Manchester, NH (population: 108,643) has five art and design schools within its city limits. Saint Anselm College, the highest ranked school in the city with an art and design program, has a total student population of 1,915. It is the 297th highest ranked school in the USA and the highest in the state of New Hampshire.
Art and Design students from Manchester 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.
Manchester lies in Hillsborough county, which is one of the 6 counties in New Hampshire. Overall, the Manchester area has 99,530 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1.6% unemployment rate, $21.75/hr average worker wage, and a $45,240 average annual salary.
Of the 5 art and design schools in Manchester, none have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Saint Anselm College comes out as the most expensive ($26,612/yr) for art and design students, with Manchester Community College as the lowest, reported at only $17,487/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Manchester |
| Chester | NH | - | 3 | 20.6159 | 131 | 9.4 miles |
| Nashua | NH | 86,706 | 4 | 32.4184 | 139 | 16.1 miles |
| Lowell | MA | 104,063 | 4 | 27.7393 | 100 | 24.3 miles |
| North Andover | MA | - | 1 | 30.19 | 56 | 24.9 miles |
| Stratham | NH | - | 1 | 10.7122 | 32 | 26.8 miles |
| Billerica | MA | 40,949 | 1 | 35.5405 | 2 | 30.5 miles |
| Fitchburg | MA | - | 3 | 41.3845 | 81 | 33.0 miles |
| Rindge | NH | - | 1 | 51.4025 | 64 | 33.3 miles |
| Somersworth | NH | - | 1 | 20.1613 | 3 | 35.0 miles |
| Leominster | MA | 41,104 | 0 | - | 0 | 36.0 miles |
| Woburn | MA | - | 3 | 29.2811 | 25 | 37.6 miles |
| Peabody | MA | 51,672 | 0 | - | 0 | 39.2 miles |
| New London | NH | - | 5 | 27.7354 | 166 | 40.7 miles |
| Waltham | MA | 60,722 | 3 | 63.6138 | 127 | 42.1 miles |
| Keene | NH | - | 4 | 29.2254 | 143 | 42.5 miles |
| Malden | MA | 55,904 | 4 | 25.7416 | 22 | 42.7 miles |
| Watertown | MA | - | 4 | 19.8045 | 105 | 44.1 miles |
| Somerville | MA | 75,604 | 1 | 21.9743 | 9 | 44.3 miles |
| Cambridge | MA | 108,135 | 7 | 39.5149 | 268 | 44.6 miles |
| Chelsea | MA | 44,282 | 1 | 26.6747 | 5 | 45.2 miles |
| Brighton | MA | - | 3 | 22.1394 | 9 | 45.9 miles |
| Framingham | MA | 64,549 | 2 | 43.2155 | 61 | 46.3 miles |
| Chestnut Hill | MA | - | 2 | 53.2355 | 134 | 46.9 miles |
| Wellesley | MA | - | 2 | 79.2832 | 74 | 47.9 miles |
| Brookline | MA | 55,248 | 4 | 18.3285 | 60 | 48.1 miles |
| Boston | MA | 610,407 | 34 | 31.8192 | 1,194 | 49.2 miles |
| Needham | MA | - | 1 | 85.1852 | 4 | 49.3 miles |
| Worcester | MA | 174,854 | 11 | 28.6428 | 380 | 52.6 miles |
| Milton | MA | - | 2 | 30.0286 | 66 | 54.0 miles |
| Weymouth | MA | 55,115 | 0 | - | 0 | 58.8 miles |