Bachelor's · Pasadena, California

Is Graphic Communications at Art Center College of Design worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 19.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $51,878; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: Not enough graduates to report; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $29,000; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $205k (likely $205k – $287k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $15k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 19.2 years (likely 11.9–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$319k (likely −$450k – −$209k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$166k (likely −$366k – $31k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 81%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26