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Best Industrial Design Schools Near Athens, AL (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Athens, Alabama is home to about 32,587 residents. In the Huntsville, AL metro area, the top-earning industrial design-related role is Architectural and Engineering Managers at a median $168,380 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Industrial Design Schools to Athens
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer industrial design programs near Athens, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Athens city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Athens.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Athens is part of the Huntsville, AL metro area (BLS area code 26620). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Alabama statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Commercial and Industrial Designers
$63,640
AL statewide
$68,357
Industrial Engineers
$106,110
Huntsville, AL
$113,974
Graphic Designers
$62,720
Huntsville, AL
$67,368
Mechanical Drafters
$78,250
Huntsville, AL
$84,049
Interior Designers
$78,250
Huntsville, AL
$84,049
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$168,380
Huntsville, AL
$180,859
Set and Exhibit Designers
N/A
AL statewide
–
Mechanical Engineers
$102,450
Huntsville, AL
$110,043
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Athens at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
93.1 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Athens-Area Cities With Industrial Design Programs
What are the highest-paying industrial design roles near Athens?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying industrial design-related roles near Athens are: Architectural and Engineering Managers ($168,380), Industrial Engineers ($106,110), Mechanical Engineers ($102,450). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Alabama statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Madison instead of Athens?
Madison, AL is 11.8 miles from Athens and has its own set of local industrial design programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
