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Best Industrial Design Schools Near Northfield, MN (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Northfield, Minnesota has 3 accredited schools offering industrial design programs. Northfield has a population of about 20,678. Median household income is $92,000 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 51.5% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In Minnesota, the top-earning industrial design-related role is Architectural and Engineering Managers at a median $172,130 annually (BLS, May 2025).
Closest Industrial Design Schools to Northfield
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer industrial design programs near Northfield, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Northfield 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 Northfield.
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.
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.
Northfield at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
20,678
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$92,000
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
51.5%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Other Northfield-Area Cities With Industrial Design Programs
How many accredited industrial design schools are near Northfield, MN?
Our directory has 3 accredited schools offering industrial design programs near Northfield. The closest is Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Minneapolis, MN (35.0 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is University of Wisconsin-Stout (67.6 miles). 3 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying industrial design roles in Minnesota?
Based on BLS May 2025 state wage data, the top-paying industrial design-related roles in Minnesota are: Architectural and Engineering Managers ($172,130), Industrial Engineers ($102,660), Mechanical Engineers ($99,140). Wages for Northfield workers will track these statewide medians, adjusted for local cost of living.
Should I look at programs in Faribault instead of Northfield?
Faribault, MN is 12.1 miles from Northfield 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 Northfield an affordable place to study industrial design?
Northfield’s median household income of $92,000 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Northfield while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Minnesota 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.
