Private for-profit · Community college

Arizona Culinary Institute

Scottsdale, Arizona · Midsize city

#3 graduation rate in Arizona

0%
Transfer rate: $38,815
Avg net price: 91%
Grad / completion: $41,651
Median earnings

Arizona Culinary Institute is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Scottsdale, Arizona (midsize city setting), enrolling 149 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private for-profitSmall · 149 undergradsMidsize city

About Scottsdale, Arizona

Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Scottsdale was originally an Akimel O'odham village known as Vaṣai S-vaṣonĭ, meaning 'rotting hay'. Some Akimel O'odham remain there today. Until the late 1960s, there was a still-occupied traditional dwelling on the southeast corner of Indian Bend Road and Hayden Road. The highest concentrations of galleries, studios and museums that are open to the public are in Downtown Scottsdale. Its Scottsdale Arts District can be segmented into three distinct districts. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Midsize city
Highest degree offered: Certificate
Nearest big city: 17 miles to Phoenix, AZ
To the ocean: 178 miles
Nearest airport: 14 miles to Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) · major hub

How Arizona Culinary Institute compares

Graduation rate91%

Higher than 91% · #3 of 72 in Arizona

First-year retention90%

Higher than 81%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$41,651

Higher than 75% · #14 of 61 in Arizona

Average net price$38,815

Cheaper than 2% · #68 cheapest of 70 in Arizona

Median debt at graduation$9,500

Lower than 57%

Student–faculty ratio14 : 1

Lower than 62%

Undergraduate enrollment149

Larger than 37%

Percentiles compare Arizona Culinary Institute with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Arizona.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women6342%
Men8658%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White55%
Black13%
Hispanic27%
Asian0.7%
Other or multiracial4.0%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 149
Student–faculty ratio: 14 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 47%
First-generation students: 40%
Students over 25: 41%
Median family income: $21,906

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition: —
Room & board: —
Total cost of attendance: —
Average net price: $38,815

Outcomes

Graduated: 91%
First-year retention: 90%
Transferred to another college: 0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $36,702
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $41,651
Median debt at graduation: $9,500
Students with federal loans: 53%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 51%

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: Free

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k

$35,533

$30–48k

$37,475

$48–75k

$39,516

$75–110k

$41,947

$110k+

$42,649

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

65%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$2,194

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 65% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,194. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 99 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years): $41,651
Typical debt at graduation: $9,500
Debt vs. one year's pay: 23%
Out-earn a HS grad: 49%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.3 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women

$37,228

Men

$43,723

Men out-earn women by $6,495 (17%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high: 104°F
Winter low: 42°F
Annual rain: 8.7″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ US station (5.4 mi from campus).

What Arizona Culinary Institute graduates study — and earn

Culinary Arts and Related Services

121 grads$29k 1 yr$34k 5 yr$10k debt

121$29,223$34,396$9,500

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Arizona Culinary Institute

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Arizona Culinary Institute side by side →

Arizona College-Mesa

For-profit

Mesa, Arizona · Large city · 12 mi to Phoenix

Students: 140
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $35k

Pima Medical Institute-East Valley

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Mesa, Arizona · Large city · 23 mi to Phoenix

Students: 306
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $39k

HDS Truck Driving Institute

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Tucson, Arizona · Fringe rural · 9 mi to Tucson

Students: 200
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $40k

Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Phoenix

For-profit

Phoenix, Arizona · Large city · 5 mi to Phoenix

Students: 105
Tuition: $17k
Transfer: —
Earnings: $43k

Carrington College-Tucson

For-profit

Tucson, Arizona · Large city · 1 mi to Tucson

Students: 517
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $37k

The Modern College of Design

For-profit

Kettering, Ohio · Small city · 6 mi to Dayton

Students: 211
Tuition: $31k
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $42k

Colleges near Arizona Culinary Institute

Phoenix Seminary

Scottsdale, AZ · Private nonprofit · Graduate

5 mi

Scottsdale Community College

Scottsdale, AZ · Public · Certificate · 5,377 students

6 mi

Penrose Academy

Scottsdale, AZ · Private for-profit · Certificate · 403 students

6 mi

The School of Architecture

Scottsdale, AZ · Private nonprofit · Graduate

6 mi

Paradise Valley Community College

Phoenix, AZ · Public · Certificate · 5,117 students

11 mi

Arizona School of Integrative Studies

Mesa, AZ · Private for-profit · Certificate · 155 students

12 mi

Arizona College-Mesa

Mesa, AZ · Private for-profit · Certificate · 140 students

12 mi

East Valley Institute of Technology

Mesa, AZ · Public · Certificate · 377 students

12 mi

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.