Nashville, TN (population: 605,197) has two fashion merchandising schools within its city limits. Lipscomb University, the highest ranked school in the city with a fashion merchandising program, has a total student population of 3,413. It is the 2105th highest ranked school in the USA and the 49th highest in the state of Tennessee (#1 is Vanderbilt University).
Fashion Merchandising students from Nashville schools who go on to become fashion merchandisers, fashion designers, fashion models, fashion marketers, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 61,280 people working as merchandise displayers and window trimmers alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $28,480. Also, Commercial and industrial designers make on average $61,400 per year and there are about 29,170 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin area alone, there are 110 employed commercial and industrial designers earning an average salary of $45,830. Merchandise displayers and window trimmers in this area earn $24,860/yr and there are 180 employed.
Nashville lies in Davidson county, which is one of the 26 counties in Tennessee. Overall, the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin area has 719,830 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0.7% unemployment rate, $19.13/hr average worker wage, and a $39,790 average annual salary. Thus, about 0.246 out of every 1000 jobs in Nashville are held by merchandise displayers and window trimmers, and 0.153/1000 are held by commercial and industrial designers.
Of the 2 fashion merchandising schools in Nashville, none have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, International Academy of Design and Technology comes out as the most expensive ($22,006/yr) for fashion merchandising students, with Lipscomb University as the lowest, reported at only $17,243/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Nashville |
| Franklin | TN | 61,515 | 6 | 35.3023 | 121 | 16.9 miles |
| Gallatin | TN | - | 1 | 14.7314 | 31 | 24.0 miles |
| Lebanon | TN | - | 6 | 33.1353 | 162 | 27.4 miles |
| Murfreesboro | TN | 109,230 | 4 | 32.6865 | 176 | 31.1 miles |
| Dickson | TN | - | 1 | 26.7533 | 18 | 34.6 miles |
| Clarksville | TN | 121,429 | 6 | 21.4206 | 150 | 41.7 miles |
| Shelbyville | TN | - | 2 | 24.186 | 25 | 50.8 miles |
| Bowling Green | KY | 56,941 | 5 | 29.5084 | 365 | 58.5 miles |
| Tullahoma | TN | - | 1 | 18.8406 | 13 | 64.4 miles |
| Athens | AL | - | 7 | 24.5606 | 224 | 95.2 miles |