Memphis, TN (population: 662,989) has thirty-one video game design schools within a 500-mile radius of its city center. Texas A & M University, the highest ranked school in this group with a video game design program, has a total student population of 48,702. It is the 36th highest ranked school in the USA and one of the highest in the state .
Video Game Design students from Memphis schools who go on to become video game designers, game developers, video game developers, video game engineers, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 495,500 people working as computer software engineers, applications alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $90,170. Also, Computer software engineers, systems software make on average $96,620 per year and there are about 385,200 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Memphis-MS-AR area alone, there are 1,090 employed computer software engineers, systems software earning an average salary of $73,590. Computer software engineers, applications in this area earn $72,760/yr and there are 470 employed.
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. Thus, about 0.772 out of every 1000 jobs in Memphis are held by computer software engineers, applications, and 1.808/1000 are held by computer software engineers, systems software.
Of the 31 video game design schools with a 500-mile radius of Memphis, only 5 have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, The Art Institute of Atlanta comes out as the most expensive ($36,852/yr) for video game design students, with Lewis and Clark Community College as the lowest, reported at only $5,268/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 |