Phoenix, AZ (population: 1,635,783) has three biotechnology schools within a 100-mile radius of its city center. Arizona State University, the highest ranked school in this group with a biotechnology program, has a total student population of 68,064. It is the 730th highest ranked school in the USA and one of the highest in the state .
Biotechnology students from Phoenix schools who go on to become biotechnologists, bioengineers, biomedical engineers, biophysicists, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 166,860 people working as medical and clinical laboratory technologists alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $55,620. Also, Biochemists and biophysicists make on average $88,550 per year and there are about 22,860 of them employed in the US today.
Phoenix lies in Maricopa county, which is one of the 15 counties in Arizona. Overall, the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area has 1,763,410 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $20/hr average worker wage, and a $41,930 average annual salary.
Of the 3 biotechnology schools with a 100-mile radius of Phoenix, all of them have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Arizona State University comes out as the most expensive ($9,603/yr) for biotechnology students, with Glendale Community College as the lowest, reported at only $7,676/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Phoenix |
| Glendale | AZ | 255,662 | 10 | 18.0628 | 241 | 8.0 miles |
| Tempe | AZ | 181,658 | 9 | 21.5079 | 137 | 13.1 miles |
| Peoria | AZ | 168,424 | 5 | 16.2489 | 161 | 14.3 miles |
| Scottsdale | AZ | 241,464 | 7 | 18.4016 | 124 | 15.5 miles |
| Avondale | AZ | 89,387 | 5 | 24.8339 | 71 | 16.6 miles |
| Chandler | AZ | 258,122 | 5 | 22.1433 | 88 | 20.2 miles |
| Mesa | AZ | 474,115 | 6 | 20.6791 | 210 | 20.8 miles |
| Gilbert | AZ | 243,090 | 0 | - | 0 | 23.0 miles |
| Surprise | AZ | 104,876 | 0 | - | 0 | 24.5 miles |
| Buckeye | AZ | 61,572 | 0 | - | 0 | 30.8 miles |
| Maricopa | AZ | 53,723 | 0 | - | 0 | 33.2 miles |
| Casa Grande | AZ | 47,388 | 1 | 16.7022 | 3 | 48.8 miles |
| Prescott | AZ | 44,035 | 4 | 31.39 | 279 | 75.2 miles |
| Prescott Valley | AZ | 41,046 | 1 | 8.12951 | 6 | 75.4 miles |