Jacksonville, FL (population: 822,401) has four arts schools within its city limits. University of North Florida, the highest ranked school in the city with an arts program, has a total student population of 16,477. It is the 289th highest ranked school in the USA and the 8th highest in the state of Florida (#1 is University of Miami).
Arts students from Jacksonville schools who go on to become artists, graphic designers, journalists, musicians, 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, Craft artists make on average $33,070 per year and there are about 5,380 of them employed in the US today.
Jacksonville lies in Duval county, which is one of the 49 counties in Florida. Overall, the Jacksonville area has 581,450 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $19/hr average worker wage, and a $39,460 average annual salary.
Of the 4 arts schools in Jacksonville, only 2 have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Jacksonville University comes out as the most expensive ($21,456/yr) for arts students, with Florida Community College at Jacksonville as the lowest, reported at only $6,668/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Jacksonville |
| Orange Park | FL | - | 3 | 22.5405 | 26 | 11.7 miles |
| Saint Augustine | FL | - | 2 | 46.0117 | 74 | 36.6 miles |
| Palm Coast | FL | 76,000 | 0 | - | 0 | 59.1 miles |
| Gainesville | FL | 116,277 | 8 | 23.682 | 358 | 61.2 miles |
| Waycross | GA | - | 2 | 12.3956 | 59 | 73.7 miles |
| Ocala | FL | 57,520 | 3 | 20.3525 | 108 | 83.8 miles |
| Daytona Beach | FL | 63,815 | 4 | 31.0595 | 184 | 86.9 miles |
| South Daytona | FL | - | 1 | 30.9321 | 7 | 89.6 miles |
| Deland | FL | - | 2 | 24.7322 | 98 | 92.6 miles |