Ottawa, KS has one art therapy school within its city limits. Ottawa University has a total student population of 525. It is the 692nd highest ranked school in the USA and the 6th highest in the state of Kansas (#1 is Southwestern College).
Art Therapy students from Ottawa schools who go on to become art therapists, practitioners, recreational therapists, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 13,440 people working as therapists alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $54,400. Also, Recreational therapists make on average $41,270 per year and there are about 21,960 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Kansas City-KS area alone, there are 220 employed recreational therapists earning an average salary of $37,450. Therapists in this area earn $48,150/yr and there are 70 employed.
Ottawa lies in Franklin county, which is one of the 67 counties in Kansas. Overall, the Kansas City-KS area has 988,100 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0.8% unemployment rate, $20.79/hr average worker wage, and a $43,240 average annual salary. Thus, about 0.072 out of every 1000 jobs in Ottawa are held by therapists, and 0.220/1000 are held by recreational therapists.
After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Ottawa University ends up costing a student $16,212/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Ottawa |
| Lawrence | KS | 92,060 | 4 | 30.1334 | 36 | 23.8 miles |
| Olathe | KS | 125,326 | 3 | 26.6113 | 75 | 31.1 miles |
| Lenexa | KS | 49,185 | 2 | 9.677 | 29 | 35.1 miles |
| Topeka | KS | 124,629 | 5 | 27.0429 | 163 | 37.1 miles |
| Iola | KS | - | 1 | 14.0674 | 83 | 48.3 miles |
| Parkville | MO | - | 1 | 24.2346 | 91 | 51.0 miles |
| Lees Summit | MO | - | 1 | 10.817 | 19 | 52.0 miles |
| North Kansas City | MO | - | 1 | 17.668 | 0 | 52.1 miles |
| Kansas City | MO | 454,520 | 32 | 15.0915 | 547 | 52.1 miles |
| Independence | MO | 110,030 | 5 | 14.6026 | 91 | 59.3 miles |
| Blue Springs | MO | 57,147 | 1 | 22.3674 | 5 | 60.6 miles |
| Fort Scott | KS | - | 1 | 19.5238 | 38 | 61.7 miles |
| Atchison | KS | - | 2 | 13.325 | 58 | 66.0 miles |
| Manhattan | KS | 53,426 | 5 | 26.3003 | 178 | 81.5 miles |
| Saint Joseph | MO | 76,371 | 4 | 37.3685 | 160 | 82.7 miles |
| Parsons | KS | - | 1 | 16.7815 | 59 | 88.2 miles |