Tucson, AZ (population: 551,067) has eight culinary schools within its city limits. Regency Beauty Institute-Tucson, the highest ranked school in the city with a culinary program, has a total student population of 131. It is the 740th highest ranked school in the USA and the 4th highest in the state of Arizona (#1 is Northern Arizona University).
Culinary students from Tucson 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.
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 8 culinary schools in Tucson, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Regency Beauty Institute-Tucson comes out as the most expensive ($26,316/yr) for culinary students, with Pima Community College as the lowest, reported at only $3,259/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 |