Top Dance Programs in the West by Earnings (2026)
Updated
Part of Best Art & Design Colleges in the West
Regional list from Best Dance Programs in the United States
This page ranks the 16 Dance programs in the West by median earnings of Dance graduates four years after completing. Chapman University leads the list with median earnings of $50,612 for its graduates four years after completing.
Across the listed programs, the figure ranges from $50,612 to $8,000, with a median of $36,601. The gap between the first- and second-ranked programs is $4,225.
Public institutions account for 12 of the 16 programs, or 75%. California State University-Fullerton posts the lowest average net price on the list, at $6,555.
California State University-Long Beach ranks 5th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The ranked list
| Rank | School | Program Earnings | Average net price | Net price, families under $30K | Admission rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapman University · Orange, CA | $50,612 | $46,555 | $33,559 | 65.4% |
| Chapman University ranks 1st on this list, reporting median earnings of $50,612 for its Dance graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 2 | California State University-Long Beach · Long Beach, CA | $46,387 | $10,440 | $7,183 | 46.3% |
| An average net price of $10,440 coincides with California State University-Long Beach's 2nd-place finish, and the school holds an Azimuth composite rank of 5th among nonprofit four-year institutions. | |||||
| 3 | University of California-Riverside · Riverside, CA | $45,804 | $14,304 | $8,852 | 76.4% |
| University of California-Riverside admits 76% of applicants and posts median earnings of $45,804 for its Dance graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 4 | University of California-Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara, CA | $44,858 | $16,109 | $9,231 | 33.0% |
| Graduates across all fields who borrowed left with a median of $13,993 in federal loans at University of California-Santa Barbara, which ranks 4th on this page with earnings of $44,858. | |||||
| 5 | San Francisco State University · San Francisco, CA | $44,627 | $12,278 | $9,341 | 96.4% |
| San Francisco State University ranks 5th on this list and reports an average net price of $9,341 for families earning under $30,000. | |||||
| 6 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion · Tempe, AZ | $43,987 | $14,967 | $9,070 | 89.9% |
| With a cohort of 19 graduates in the earnings cohort, Arizona State University Campus Immersion shows median earnings of $43,987 for its Dance graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 7 | University of California-Irvine · Irvine, CA | $40,466 | $14,251 | $8,123 | 28.6% |
| University of California-Irvine ranks 7th on this list and holds an Azimuth composite rank of 12th among nonprofit four-year institutions. | |||||
| 8 | University of Nevada-Las Vegas · Las Vegas, NV | $36,925 | $10,359 | $8,526 | 96.2% |
| Median federal debt of $19,450 across all of University of Nevada-Las Vegas's borrowers who completed sits alongside median earnings of $36,925 for its Dance graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 9 | University of California-Los Angeles · Los Angeles, CA | $36,277 | $12,548 | $5,579 | 9.0% |
| University of California-Los Angeles admits 9% of applicants and reports an average net price of $5,579 for families earning under $30,000. | |||||
| 10 | Loyola Marymount University · Los Angeles, CA | $35,288 | $48,381 | $32,268 | 45.1% |
| A private nonprofit university in Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University ranks 10th on this list with median earnings of $35,288 four years after completing. | |||||
| 11 | University of Arizona · Tucson, AZ | $34,010 | $16,674 | $13,353 | 86.1% |
| University of Arizona reports an average net price of $16,674 and median earnings of $34,010 for its Dance graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 12 | California State University-Fullerton · Fullerton, CA | $20,140 | $6,555 | $3,315 | 90.5% |
| California State University-Fullerton ranks 12th on this list and holds an Azimuth composite rank of 6th among nonprofit four-year institutions. | |||||
| 13 | University of Utah · Salt Lake City, UT | $19,227 | $16,200 | $13,123 | 86.0% |
| University of Utah ranks 13th on this list and reports median earnings of $19,227 for its Dance graduates four years after completing, with a cohort of 42 graduates in the earnings cohort. | |||||
| 14 | California Institute of the Arts · Valencia, CA | $15,182 | $46,080 | $26,686 | 32.3% |
| A private nonprofit institution in Valencia, California Institute of the Arts admits 32% of applicants and posts an average net price of $46,080. | |||||
| 15 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus · Seattle, WA | $13,702 | $14,091 | $6,384 | 39.2% |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus carries an average net price of $6,384 for families earning under $30,000 and sits 72nd on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions. | |||||
| 16 | Brigham Young University · Provo, UT | $8,000 | $15,564 | $10,444 | 67.8% |
| Brigham Young University shows median earnings of $8,000 for its Dance graduates four years after completing and an admission rate of 68%. | |||||
How this list is ordered
Programs are ordered by the median earnings of their Dance graduates four years after completing, highest first. Only programs with a reported earnings cohort in the West appear. The figure is the median earnings of federally aided Dance graduates who were working and not enrolled, measured four years after completing. For 5 of the 16 listed programs the figure is the two-year completion median rather than the four-year one. The metric does not adjust for graduate school enrollment, cost, or who enrolls, and it is not a measure of teaching quality. The gap between Chapman University and California State University-Long Beach is $4,225, and the spread from the top of the list to the bottom reaches $42,612.