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

Best Artist programs in Texas, ranked by enrollment

All artists and related workers not listed.

61 schools in Texas run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,413 people a year. The job pays a median of $64,060 in Texas across about 260 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledFramerColorerCopyistColoristDesignerVisualizerAutographerTaxidermist
Graduates / yr
2,413
in Texas
Median pay · Texas
$64,060
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
260
people employed
Schools
61
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
48%
across those schools
Median net price
$24,630
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Texas that lead to this job

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

6 programs in Texas that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Texas (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 Texas page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 50.0702In Texas
884
36.6%
38$24,447$25,294
2
CIP 50.0102In Texas
599
24.8%
7$24,752$25,963
3
CIP 50.0409In Texas
355
14.7%
23$31,611$26,000
4
CIP 50.0402In Texas
325
13.5%
8$31,611$26,000
5
CIP 50.0101In Texas
228
9.4%
6$24,752$25,963
6
CIP 50.0410In Texas
22
0.9%
1$31,611$26,000

Top 25 schools in Texas

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 20 of the 61 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1The University of Texas at Dallas
Richardson, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
441Digital Arts$28,49476%65%
2University of North Texas
Denton, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
152Fine/Studio Arts, General$27,06761%72%
3San Jacinto Community College
Pasadena, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
141Visual and Performing Arts, General$21,17330%
4The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
128Digital Arts$29,70789%27%
5Collin County Community College District
McKinney, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
125Commercial and Advertising Art$33,45620%
6The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Edinburg, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
121Fine/Studio Arts, General$21,89151%94%
7Austin Community College District
Austin, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
110Digital Arts$29,66920%
8The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
71Fine/Studio Arts, General$25,15654%80%
9Texas State University
San Marcos, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
70Fine/Studio Arts, General$28,44555%89%
10South Texas College
McAllen, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
65Graphic Design27%
11University of Houston - Clear Lake
Houston, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
53Fine/Studio Arts, General$25,27452%91%
12El Paso Community College
El Paso, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
49Commercial and Advertising Art24%
13South Plains College
Levelland, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
49Commercial and Advertising Art29%
14The University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
49Fine/Studio Arts, General$23,55153%87%
15Blinn College District
Brenham, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
43Commercial and Advertising Art11%
16Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
42Fine/Studio Arts, General$30,99955%90%
17Tyler Junior College
Tyler, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
42Graphic Design27%
18East Texas A&M University
Commerce, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
40Graphic Design43%92%
19University of Houston - Downtown
Houston, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
34Visual and Performing Arts, General$19,52733%90%
20Tarleton State University
Stephenville, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
30Digital Arts48%90%
21The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
30Fine/Studio Arts, General$19,50650%100%
22Lamar Institute of Technology
Beaumont, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
29Graphic Design31%
23West Texas A & M University
Canyon, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
28Graphic Design55%99%
24Houston Christian University
Houston, TX Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
25Fine/Studio Arts, General49%$21,24784%
25Lamar University
Beaumont, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
25Fine/Studio Arts, General37%86%

All 61 schools in Texas

Every school in Texas 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 Texas that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
The University of Texas at DallasRichardsonPublic4412
University of North TexasDentonPublic1521
San Jacinto Community CollegePasadenaPublic1412
The University of Texas at AustinAustinPublic1282
Collin County Community College DistrictMcKinneyPublic1252
The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyEdinburgPublic1212
Austin Community College DistrictAustinPublic1101
The University of Texas at ArlingtonArlingtonPublic711
Texas State UniversitySan MarcosPublic701
South Texas CollegeMcAllenPublic652
University of Houston - Clear LakeHoustonPublic531
El Paso Community CollegeEl PasoPublic491
South Plains CollegeLevellandPublic491
The University of Texas at San AntonioSan AntonioPublic491
Blinn College DistrictBrenhamPublic431

What artists and related workers, all other earn in Texas

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

Median annual in Texas
$64,060
Mean annual
$64,480
Jobs in state
260
What the range looks like
10th pct$23,800Median$64,06090th pct$125,050
Versus the national median
-10.1%

U.S. median $71,240. Texas pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.41×

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

Metro areas in Texas

San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
$68,690median
50 jobs
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
$67,240median
80 jobs
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
$38,170median
60 jobs

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 Texas

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 Texas.

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 884 degrees in Texas in 2024-25, 36.6% 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 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Fine and Studio Arts, Visual and Performing Arts, Design and Applied Arts. Together they graduate about 2,413 people a year in Texas.

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

The median is $64,060 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 10.1% below 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 Texas?+

61 institutions in Texas reported graduates from at least one of the 6 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 statesCaliforniaFloridaNorth CarolinaOhioPennsylvaniaNew HampshireMassachusettsGeorgia

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

All Clema data sources and release dates →

Explore every U.S. college in one conversation

Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.

Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card