10-yr median earnings
$42,509
Federal aid recipients only
Private Nonprofit · Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland Institute of Art
Cleveland Institute of Art is a private nonprofit institution in Cleveland, Ohio. as a private nonprofit, published Scorecard outcomes cover federal-aid recipients at this campus — endowment and sticker price sit outside those cohort fields.
- $42,509
- 10-yr median earnings
- 61.4%
- Acceptance rate
- $29,208
- Avg net price / yr
- 62.3%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
Cleveland Institute of Art pairs above-median former-student earnings with a moderately open admit.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 45%
- former-student earnings, US
- 61.4%
- acceptance rate
- 62.3%
- 150%-time completion
- +28%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Large
Carnegie: Special Focus (4yr)
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Cleveland Institute of Art profile
Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Special Focus Four-Year: Arts, Music & Design Schools"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.
Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.
College Value Score
D
College Value Score
44/100
Cleveland Institute of Art
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings C-
$42,509
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$29,208
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate C
62.3%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$27,000
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment B
71.4%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention A-
87.8%
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$29,208
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
62.3%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 62.3%
Four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Cleveland Institute of Art vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
How Cleveland Institute of Art ranks nationally
Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
Cleveland Institute of Art: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$42,509 Top 45% higher than 55% of 5,103 US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
| Metric | Cleveland Institute of Art | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $42,509 | #2298 of 5103 | 55th |
| Average net price | $29,208 | #4406 of 5020 | 12th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 62.3% | #2030 of 4858 | 58th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 539 | #2792 of 5462 | 49th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
539
Undergraduate enrollment
61.4%
Acceptance rate
1,193
SAT average
62.3%
150%-time completion
$42,509
10-yr median earnings
87.8%
First-year retention
How Cleveland Institute of Art ranks in Ohio
State rank among 243 reporting Ohio colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Cleveland Institute of Art | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $42,509 | #112 of 243 | 54th |
| Average net price | $29,208 | #205 of 228 | 10th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 62.3% | #105 of 235 | 55th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 539 | #113 of 257 | 56th |
Highest former-student earnings in Ohio
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chamberlain University-Ohio | $92,405 | $31,544 |
| 2 | Case Western Reserve University | $87,989 | $41,190 |
| 3 | Ohio Northern University | $80,928 | $24,478 |
| 4 | Four County Career Center | $77,338 | - |
| 5 | University of Dayton | $75,537 | $29,533 |
| 6 | Mount Carmel College of Nursing | $75,103 | $10,420 |
| 7 | Mount Carmel College of Nursing - Fairfield | $75,103 | - |
| 8 | Kenyon College | $71,830 | $38,512 |
| 9 | Trinity Health System School of Nursing | $71,660 | $9,825 |
| 10 | Firelands Regional Medical Center School of Nursing | $68,723 | - |
| 11 | The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences | $68,303 | $18,378 |
| 12 | Denison University | $67,753 | $40,007 |
| 112 | Cleveland Institute of ArtThis school | $42,509 | $29,208 |
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 61.4% |
| SAT Average | 1,193 |
| SAT Math (25th-75th) | 480 – 620 |
| SAT Reading (25th-75th) | 500 – 660 |
| ACT Average | 23 |
| ACT (25th-75th) | 23 – 29 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Cleveland Institute of Art
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$23,423 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$24,992 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$26,654 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$37,436 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Cleveland Institute of Art - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $49,400 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $49,400 |
| Average Net Price | $29,208 |
42.2%
Pell Grant Rate
78.8%
Federal Loan Rate
$27,000
Median Debt
$286/mo
Monthly Payment
Net price at Cleveland Institute of Art swings rather than trends
Across 11 reported years between 2013 and 2023, the average net price here has ranged from $28,458 to $35,626 without settling into a rise or a fall. Comparing only the first and last years would read as +12.7%, but the years in between do not follow that line, so the honest summary is the range rather than a trend. Budget against the upper end, not the average.
Lowest year
$28,458
Highest year
$35,626
Most recent (2023)
$32,072
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $28,4582023 · $32,072
Over the same years, enrollment went +0.7% (556 → 560 students).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
65.6%
Female
26.7%
First Generation
Outcomes
87.8%
Retention Rate
$33,148
Median Earnings (6yr)
51.3%
Earning Over $25K
71.4%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 62.3% |
| First-year retention | First-time, full-time freshmen | 87.8% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $33,148 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $42,509 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 51.3% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 71.4% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $27,000 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $286/mo |
Programs & Earnings
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design and Applied Arts | Bachelor's | 65 | $47,147 | $27,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Bachelor's | 25 | $33,253 | $27,000 |
| Graphic Communications | Bachelor's | 16 | - | $27,000 |
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Independent Scorecard matches among reporting colleges — not recommendations from the institution or a counselor.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Private Nonprofit institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Private Nonprofit institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate at Cleveland Institute of Art? ▼
Cleveland Institute of Art is a private nonprofit institution in Cleveland, Ohio. The acceptance rate is 61.4%. The average SAT score is 1,193. Undergraduate enrollment is 539 students.
How much do Cleveland Institute of Art former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Cleveland Institute of Art who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $42,509 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $33,148.
How much does Cleveland Institute of Art cost? ▼
The average net price at Cleveland Institute of Art is $29,208. In-state tuition is $49,400 and out-of-state tuition is $49,400. Median student debt at graduation is $27,000.
What is the graduation rate at Cleveland Institute of Art? ▼
Cleveland Institute of Art has a 62.3% completion rate within 150% of normal time at a four-year institution (typically six years for a bachelor’s program). The first-year retention rate is 87.8%.
Is Cleveland Institute of Art worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Cleveland Institute of Art is $27,000, while former students earn a median of $42,509 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 64% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 71.4% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $286.
Sources & methodology
Private-nonprofit profiles emphasize Scorecard cost-after-aid and completion alongside IPEDS Carnegie class. Endowment, gifts, and sticker price are not Scorecard fields on this page.
Figures are the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrievals. Nonprofit campuses vary widely in aid practice — net price here is the Title-IV-recipient cohort average, not an individual award letter. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
Where to go next from Cleveland Institute of Art
- Compare Cleveland Institute of Art against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Ohio side by side.Browse Ohio
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
Nonprofit Scorecard medians describe federal-aid recipients who were working and not enrolled — they are not sticker-price ROI and not advice.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Private-nonprofit profiles compile Scorecard net-price and earnings cohorts with IPEDS structure fields — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.