Mesa, AZ (population: 474,115) has three culinary schools within its city limits. East Valley Institute of Technology, the highest ranked school in the city with a culinary program, has a total student population of 270. It is the 1263rd highest ranked school in the USA and the 8th highest in the state of Arizona (#1 is Northern Arizona University).
Culinary students from Mesa schools who go on to become culinary artists, bakers, chefs, cooks, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 140,510 people working as bakers alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $25,350. Also, Cooks, private household make on average $27,720 per year and there are about 770 of them employed in the US today.
Mesa 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 culinary schools in Mesa, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Earls Academy of Beauty comes out as the most expensive ($27,864/yr) for culinary students, with Mesa Community College as the lowest, reported at only $9,090/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Mesa |
| Gilbert | AZ | 243,090 | 0 | - | 0 | 6.3 miles |
| Tempe | AZ | 181,658 | 9 | 21.5079 | 137 | 11.2 miles |
| Chandler | AZ | 258,122 | 5 | 22.1433 | 88 | 11.2 miles |
| Scottsdale | AZ | 241,464 | 7 | 18.4016 | 124 | 20.1 miles |
| Phoenix | AZ | 1,635,783 | 32 | 17.3678 | 810 | 20.8 miles |
| Glendale | AZ | 255,662 | 10 | 18.0628 | 241 | 28.7 miles |
| Maricopa | AZ | 53,723 | 0 | - | 0 | 30.7 miles |
| Avondale | AZ | 89,387 | 5 | 24.8339 | 71 | 33.5 miles |
| Peoria | AZ | 168,424 | 5 | 16.2489 | 161 | 34.3 miles |
| Casa Grande | AZ | 47,388 | 1 | 16.7022 | 3 | 36.7 miles |
| Surprise | AZ | 104,876 | 0 | - | 0 | 45.2 miles |
| Buckeye | AZ | 61,572 | 0 | - | 0 | 49.1 miles |
| Prescott Valley | AZ | 41,046 | 1 | 8.12951 | 6 | 88.8 miles |
| Prescott | AZ | 44,035 | 4 | 31.39 | 279 | 90.0 miles |
| Tucson | AZ | 551,067 | 19 | 23.0062 | 495 | 97.8 miles |