BestOnlineCollege.org is an advertising-supported website. Many of the school and program listings that appear on this site are from partners who compensate us, and this compensation may affect how, where, and in what order listings appear (such as featured placements). This compensation does not influence our editorial content, evaluations, or rankings, which are determined independently using publicly available data. We do not review or feature every school or program available in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide accurate, unbiased information so you can make informed decisions. Read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Best Industrial Design Schools Near Owensboro, KY (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Owensboro, Kentucky is home to about 60,112 residents. Median household income is $53,295 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 25.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Owensboro, KY metro area, the top-earning industrial design-related role is Architectural and Engineering Managers at a median $129,430 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Industrial Design Schools to Owensboro
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer industrial design programs near Owensboro, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Owensboro 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 Owensboro.
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.
Owensboro is part of the Owensboro, KY metro area (BLS area code 36980). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Kentucky statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Commercial and Industrial Designers
$76,100
KY statewide
$85,892
Industrial Engineers
$93,080
Owensboro, KY
$105,056
Graphic Designers
$44,950
Owensboro, KY
$50,734
Mechanical Drafters
$68,880
KY statewide
$77,743
Interior Designers
$59,240
KY statewide
$66,862
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$129,430
Owensboro, KY
$146,084
Set and Exhibit Designers
$53,260
KY statewide
$60,113
Mechanical Engineers
$97,810
Owensboro, KY
$110,395
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.
Owensboro at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
60,112
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$53,295
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
25.4%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
88.6 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Owensboro-Area Cities With Industrial Design Programs
What are the highest-paying industrial design roles near Owensboro?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying industrial design-related roles near Owensboro are: Architectural and Engineering Managers ($129,430), Mechanical Engineers ($97,810), Industrial Engineers ($93,080). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Kentucky statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Henderson instead of Owensboro?
Henderson, KY is 25.8 miles from Owensboro 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 Owensboro an affordable place to study industrial design?
Owensboro’s median household income of $53,295 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Owensboro while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Kentucky 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.
