Game Design Schools by City for 2027

Every city

Game Design Schools by City

Type your city or your state's two-letter code to filter the cards. Cities are grouped by state, and within a state the city with the most game-related programs nearby comes first; for the 11 large cities whose nearest options are farther out, the count runs to 100 miles. Los Angeles, CA leads with 42; Youngstown, OH has the fewest on this list, 1.

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

New Hampshire

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

Texas

Utah

Washington

Wisconsin

The method

What Each of the 50 City Guides Covers

Each guide lists the game design, game programming, simulation and animation programs within 50 miles of the city center, or within 100 miles for the 11 large cities with few programs close by (San Diego, Austin, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, Tucson, Sacramento, Kansas City, Colorado Springs and Minneapolis), with the distance to each campus. Every city here has at least one program from the best game design schools ranking within reach, so each guide has a ranked option to compare against.

27 of the 50 cities have two or more ranked programs inside the metro itself, and their guides are titled "game design schools in" the city. The other 23 rely on campuses outside the metro, some of them up to 100 miles away, and their guides say "near". Programs on every guide are scored the same way as in the national rankings, on completion, net price and program size. CA has the most guides, 6. The methodology has the details.

Pay

What Game Developers Earn in These Cities

Pay for game work tracks the metro more than the school. BLS doesn't count game developers on their own; it counts them as software developers, and it counts game animators as special effects artists and animators. Here are the 10 cities on this list where the software developer median is highest, with the animator median where BLS publishes one.

Animator pay spreads less widely. San Jose, CA has the highest published animator median on the list, $156,950, and Pittsburgh, PA the lowest, $69,300. A high median comes with a high cost of living in most of these metros, so each city guide also gives the metro's price level from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The game developer salary page explains which occupation counts which game job.

Using a guide

How to Use a City Guide to Pick a School

Start with the ranked list at the top of the guide, then look at the distances. A program 10 miles away and one 45 miles away are different decisions if you plan to live at home, and every guide gives straight-line miles from the city center so you can judge the commute. Next, check the paying-for-school section. It lists the public colleges within 50 miles with in-state and out-of-state tuition side by side, and for a metro that crosses a state line, that difference can be the largest number on the page.

Then read the program profiles. Each ranked game bachelor's within 50 miles has a card with its completion rate, net price, graduates a year and the two figures where it stands out most, so you can tell a large public program from a small private one at a glance. If none of the programs near you fit, the guide's online section lists the highest-scoring programs confirmed fully online, and the state pages cover places this list doesn't.

Finally, don't let distance decide alone. Studios hire on portfolios, not on the city your school sits in. A school near a studio cluster makes internships easier, but a cheaper program with strong completion farther away can still be the better bet.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Find Video Game Design Schools Near Me?

Find your city below, or the nearest one on the list. Each city guide ranks the game design, game programming, simulation and animation programs inside the metro and within 50 miles, with distances, costs and local pay. If your city isn't here, your state page lists every program in the state.

Which City Has the Most Game Design Programs Nearby?

Los Angeles, CA, with 42 game-related programs within 50 miles of the city center, 25 of them within 25 miles. New York City, NY is next with 25.

Which Cities Have a Game Design School Guide?

Every city here has at least 3 game-related programs within 50 miles and at least one ranked game bachelor's nearby. Large cities with few programs close by are included too, with lists that run to 100 miles. If your city isn't listed, your state's page covers every program in the state.

Why Is My City Not on the List?

Either fewer than 3 game-related programs sit within 50 miles of it, none of them a ranked game bachelor's, or most of its programs already appear on a nearby city's guide. Your state page still lists every program in the state, and the online ranking covers programs you can take from anywhere.

What Do Game Developers Earn in These Cities?

Among the 50 metros where BLS publishes a software developer median, San Jose, CA is highest at $213,110 and Lansing, MI lowest at $97,120, in May 2025 data. Game programmers are counted in that occupation.

Sources

1. 1 NCES, IPEDS Completions 2022 to 2024 and Completions by Distance Education 2024 Every program in the ranking, the field code it is filed under, its graduates each year, and whether the school reports it can be completed by distance education. 354 programs in four fields. Accessed October 13, 2026.
2. 2 NCES, IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022-23, average net price The cost factor: average net price for first-time, full-time students who received grant aid, in-state for public schools. School-wide.
3. 3 IPEDS HD2024, institution latitude, longitude and CBSA Campus coordinates and metro codes for every distance. Accessed October 14, 2026.
4. 4 U.S. Census Bureau, Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Population Estimates, Vintage 2024 (CBSA-EST2024) Metro areas and their populations. Accessed October 14, 2026.
5. 5 U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, places The center point of each principal city. Accessed October 14, 2026.
6. 6 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), all-data file May 2025, metropolitan areas Metro wage medians in the pay table. Accessed October 14, 2026.