Private nonprofit · Institute

Kansas City Art Institute

Kansas City, Missouri · Large city

54.8%
Admit rate
$27,650
Avg net price
58%
Graduation rate
$37,032
Median earnings

Kansas City Art Institute is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Kansas City, Missouri (large city setting), enrolling 812 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitSmall · 812 undergradsLarge citySelective · 55% admitCold winters

About Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by both population and area. The Kansas City metropolitan area straddles the border between Missouri and Kansas at Kaw Point, and was considered a good place to settle. The Antioch Christian Church, Dr. James Compton House, and Woodneath are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Kansas City, Missouri is abbreviated as KCMO and the metropolitan area as KC. Residents are Kansas Citians. It is officially nicknamed the City of Fountains. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
To Great Lakes shore
414 miles
Nearest airport
19 miles to Kansas City (MCI) · major hub

How Kansas City Art Institute compares

Selectivity54.8%

More selective than 81% · #6 most selective of 44 in Missouri

Graduation rate58%

Higher than 57% · #16 of 51 in Missouri

First-year retention78%

Higher than 57%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$37,032

Higher than 10% · #48 of 53 in Missouri

Average net price$27,650

Cheaper than 22% · #49 cheapest of 51 in Missouri

Median debt at graduation$27,000

Lower than 11%

Student–faculty ratio10 : 1

Lower than 76%

Undergraduate enrollment812

Larger than 31%

Percentiles compare Kansas City Art Institute with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Missouri.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

812undergrads
  • Women59673%
  • Men21627%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White61%
  • Black8.4%
  • Hispanic17%
  • Asian3.5%
  • Other or multiracial11%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
812
Student–faculty ratio
10 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
44%
First-generation students
21%
Students over 25
5%
Median family income
$54,983
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$70,974
Endowment
$84,495,578

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

Admissions

Admission rate
54.8%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$44,550
Room & board
$13,651
Books & supplies
$800
Total cost of attendance
$57,410
Average net price
$27,650

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)
58%
Graduated on time (4 years)
49%
First-year retention
78%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$25,529
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$37,032
Median debt at graduation
$27,000
Students with federal loans
69%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
54%

About 9% 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
49%
Low-income (Pell)
61%
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
Yes
Dorm capacity
282
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
35%
Housing charge (year)
$9,170
Meal plan (year)
$3,730
Application fee
Free

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
D
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
9.8 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
6
Property offenses (2022–2024)
18

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (813 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.

8.0reported offenses a year
2.0 violent a year6.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
5.7
Rape
0.7
Aggravated assault
0.7
Fondling
0.3
Robbery
0.3
Burglary
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
$26,293
$30–48k
$25,105
$48–75k
$27,663
$75–110k
$29,943
$110k+
$30,840

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
$116,872

$27,663/year × about 4.2 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.

100%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$24,601
average award, among those who get one

Kansas City Art Institute discounts heavily: 100% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $24,601. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.

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 187 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)
$37,032
Typical debt at graduation
$27,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
73%
Out-earn a HS grad
43%

Typical debt would take roughly 7.3 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

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
$35,553
Men
$39,118

Men out-earn women by $3,565 (10%) 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
90°F
Winter low
22°F
Annual rain
38.1″
Annual snow
11″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.3JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Kansas City Downtown AP, MO US station (5.2 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 Kansas City Art Institute

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Kansas City Art Institute side by side →

Colleges near Kansas City Art Institute

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.