Little Rock, AR (population: 192,247) has four art and design schools within its city limits. Philander Smith College, the highest ranked school in the city with an art and design program, has a total student population of 668. It is the 733rd highest ranked school in the USA and the 6th highest in the state of Arkansas (#1 is Harding University).
Art and Design students from Little Rock schools who go on to become designers, ad designers, advertising designers, commercial designers, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 8,900 people working as fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $50,630. Also, Electrical and electronics drafters make on average $54,800 per year and there are about 30,590 of them employed in the US today.
Little Rock lies in Pulaski county, which is one of the 57 counties in Arkansas. Overall, the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway area has 330,720 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $19/hr average worker wage, and a $38,470 average annual salary.
Of the 4 art and design schools in Little Rock, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, ITT Technical Institute-Little Rock comes out as the most expensive ($22,599/yr) for art and design students, with Philander Smith College as the lowest, reported at only $12,101/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Little Rock |
| North Little Rock | AR | 59,309 | 4 | 19.2203 | 72 | 7.0 miles |
| Conway | AR | 59,823 | 7 | 21.3164 | 292 | 26.2 miles |
| Beebe | AR | - | 1 | 18.1395 | 56 | 36.1 miles |
| Malvern | AR | - | 1 | 12.3999 | 58 | 36.2 miles |
| Hot Springs | AR | - | 2 | 23.3818 | 62 | 42.8 miles |
| Russellville | AR | - | 2 | 30.335 | 112 | 58.9 miles |
| Monticello | AR | - | 2 | 23.5805 | 92 | 82.0 miles |