Graduates of Kansas City Art Institute earn median 4-year earnings of $36,640, placing Kansas City Art Institute in the 1.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Kansas City Art Institute sits in the 5.3 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Kansas City Art Institute #1430 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. These figures reflect outcomes for graduates entering creative and design-focused careers, where earnings trajectories often differ from broader institutional averages. The earnings pattern centers on visual and performing arts disciplines. Fine and Studio Arts is the largest program with 69 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $37,718, performing at 0.9x the national benchmark for the field. The Design and Applied Arts program graduates 41 students earning $43,070 four years after enrollment, while Graphic Communications and Film/Video and Photographic Arts round out the program portfolio with 17 and 10 graduates respectively. The concentration in Visual & Performing Arts reflects Kansas City Art Institute's specialized mission and shapes the institution's overall earnings profile relative to broader peer institutions.
Graduates of Kansas City Art Institute earn median 4-year earnings of $36,640, placing Kansas City Art Institute in the 1.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Kansas City Art Institute sits in the 5.3 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Kansas City Art Institute #1430 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. These figures reflect outcomes for graduates entering creative and design-focused careers, where earnings trajectories often differ from broader institutional averages. The earnings pattern centers on visual and performing arts disciplines. Fine and Studio Arts is the largest program with 69 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $37,718, performing at 0.9x the national benchmark for the field. The Design and Applied Arts program graduates 41 students earning $43,070 four years after enrollment, while Graphic Communications and Film/Video and Photographic Arts round out the program portfolio with 17 and 10 graduates respectively. The concentration in Visual & Performing Arts reflects Kansas City Art Institute's specialized mission and shapes the institution's overall earnings profile relative to broader peer institutions.
Latest FE earnings field: 10-year
Lower quartile, 10-year field
How graduate earnings grow across the currently available FE horizons.
Financial justification for the investment.
Graduates of Kansas City Art Institute earn median 4-year earnings of $36,640, placing Kansas City Art Institute in the 1.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Kansas City Art Institute sits in the 5.3 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Kansas City Art Institute #1430 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. These figures reflect outcomes for graduates entering creative and design-focused careers, where earnings trajectories often differ from broader institutional averages. The earnings pattern centers on visual and performing arts disciplines. Fine and Studio Arts is the largest program with 69 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $37,718, performing at 0.9x the national benchmark for the field. The Design and Applied Arts program graduates 41 students earning $43,070 four years after enrollment, while Graphic Communications and Film/Video and Photographic Arts round out the program portfolio with 17 and 10 graduates respectively. The concentration in Visual & Performing Arts reflects Kansas City Art Institute's specialized mission and shapes the institution's overall earnings profile relative to broader peer institutions.
Program mix and student pathways explain much of the earnings story.
Kansas City Art Institute concentrates its program portfolio in visual and performing arts, reflecting its identity as a specialized arts conservatory. Fine and Studio Arts is the largest program with 69 graduates, followed by Design and Applied Arts, Graphic Communications, Film/Video and Photographic Arts, and Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. Across 5 programs, 0 meet Azimuth's ranking threshold, with several delivering strong four-year earnings outcomes for a specialized arts institution. The earnings pattern reflects the institution's creative-practice focus. Design and Applied Arts leads with median earnings of $43,070 four years after enrollment, followed by Fine and Studio Arts at $37,718, Film/Video and Photographic Arts at $34,253, and Graphic Communications at $30,798. These outcomes represent the upper range of earnings within Kansas City Art Institute's program mix, where career trajectories often depend on portfolio strength, professional network development, and the specific creative sector pursued after graduation. Many of Kansas City Art Institute's programs are grad-school-dependent or portfolio-dependent pathways where four-year earnings undercount lifetime trajectory. Graduates in visual arts, design, and performance fields frequently pursue advanced degrees, build freelance practices, or develop careers through exhibition and commission work — outcomes that extend well beyond the four-year measurement window. The supply and demand for college graduates provides context for how creative-sector employment aligns with broader labor-market patterns and career-building timelines specific to arts disciplines.
Upper quartile, 10-year field
Graduates of Kansas City Art Institute earn median 4-year earnings of $36,640, placing Kansas City Art Institute in the 1.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Kansas City Art Institute sits in the 5.3 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Kansas City Art Institute #1430 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. These figures reflect outcomes for graduates entering creative and design-focused careers, where earnings trajectories often differ from broader institutional averages. The earnings pattern centers on visual and performing arts disciplines. Fine and Studio Arts is the largest program with 69 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $37,718, performing at 0.9x the national benchmark for the field. The Design and Applied Arts program graduates 41 students earning $43,070 four years after enrollment, while Graphic Communications and Film/Video and Photographic Arts round out the program portfolio with 17 and 10 graduates respectively. The concentration in Visual & Performing Arts reflects Kansas City Art Institute's specialized mission and shapes the institution's overall earnings profile relative to broader peer institutions.
See which programs drive the strongest earnings and career trajectories
