Mesa, AZ (population: 474,115) has three forensic accounting schools within its city limits. IIA College, the highest ranked school in the city with a forensic accounting program, has a total student population of 379. It is the 3419th highest ranked school in the USA and the 45th highest in the state of Arizona (#1 is Northern Arizona University).
Forensic Accounting students from Mesa schools who go on to become forensic accountants, forensics specialists, crime scene forensics specialists, computer forensics specialists, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 1,106,980 people working as accountants and auditors alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $67,430. Also, Bill and account collectors make on average $32,560 per year and there are about 403,100 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area alone, there are 12,130 employed bill and account collectors earning an average salary of $32,410. Accountants and auditors in this area earn $58,040/yr and there are 17,960 employed.
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. Thus, about 10 out of every 1000 jobs in Mesa are held by accountants and auditors, and 7/1000 are held by bill and account collectors.
Of the 3 forensic accounting schools in Mesa, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Everest College-Mesa comes out as the most expensive ($25,179/yr) for forensic accounting 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 |