Private nonprofit · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Cleveland Institute of Art

Cleveland, OH · 3 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$369,962 over 10 years

Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.

With these assumptions, the added earnings do not recover the cost within ten years.

Modeled economic break-even
−125%Modeled 10-year ROI
$37,687Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedMaximum annual price for positive 10-year payoff
Includes direct price and earnings forgone while studying. Assumes $45,000 in alternative annual earnings and no wage growth. How we calculate it
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK

Estimated payoff over ten years.

The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.

10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$369,962at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$296,8320
2
4
6
8
−$369,96210
Years after graduationBreak-even: years
FEDERAL COST DATA

Four ways to read college price.

Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.

Published in-state tuition$49,400
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$49,400
Sticker price
Average net price$29,208
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$64,587
Tuition + living budget
PRICE SOURCECollege reported · annual amount · federal dataset
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE

Institution details

Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.

Accreditor
Higher Learning Commission
Main award level
Bachelor’s degrees
Campus setting
City
Admissions
Selective admission
Delivery
Campus or mixed delivery
Federal designation
No special designation reported
Sources: College Scorecard June 2026 release and IPEDS 2024 institutional characteristics.
OBSERVED FEDERAL MEASURES

Cost, debt, completion and earnings context

$29,208Average net price / year
$64,587Cost of attendance
$27,000Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$286/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$37,687Median earnings · year 5 after completion
57.7%Completion rate
61.4%Admission rate
539Student size

Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.

PRICE BY FAMILY INCOME

Average net price is not one price

Federal averages for aided students in each family-income band. Your aid offer can differ.

$0–30k$23,423
$30–48k$24,992
$48–75k$26,654
$75–110k$30,518
$110k+$37,436
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$37,687
Year 6$33,148
Year 10$42,509
Full-time retention
87.8%
Part-time retention
Not available
Completion within 200% of normal time
74.2%

Earnings timepoints may use different historical cohorts and should not be read as one group’s guaranteed salary growth.

NATIONAL CONTEXT

How this college compares

Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.

34thEarnings percentile
49thCompletion percentile
WHAT STANDS OUT

A faster read on this college

These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.

$33,253Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$27,000Median federal debt across categories that report debt
0%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$22,132Year 1
$41,829Year 4
$37,687Year 5

Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.

PROGRAM PAYOFF SPREAD

The college average is not the whole story.

Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.

1Design and Applied Arts · Bachelor's Degree$47,1472Fine and Studio Arts · Bachelor's Degree$33,253

Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding

Strongest relative outcomes

Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark

This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential—not simply majors that pay more everywhere.

1Design and Applied ArtsBachelor's Degree · $47,147 reported-8%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt2Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's Degree · $33,253 reported-20%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt
BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in OH

Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.

Columbus, OH

Columbus College of Art & Design

Annual net price
$29,439
Observed earnings · year 5
$40,201
Modeled 10-year ROI
-116%
Open college profile →
Cincinnati, OH

Art Academy of Cincinnati

Annual net price
$34,253
Observed earnings · year 5
$35,134
Modeled 10-year ROI
-131%
Open college profile →
Defiance, OH

Defiance College

Annual net price
$26,337
Observed earnings · year 5
$46,809
Modeled 10-year ROI
-94%
Open college profile →
Cleveland, OH

Remington College-Cleveland Campus

Annual net price
$23,687
Observed earnings · year 5
$30,983
Modeled 10-year ROI
-151%
Open college profile →
ALL REPORTABLE PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes

Federal fieldCredentialEarnings, year 4Federal debt2023–24 awards
Design and Applied ArtsBachelor's Degree$47,147$27,000Not reported
Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's Degree$33,253$27,000Not reported
Graphic CommunicationsBachelor's DegreeNot available$27,000Not reported

Awards use first-major IPEDS completions aggregated to the same four-digit field and credential.

Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.