Atlanta, GA (population: 571,861) has eighteen art and design schools within its city limits. Emory University, the highest ranked school in the city with an art and design program, has a total student population of 12,930. It is the 30th highest ranked school in the USA and the highest in the state of Georgia.
Art and Design students from Atlanta 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. In fact, in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta area alone, there are 640 employed electrical and electronics drafters earning an average salary of $51,230. Fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators in this area earn $26,760/yr and there are 220 employed.
Atlanta lies in Fulton county, which is one of the 106 counties in Georgia. Overall, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta area has 2,290,890 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0% unemployment rate, $22/hr average worker wage, and a $45,520 average annual salary. Thus, about 0 out of every 1000 jobs in Atlanta are held by fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators, and 0/1000 are held by electrical and electronics drafters.
Of the 18 art and design schools in Atlanta, only 3 have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Bauder College comes out as the most expensive ($48,186/yr) for art and design students, with Atlanta Technical College as the lowest, reported at only $5,914/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Atlanta |
| East Point | GA | 43,748 | 1 | 19.2965 | 19 | 6.9 miles |
| North Atlanta | GA | 51,827 | 0 | - | 0 | 8.6 miles |
| Smyrna | GA | 51,091 | 1 | 28.0461 | 13 | 9.5 miles |
| Clarkston | GA | - | 1 | 14.4911 | 66 | 10.9 miles |
| Dunwoody | GA | - | 2 | 14.3983 | 27 | 13.8 miles |
| Marietta | GA | 68,931 | 9 | 28.245 | 294 | 14.8 miles |
| Norcross | GA | - | 2 | 30.2342 | 8 | 17.3 miles |
| Lilburn | GA | - | 1 | 22.8637 | 13 | 18.3 miles |
| Roswell | GA | 88,928 | 3 | 23.7384 | 79 | 19.7 miles |
| Kennesaw | GA | - | 4 | 32.3396 | 98 | 21.4 miles |
| Alpharetta | GA | 51,285 | 0 | - | 0 | 23.1 miles |
| Conyers | GA | - | 1 | 21.0336 | 7 | 24.0 miles |
| Lawrenceville | GA | - | 6 | 29.0817 | 196 | 28.3 miles |
| Oakwood | GA | - | 2 | 16.9986 | 102 | 44.6 miles |
| Rome | GA | - | 3 | 29.4765 | 155 | 54.8 miles |
| Mount Berry | GA | - | 1 | 63.3969 | 60 | 56.4 miles |
| Lagrange | GA | - | 2 | 12.8452 | 41 | 61.3 miles |
| Dalton | GA | - | 1 | 15.0432 | 33 | 76.6 miles |
| Macon | GA | 94,286 | 6 | 33.1618 | 295 | 77.3 miles |
| Toccoa Falls | GA | - | 1 | 28.3429 | 33 | 83.8 miles |
| Rock Spring | GA | - | 1 | 1.08982 | 0 | 87.3 miles |
| Fort Valley | GA | - | 1 | 21.9471 | 51 | 89.0 miles |
| Warner Robins | GA | 64,183 | 3 | 21.3509 | 61 | 91.8 miles |
| Phenix City | AL | - | 1 | 9.50663 | 23 | 95.3 miles |