Cleveland, OH (population: 424,526) has three music schools within its city limits. Case Western Reserve University, the highest ranked school in the city with a music program, has a total student population of 9,738. It is the 87th highest ranked school in the USA and the 3rd highest in the state of Ohio (#1 is Ohio State University-Main Campus). To learn more about music programs in Cleveland, ratemyprofessors.com has reviews of music professors at Case Western Reserve University such as William Bauer, Peter Bennett, Randy Border, Eric Charnofsky, Gary Ciepluch, and Georgia Cowart.
Music students from Cleveland schools who go on to become musicians, producers, vocalists, guitarists, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 47,260 people working as musicians and singers alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $0.
Cleveland lies in Cuyahoga county, which is one of the 36 counties in Ohio. Overall, the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor area has 1,003,270 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1.0% unemployment rate, $20.16/hr average worker wage, and a $41,930 average annual salary.
Of the 3 music schools in Cleveland, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Cleveland Institute of Music comes out as the most expensive ($31,469/yr) for music students, with Cleveland State University as the lowest, reported at only $12,443/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Cleveland |
| Cleveland Heights | OH | 44,848 | 1 | 34.6777 | 3 | 6.6 miles |
| Parma | OH | 76,338 | 1 | 26.2004 | 15 | 7.4 miles |
| Warrensville Heights | OH | - | 1 | 16.9884 | 13 | 8.6 miles |
| Highland Heights | OH | - | 2 | 31.299 | 116 | 11.6 miles |
| North Olmsted | OH | - | 1 | 26.1035 | 13 | 13.4 miles |
| Strongsville | OH | 42,251 | 1 | 28.2567 | 15 | 14.1 miles |
| Cuyahoga Falls | OH | 51,250 | 1 | 27.2194 | 16 | 23.0 miles |
| Mentor | OH | 52,000 | 2 | 33.5238 | 9 | 23.2 miles |
| Elyria | OH | 54,854 | 1 | 9.2858 | 63 | 23.3 miles |
| Medina | OH | - | 2 | 28.5662 | 14 | 25.5 miles |
| Lorain | OH | 70,400 | 1 | 24.183 | 2 | 26.1 miles |
| Akron | OH | 205,375 | 10 | 16.7669 | 304 | 28.9 miles |
| Suffield | OH | - | 2 | 21.6911 | 11 | 36.0 miles |
| North Canton | OH | - | 2 | 20.0373 | 113 | 44.2 miles |
| Milan | OH | - | 1 | 27.8478 | 15 | 49.7 miles |
| Youngstown | OH | 71,023 | 5 | 24.5415 | 214 | 59.6 miles |
| Lisbon | OH | - | 1 | 6.46571 | 19 | 68.2 miles |
| New Philadelphia | OH | - | 2 | 20.6614 | 41 | 69.6 miles |
| New Wilmington | PA | - | 1 | 66.0236 | 69 | 74.2 miles |
| Meadville | PA | - | 3 | 46.4275 | 58 | 79.9 miles |
| Tiffin | OH | - | 3 | 36.5272 | 159 | 81.8 miles |
| Erie | PA | 103,895 | 10 | 28.3152 | 329 | 93.5 miles |
| Saint Clair Shores | MI | 59,971 | 1 | 11.5792 | 3 | 93.5 miles |
| Detroit | MI | 901,160 | 11 | 18.127 | 476 | 96.0 miles |
| Taylor | MI | 58,134 | 1 | 26.0382 | 3 | 97.0 miles |
| Dearborn | MI | 82,453 | 3 | 34.0016 | 184 | 97.5 miles |
| Warren | MI | 133,470 | 6 | 23.1927 | 131 | 98.5 miles |
| Toledo | OH | 288,207 | 7 | 20.3804 | 301 | 99.1 miles |
| Clinton Township | MI | - | 2 | 7.68254 | 63 | 99.6 miles |