Design and Applied Arts at Cedar Valley College
TX · Certificate Degree · CIP 50.04
Executive Summary
Graduates with a Design and Applied Arts degree from Cedar Valley College earn a median salary of $37,592 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in TX, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $40,817. The degree typically pays for itself in over 10 years.
Quick Insights
How this degree looks at a glance
A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.
Salary Ranges
Starting Range
$25,359
Typical Career
$37,592
Top Performers
$49,308
Break-even is not clear from the available earnings data.
Debt-to-Income Check
$251
Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment
Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,133. Most students can comfortably afford about a $251 monthly loan payment with this degree.
Comparison Bench
This degree earns 1.0x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x more than the average college graduate.
Purchasing Power Context
A dollar in Texas buys what costs $0.92 nationally.
Industry Breadcrumbs
Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Public Administration, Health Care & Social Assistance.
Where Certificate Graduates from This School Work
Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.
5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent
$40,817
Nominal: $37,592 in Texas (COL 92.1% of national avg) · 8.6% higher purchasing power
10-Year Earnings Curve
Break-Even Timeline
How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).
Total Investment
$155,168
4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost
HS Graduate Baseline
$38,792/yr
BLS 2023 median, HS diploma
View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
| Timeframe | 25th Pct. | Median (50th) | 75th Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Year After Graduation | $18,433 | $25,818 | $36,412 |
| 5 Years After Graduation | $25,359 | $37,592 | $49,308 |
| 10 Years After Graduation | $25,937 | $36,215 | $45,979 |
Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).
How We Calculate Purchasing Power
The median salary of $37,592 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in TX, which has a cost-of-living index of 92.1% of the national average.
Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $37,592 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9210)
= $40,817 National Average equivalent.
COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →
Career Verdict
Graduates primarily enter the Professional, Scientific & Technical Services sector, which accounts for 20.3% of employment, followed closely by another segment of the same industry at 19.7%, and 16.3% in Construction. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path exceeds ten years, suggesting that while there are opportunities in growing fields, the return on investment may take considerable time to materialize. This indicates that prospective students should weigh the long-term financial implications against their career aspirations in design and applied arts.
Compare with Another School
See how the Design and Applied Arts degree at Cedar Valley College stacks up against another institution side-by-side.
Other Degrees at Cedar Valley College
Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.