Design and Applied Arts at Collin County Community College District

Collin County Community College's Design and Applied Arts program produces graduates earning $33,456 in their first year—beating both the national median ($27,846) and Texas state median ($32,467) for associate's programs in this field. More impressively, graduates leave with just $6,900 in debt, less than half the national median and well below what students typically borrow at other Texas schools. That translates to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.21, meaning graduates can theoretically pay off their loans in about 10 weeks of gross income.

The earnings picture is stable but modest, with graduates seeing minimal growth to $34,139 by year four. While this trails the top program in Texas (Austin Community College's $40,289), it substantially outperforms Texas State Technical College and roughly matches Dallas College. For an associate's degree, these numbers represent reasonable entry-level creative industry wages in the Dallas metro area.

The major caveat: this data reflects fewer than 30 graduates, so individual outcomes may vary more than these figures suggest. Still, the combination of above-average earnings and exceptionally low debt makes this a financially sensible starting point for students interested in design careers, particularly those planning to build portfolios and freelance networks while keeping educational costs contained.