | 340 | 0.44× | 17 | 321 |
| Michigan | $102,160 | 2,930 | 3.09× | 13 | 260 |
| Maryland | $70,870 | 490 | 0.82× | 13 | 245 |
| Oklahoma | $76,640 | 240 | 0.64× | 9 | 227 |
| Missouri | $75,440 | 270 | 0.43× | 11 | 219 |
| Minnesota | $94,370 | 590 | 0.93× | 12 | 211 |
| New Jersey | $90,310 | 1,230 | 1.33× | 12 | 205 |
| Alabama | $63,640 | 130 | 0.30× | 8 | 204 |
| Iowa | $70,420 | 440 | 1.31× | 10 | 202 |
| Arizona | $76,420 | 170 | 0.24× | 11 | 178 |
| Illinois | — | 480 | 0.37× | 19 | 177 |
| Massachusetts | $101,720 | 1,240 | 1.58× | 12 | 158 |
| Wisconsin | $80,590 | 820 | 1.30× | 9 | 157 |
| Nebraska | $71,570 | 90 | 0.39× | 5 | 153 |
| Tennessee | $71,230 | 750 | 1.06× | 10 | 136 |
| Oregon | $76,970 | 480 | 1.13× | 6 | 118 |
| Idaho | $80,730 | 180 | 0.99× | 5 | 107 |
| Coloradomoderate | $90,590 | 400 | 0.65× | 4 | 104 |
| Kansasmoderate | $104,870 | 260 | 0.84× | 3 | 104 |
| Louisiana | $98,040 | 130 | 0.32× | 6 | 99 |
| Kentucky | $76,100 | 420 | 0.98× | 5 | 89 |
| Arkansasmoderate | $92,540 | 230 | 0.80× | 4 | 75 |
| West Virginia | $73,030 | 110 | 0.73× | 5 | 66 |
| Connecticutlimited | $81,300 | 160 | 0.44× | 2 | 45 |
| Vermontlimited | $80,690 | 120 | 1.77× | 2 | 35 |
| Nevada | $76,680 | 210 | 0.62× | 5 | 29 |
| New Mexico | $62,710 | 110 | 0.59× | 5 | 20 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $74,050 | 110 | 0.73× | 2 | 11 |
| Montanalimited | $72,990 | 60 | 0.51× | 2 | 9 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $101,140 | 190 | 1.76× | 1 | 6 |
| South Dakotalimited | $60,110 | 190 | 1.95× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Prepare sketches of ideas, detailed drawings, illustrations, artwork, or blueprints, using drafting instruments, paints and brushes, or computer-aided design equipment.
- Modify and refine designs, using working models, to conform with customer specifications, production limitations, or changes in design trends.
- Evaluate feasibility of design ideas, based on factors such as appearance, safety, function, serviceability, budget, production costs/methods, and market characteristics.
- Confer with engineering, marketing, production, or sales departments, or with customers, to establish and evaluate design concepts for manufactured products.
- Present designs and reports to customers or design committees for approval and discuss need for modification.
- Research production specifications, costs, production materials, and manufacturing methods and provide cost estimates and itemized production requirements.
- Direct and coordinate the fabrication of models or samples and the drafting of working drawings and specification sheets from sketches.
- Investigate product characteristics such as the product's safety and handling qualities, its market appeal, how efficiently it can be produced, and ways of distributing, using, and maintaining it.
Skills
- Active Listening4.0
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Speaking3.5
- Writing3.1
- Monitoring3.1
- Active Learning3.0
- Mathematics2.8
Knowledge areas
- Design4.7
- Engineering and Technology4.7
- Mechanical4.0
- Production and Processing4.0
- Computers and Electronics3.9
- Mathematics3.7
Abilities
- Near Vision3.9
- Originality3.9
- Fluency of Ideas3.9
- Oral Expression3.8
- Deductive Reasoning3.8
- Oral Comprehension3.8
Core activities
- Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment4.6
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.4
- Working with Computers4.4
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.4
- Getting Information4.2
- Thinking Creatively4.0
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Commercial
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.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Commercial and Industrial Designers5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.1503Packaging Science
- 15.1701Energy Systems Technology/Technician
- 50.0401Design and Visual Communications, General
- 50.0402Commercial and Advertising Art
- 50.0404Industrial and Product Design
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Commercial?+
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 6,709 degrees in 2024-25, 54.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Commercial?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Design and Applied Arts, Energy Systems Technologies/Technicians, Engineering-Related Fields. Together they graduate about 12,292 people a year.
How much do commercial and industrial designers earn?+
The median is $83,910 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $53,460 at the 10th percentile to $139,770 at the 90th. 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 commercial and industrial designers growing?+
BLS projects a +3.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 2,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
491 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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 commercial and industrial designers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Designer, Design Engineer, Product Designer, Industrial Designer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-1021.
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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