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Best Industrial Design Schools Near East Saint Louis, IL
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
East Saint Louis, Illinois is home to about 18,278 residents. Median household income is $30,992 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 14.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area, the top-earning industrial design-related role is Architectural and Engineering Managers at a median $162,660 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Industrial Design Schools to East Saint Louis
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer industrial design programs near East Saint Louis, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from East Saint Louis 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 East Saint Louis.
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.
East Saint Louis is part of the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area (BLS area code 41180). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Illinois statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Commercial and Industrial Designers
$85,530
St. Louis, MO-IL
$89,937
Industrial Engineers
$102,230
St. Louis, MO-IL
$107,497
Graphic Designers
$61,000
St. Louis, MO-IL
$64,143
Mechanical Drafters
$70,830
St. Louis, MO-IL
$74,479
Interior Designers
$61,570
St. Louis, MO-IL
$64,742
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$162,660
St. Louis, MO-IL
$171,041
Set and Exhibit Designers
$55,730
St. Louis, MO-IL
$58,601
Mechanical Engineers
$100,340
St. Louis, MO-IL
$105,510
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.
East Saint Louis at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
18,278
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$30,992
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
14.7%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
95.1 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other East Saint Louis-Area Cities With Industrial Design Programs
What are the highest-paying industrial design roles near East Saint Louis?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying industrial design-related roles near East Saint Louis are: Architectural and Engineering Managers ($162,660), Industrial Engineers ($102,230), Mechanical Engineers ($100,340). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Illinois statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Saint Louis instead of East Saint Louis?
Saint Louis, MO is 6.3 miles from East Saint Louis 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.
Is East Saint Louis an affordable place to study industrial design?
East Saint Louis’s median household income of $30,992 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in East Saint Louis while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Illinois public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
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.
