Memphis, TN (population: 662,989) has four interior decorating schools within a 100-mile radius of its city center. Harding University, the highest ranked school in this group with an interior decorating program, has a total student population of 6,484. It is the 224th highest ranked school in the USA and the highest in the state of Arkansas.
Interior Decorating students from Memphis schools who go on to become interior decorators, interior designers, interior design professors, interior design coordinators, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 46,010 people working as interior designers alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $51,990. Also, Fashion designers make on average $74,410 per year and there are about 15,780 of them employed in the US today.
Memphis lies in Shelby county, which is one of the 26 counties in Tennessee. Overall, the Memphis-MS-AR area has 605,630 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1.2% unemployment rate, $18.93/hr average worker wage, and a $39,380 average annual salary.
Of the 4 interior decorating schools with a 100-mile radius of Memphis, none have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Lambuth University comes out as the most expensive ($15,377/yr) for interior decorating students, with Northeast Mississippi Community College as the lowest, reported at only $6,099/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Memphis |
| Southaven | MS | 47,625 | 1 | 27.9087 | 11 | 9.7 miles |
| Bartlett | TN | 47,744 | 0 | - | 0 | 12.3 miles |
| Senatobia | MS | - | 1 | 17.4796 | 114 | 34.1 miles |
| Jonesboro | AR | 66,734 | 1 | 24.4204 | 8 | 62.3 miles |
| State University | AR | - | 1 | 57.8251 | 135 | 63.1 miles |