Best Schools for Dance
Dance graduates earn a median of $41,654 within four years of graduating, ranking #278 out of 283 tracked majors — 33% below the median across all fields. There are 86 colleges nationwide with tracked earnings for this major, producing 1,548 recent graduates.
Where you study matters: University of Iowa graduates earn $60,188 while CUNY Lehman College graduates earn $23,522 — a $36,666 difference. Factors like location, employer networks, co-op programs, and curriculum focus drive this gap. Across all fields, though, which major you pick separates earnings more than which college does.
Early career salary growth is moderate: Dance graduates see an average 7% increase between year 1 and year 2 post-graduation, reflecting career advancement and skill development in the first years after college.
Public vs Private: Dance
Public schools produce comparable or higher early earnings for Dance, often at lower tuition — making them strong value options for this major.
Dance by State
Also by state: Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Washington
Top Dance Schools by Graduate Earnings
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA · Public
Stephen F Austin State University
Nacogdoches, TX · Public
Muhlenberg College
Allentown, PA · Private
University of South Carolina-Columbia
Columbia, SC · Public
Texas Woman's University
Denton, TX · Public
Texas State University
San Marcos, TX · Public
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL · Public
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ · Public
Chapman University
Orange, CA · Private
The Juilliard School
New York, NY · Private
University of North Texas
Denton, TX · Public
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX · Public
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC · Public
Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY · Private
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN · Public
Fordham University
Bronx, NY · Private
California State University-Long Beach
Long Beach, CA · Public
University of California-Riverside
Riverside, CA · Public
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI · Public
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, NC · Public
University of California-Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA · Public
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA · Public
Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ · Public
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC · Public
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL · Public
Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, IL · Private
Mercyhurst University
Erie, PA · Private
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL · Public
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock, PA · Public
SUNY Brockport
Brockport, NY · Public
University of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA · Public
Pace University
New York, NY · Private
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY · Public
Montclair State University
Montclair, NJ · Public
New York University
New York, NY · Private
University of the Arts
Philadelphia, PA · Private
Marymount Manhattan College
New York, NY · Private
Minnesota State University-Mankato
Mankato, MN · Public
Point Park University
Pittsburgh, PA · Private
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV · Public
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA · Public
Dean College
Franklin, MA · Private
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA · Public
DeSales University
Center Valley, PA · Private
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public
Berklee College of Music
Boston, MA · Private
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, CA · Private
Ball State University
Muncie, IN · Public
Cornish College of the Arts
Seattle, WA · Private
American Musical and Dramatic Academy
New York, NY · Private
Showing top 50 of 86 schools. View all or filter by state above.
Majors with Similar Earnings
Frequently Asked Questions
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Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median 2 years after graduation for bachelor's degree holders, from the field-of-study file last updated June 2026. Institution-level figures elsewhere on the site come from the June 2026 release — Scorecard publishes the two separately.
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