Best Graphic Designer programs in Ohio, ranked by enrollment
Design or create graphics to meet specific commercial or promotional needs, such as packaging, displays, or logos.
53 schools in Ohio run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,361 people a year. The job pays a median of $60,080 in Ohio across about 7,280 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Ohio that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
7 programs in Ohio that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Ohio (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 Ohio page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Design and Visual Communications, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0401In Ohio → | 433 | 31.8% | 14 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | Graphic Designmain feeder CIP 50.0409In Ohio → | 329 | 24.2% | 25 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 3 | CIP 11.0801In Ohio → | 205 | 15.1% | 16 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
| 4 | Commercial and Advertising Artmain feeder CIP 50.0402In Ohio → | 195 | 14.3% | 8 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 5 | Digital Artsmain feeder CIP 50.0102In Ohio → | 111 | 8.2% | 10 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 6 | Industrial and Product Designmain feeder CIP 50.0404In Ohio → | 49 | 3.6% | 4 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 7 | CIP 11.0803In Ohio → | 39 | 2.9% | 3 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
Top 25 schools in Ohio
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 16 of the 53 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbus State Community College Columbus, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 118 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 28% | — | — |
| 2 | Bowling Green State University - Main Campus Bowling Green, OH Public · 3 feeder programs | 111 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $35,645 | 64% | — | 81% |
| 3 | Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 93 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $36,351 | 64% | — | 86% |
| 4 | University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH Public · 3 feeder programs | 91 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $52,526 | 75% | — | 85% |
| 5 | Sinclair Community College Dayton, OH Public · 3 feeder programs | 89 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $24,490 | 41% | — | — |
| 6 | Lorain County Community College Elyria, OH Public · 2 feeder programs | 85 | Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design | — | 31% | — | — |
| 7 | The Modern College of Design Kettering, OH Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 84 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 69% | $35,097 | 92% |
| 8 | Stark State College North Canton, OH Public · 3 feeder programs | 74 | Graphic Design | — | 23% | — | — |
| 9 | Cuyahoga Community College District Cleveland, OH Public · 3 feeder programs | 61 | Graphic Design | $22,517 | 31% | — | — |
| 10 | Ohio University - Main Campus Athens, OH Public · 2 feeder programs | 37 | Graphic Design | $24,716 | 65% | — | 85% |
| 11 | Edison State Community College Piqua, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design | — | 38% | — | — |
| 12 | Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · 2 feeder programs | 33 | Industrial and Product Design | $45,176 | 88% | — | 61% |
| 13 | Cedarville University Cedarville, OH Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 32 | Industrial and Product Design | $35,768 | 73% | $22,701 | 65% |
| 14 | Kent State University at Tuscarawas New Philadelphia, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Digital Arts | — | 38% | — | — |
| 15 | University of Dayton Dayton, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $43,609 | 80% | $28,560 | 65% |
| 16 | Terra State Community College Fremont, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design | — | 39% | — | — |
| 17 | Columbus College of Art & Design Columbus, OH Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 24 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $27,970 | 56% | $30,330 | 68% |
| 18 | Wright State University - Lake Campus Celina, OH Public · 2 feeder programs | 24 | Computer Graphics | — | 41% | — | — |
| 19 | Owens Community College Perrysburg, OH Public · 3 feeder programs | 21 | Graphic Design | — | 35% | — | — |
| 20 | Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH Public · 2 feeder programs | 20 | Graphic Design | $47,295 | 80% | — | 75% |
| 21 | Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Graphic Design | $24,959 | 51% | — | 91% |
| 22 | Art Academy of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 17 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $20,921 | 41% | $39,344 | 34% |
| 23 | University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Graphic Design | $39,856 | 52% | — | 60% |
| 24 | Cleveland Institute of Art Cleveland, OH Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 15 | Graphic Design | $23,358 | 58% | $31,870 | 61% |
| 25 | University of Cincinnati - Blue Ash College Blue Ash, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 16% | — | — |
All 53 schools in Ohio
Every school in Ohio 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus State Community College | Columbus | Public | 118 | 1 |
| Bowling Green State University - Main Campus | Bowling Green | Public | 111 | 3 |
| Kent State University at Kent | Kent | Public | 93 | 1 |
| University of Cincinnati - Main Campus | Cincinnati | Public | 91 | 3 |
| Sinclair Community College | Dayton | Public | 89 | 3 |
| Lorain County Community College | Elyria | Public | 85 | 2 |
| The Modern College of Design | Kettering | Private for-profit | 84 | 2 |
| Stark State College | North Canton | Public | 74 | 3 |
| Cuyahoga Community College District | Cleveland | Public | 61 | 3 |
| Ohio University - Main Campus | Athens | Public | 37 | 2 |
| Edison State Community College | Piqua | Public | 34 | 1 |
| Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus | Public | 33 | 2 |
| Cedarville University | Cedarville | Private not-for-profit | 32 | 2 |
| Kent State University at Tuscarawas | New Philadelphia | Public | 29 | 1 |
| University of Dayton | Dayton | Private not-for-profit | 29 | 1 |
What graphic designers earn in Ohio
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $62,960. Ohio pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Ohio
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 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
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Ohio
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 Ohio.
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 433 degrees in Ohio in 2024-25, 31.8% 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 1,361 people a year in Ohio.
How much do graphic designers earn in Ohio?+
The median is $60,080 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.6% 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 Ohio?+
53 institutions in Ohio 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 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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