Tucson, AZ (population: 551,067) has two art schools within its city limits. University of Arizona, the highest ranked school in the city with an art program, has a total student population of 38,767. It is the 834th highest ranked school in the USA and the 5th highest in the state of Arizona (#1 is Northern Arizona University).
Art students from Tucson schools who go on to become artists, animators, animation designers, animation artists, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 8,900 people working as fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $50,630. Also, Craft artists make on average $33,070 per year and there are about 5,380 of them employed in the US today.
Tucson lies in Pima county, which is one of the 15 counties in Arizona. Overall, the Tucson area has 362,000 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $20/hr average worker wage, and a $40,870 average annual salary.
Of the 2 art schools in Tucson, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, The Art Center Design College-Tucson comes out as the most expensive ($35,307/yr) for art students, with University of Arizona as the lowest, reported at only $11,728/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Tucson |
| Sierra Vista | AZ | 44,234 | 0 | - | 0 | 55.0 miles |
| Casa Grande | AZ | 47,388 | 1 | 16.7022 | 3 | 68.8 miles |
| Maricopa | AZ | 53,723 | 0 | - | 0 | 90.0 miles |
| Gilbert | AZ | 243,090 | 0 | - | 0 | 93.1 miles |
| Chandler | AZ | 258,122 | 5 | 22.1433 | 88 | 95.1 miles |
| Mesa | AZ | 474,115 | 6 | 20.6791 | 210 | 97.8 miles |