Private nonprofit · College

Art Center College of Design

Pasadena, California · Midsize city

74.5%
Admit rate
$48,661
Avg net price
79%
Graduation rate
$71,958
Median earnings

Art Center College of Design is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Pasadena, California (midsize city setting), enrolling 2,017 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitMidsize · 2,017 undergradsMidsize cityAccessible · 75% admitNear the coast

About Pasadena, California

Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The earliest known inhabitants of present-day Pasadena and its surroundings were members of the Hahamog-na tribe, a branch of the Tongva Nation. They spoke the Tongva language, belonging to the Northern subfamily of the Uto-Aztecan language group. Pasadena is home to the Tournament of Roses Parade, held each year on January 1 (or on January 2, if the 1st falls on a Sunday). The first parade was held in 1890 and was originally sponsored by the Valley Hunt Club, a Pasadena social club. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Midsize city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To the ocean
21 miles
Nearest airport
10 miles to Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope (BUR) · major hub

How Art Center College of Design compares

Selectivity74.5%

More selective than 56% · #52 most selective of 107 in California

Graduation rate79%

Higher than 88% · #31 of 122 in California

First-year retention86%

Higher than 78%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$71,958

Higher than 85% · #46 of 130 in California

Average net price$48,661

Cheaper than 1% · #111 cheapest of 118 in California

Median debt at graduation$31,000

Lower than 3%

Student–faculty ratio9 : 1

Lower than 83%

Undergraduate enrollment2,017

Larger than 58%

Percentiles compare Art Center College of Design with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in California.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

2,287students
  • Undergraduate2,01788%
  • Graduate27012%

Undergraduates by gender

2,017undergrads
  • Women1,11455%
  • Men90345%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White10%
  • Black1.2%
  • Hispanic9.3%
  • Asian30%
  • Other or multiracial49%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
2,017
Graduate enrollment
270
Student–faculty ratio
9 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
22%
First-generation students
24%
Students over 25
16%
Median family income
$30,283
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$84,447
Endowment
$152,688,000

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Admissions

Admission rate
74.5%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$54,170
Room & board
Books & supplies
$4,000
Total cost of attendance
$75,649
Average net price
$48,661

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
79%
Graduated on time (4 years)
35%
First-year retention
86%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$53,562
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$71,958
Median debt at graduation
$31,000
Students with federal loans
33%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
60%

About 44% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
35%
Low-income (Pell)
58%
First-generation
57%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
$50

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.1 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
1
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (2,308 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

0.3reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Fondling
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$39,645
$30–48k
$42,161
$48–75k
$44,738
$75–110k
$45,677
$110k+
$61,144

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$216,036

$44,738/year × about 4.8 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

65%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$14,716
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 65% — get grant money from Art Center College of Design itself, averaging $14,716, which softens the sticker price.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 275 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$71,958
Typical debt at graduation
$31,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
43%
Out-earn a HS grad
61%

Typical debt would take roughly 4.3 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$65,425
Men
$79,852

Men out-earn women by $14,427 (22%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
91°F
Winter low
45°F
Annual rain
20.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
40°70°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Pasadena, CA US station (2.7 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Art Center College of Design

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Art Center College of Design side by side →

Colleges near Art Center College of Design

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.