Fine and Studio Arts at CUNY LaGuardia Community College

LaGuardia's Fine and Studio Arts program produces sobering outcomes that parents need to understand upfront: graduates earn just under $15,000 annually, which falls 20% below the national median for arts programs and places this in the bottom quarter nationally. The modest debt load of $8,750 doesn't offset these earnings—you're still looking at first-year income that barely exceeds federal poverty guidelines for a single person. The fact that this program performs at the 60th percentile within New York tells you more about the state's struggling arts market than about LaGuardia's quality.

The trajectory over four years shows minimal improvement, with earnings creeping up to just $16,572—a gain that doesn't keep pace with inflation or cost-of-living increases in New York City. For context, nearby Queensborough's arts graduates start higher and presumably see stronger growth. While LaGuardia serves a large population of low-income students who might be accessing affordable education, an associate's degree that leads to sub-poverty-line wages creates a difficult launch into adulthood, even with relatively contained debt.

If your child is passionate about studio arts, this program might serve as an affordable first step before transferring to complete a bachelor's degree—but as a terminal degree, these earnings make independent living in the New York metro area nearly impossible without substantial family support or multiple jobs.