Fargo, ND (population: 95,232) has three art and design schools within its city limits. Salon Professional Academy, the highest ranked school in the city with an art and design program, has a total student population of 107. It is the 1313th highest ranked school in the USA and the 4th highest in the state of North Dakota (#1 is University of Mary).
Art and Design students from Fargo 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.
Fargo lies in Cass county, which is one of the 32 counties in North Dakota. Overall, the Fargo-MN area has 120,180 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 2.6% unemployment rate, $17.77/hr average worker wage, and a $36,960 average annual salary.
Of the 3 art and design schools in Fargo, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Salon Professional Academy comes out as the most expensive ($16,614/yr) for art and design students, with North Dakota State University-Main Campus as the lowest, reported at only $12,847/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Fargo |
| Moorhead | MN | - | 4 | 25.9555 | 267 | 2.5 miles |
| Grand Forks | ND | 52,135 | 2 | 28.0655 | 156 | 72.9 miles |