Arizona Culinary Institute

Scottsdale, AZ · Private for-profit · 157 students · Visit Website

Arizona Culinary Institute offers hands-on training in culinary arts, baking, pastry, and restaurant management, emphasizing practical experience in professional kitchens. The school focuses on a single diploma program that can be completed in as little as eight months, culminating in a 12-week externship. ACI reports high job placement rates and maintains a network of employers for its graduates, offering ongoing employment assistance.

Programs Analyzed

1

Avg Grad Earnings

$29,223/yr

Avg TradeSchoolOutlook Score

64/100

All Programs at Arizona Culinary Institute

1 trade program at Arizona Culinary Institute, ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score (combines earnings, ROI, AI resilience, and job market size). Use the “compare” links to see how this school’s programs stack up against others nationally.

Program Score Earnings Debt 10yr ROI AI Risk Job Market
Culinary Arts
Culinary Arts and Related Services
Compare nationwide →
64 $29,223/yr $9,500 Low Very Large
789 openings/yr

Reading the table: Score combines earnings, ROI, AI resilience, and job market size on a 0–100 scale. Earnings = median first-year salary from College Scorecard. Debt = median federal debt at graduation (blank where Scorecard suppresses small samples). 10yr ROI = projected 10-year earnings ÷ in-state tuition. AI Risk reflects task-level AI exposure across mapped occupations. Job Market = annual openings nationwide for connected occupations.

More Trade Schools in Arizona

Top-scored trade schools elsewhere in Arizona, ranked by average TradeSchoolOutlook Score across their programs.

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Apprenticeship Pathways in Arizona

Earn-while-you-learn alternatives in Arizona. Registered apprenticeships skip tuition and pay you during training, though training periods are typically longer.

Browse all apprenticeship trades →

Trade Schools Near Scottsdale

Other cities in Arizona with multiple trade schools, sorted by distance from Scottsdale.

About This Data

TradeSchoolOutlook analyzes 1 trade and vocational programs at Arizona Culinary Institute using earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034).

The TradeSchoolOutlook Score (0–100) combines graduate earnings, return on investment, AI resilience, and job market size. AI Risk reflects task-level exposure for the occupations each program feeds into. Job Market shows the size of the national hiring pool. Programs without published debt figures had small reporting samples that the College Scorecard suppresses for privacy.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections). Last updated 2026.