Phoenix, AZ (population: 1,635,783) has one hospitality school within its city limits. University of Phoenix-Online Campus has a total student population of 380,232. It is the 636th highest ranked school in the USA and the 3rd highest in the state of Arizona (#1 is Northern Arizona University).
Hospitality students from Phoenix schools who go on to become hospitality managers, caterers, event planners, wedding planners, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 334,310 people working as hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $19,190. Also, Food preparation and serving related employees make on average $20,880 per year and there are about 11,218,260 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area alone, there are 154,910 employed food preparation and serving related employees earning an average salary of $21,680. Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop in this area earn $19,070/yr and there are 5,590 employed.
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. Thus, about 3 out of every 1000 jobs in Phoenix are held by hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop, and 88/1000 are held by food preparation and serving related employees.
After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, University of Phoenix-Online Campus ends up costing a student $25,066/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 |