Albuquerque, NM (population: 535,923) has three arts schools within its city limits. The Art Center Design College-Albuquerque, the highest ranked school in the city with an arts program, has a total student population of 252. It is the 3539th highest ranked school in the USA and the 13th highest in the state of New Mexico (#1 is New Mexico State University-Main Campus).
Arts students from Albuquerque 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.
Albuquerque lies in Bernalillo county, which is one of the 23 counties in New Mexico. Overall, the Albuquerque area has 381,870 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0.6% unemployment rate, $19.31/hr average worker wage, and a $40,170 average annual salary.
Of the 3 arts schools in Albuquerque, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, The Art Center Design College-Albuquerque comes out as the most expensive ($34,902/yr) for arts students, with Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute as the lowest, reported at only $4,195/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Albuquerque |
| Albuequerque | NM | - | 1 | 4.18669 | 13 | 3.0 miles |
| Rio Rancho | NM | 85,837 | 1 | 10.6625 | 12 | 10.6 miles |
| Santa Fe | NM | 74,019 | 6 | 20.0822 | 127 | 54.1 miles |
| Grants | NM | - | 1 | 9.85236 | 40 | 69.7 miles |