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Best Industrial Design Schools Near Jefferson City, MO (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Jefferson City, Missouri is home to about 42,565 residents. Median household income is $67,205 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 36.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Jefferson City, MO metro area, the top-earning industrial design-related role is Architectural and Engineering Managers at a median $160,470 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Industrial Design Schools to Jefferson City
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer industrial design programs near Jefferson City, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Jefferson City 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 Jefferson City.
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.
Sort:
#1
Kansas City Art Institute
📍
Kansas City, MO
•
133.8 miles from Jefferson City
Jefferson City is part of the Jefferson City, MO metro area (BLS area code 27620). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Missouri statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Commercial and Industrial Designers
$75,440
MO statewide
$85,727
Industrial Engineers
$84,920
Jefferson City, MO
$96,500
Graphic Designers
$48,260
Jefferson City, MO
$54,841
Mechanical Drafters
$60,550
Jefferson City, MO
$68,807
Interior Designers
$59,610
MO statewide
$67,739
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$160,470
Jefferson City, MO
$182,352
Set and Exhibit Designers
$51,610
MO statewide
$58,648
Mechanical Engineers
$89,120
Jefferson City, MO
$101,273
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.
Jefferson City at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
42,565
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$67,205
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
36.9%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
88.0 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Jefferson City-Area Cities With Industrial Design Programs
What are the highest-paying industrial design roles near Jefferson City?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying industrial design-related roles near Jefferson City are: Architectural and Engineering Managers ($160,470), Mechanical Engineers ($89,120), Industrial Engineers ($84,920). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Missouri statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Columbia instead of Jefferson City?
Columbia, MO is 27.5 miles from Jefferson City 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 Jefferson City an affordable place to study industrial design?
Jefferson City’s median household income of $67,205 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Jefferson City while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Missouri 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.
