Best Photographer programs in Arizona, ranked by enrollment
Photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects. May use lighting equipment to enhance a subject's appearance. May use editing software to produce finished images and prints.
23 schools in Arizona run programs that feed this job, graduating 4,985 people a year. The job pays a median of $36,970 in Arizona across about 1,360 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Arizona that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Arizona that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Arizona (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Arizona page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0701In Arizona → | 4,754 | 95.4% | 15 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0101In Arizona → | 99 | 2.0% | 6 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0102In Arizona → | 84 | 1.7% | 4 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0605In Arizona → | 35 | 0.7% | 5 | $25,014 | $24,650 |
| 5 | CIP 50.0406In Arizona → | 13 | 0.3% | 2 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
Top 23 schools in Arizona
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 7 of the 23 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mesa Community College Mesa, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs | 797 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 16% | — | — |
| 2 | Glendale Community College Glendale, AZ Public · 3 feeder programs | 725 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 16% | — | — |
| 3 | Estrella Mountain Community College Avondale, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 551 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 32% | — | — |
| 4 | Chandler - Gilbert Community College Chandler, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs | 524 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 30% | — | — |
| 5 | Paradise Valley Community College Phoenix, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 447 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 19% | — | — |
| 6 | Phoenix College Phoenix, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs | 405 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 14% | — | — |
| 7 | Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 273 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 17% | — | — |
| 8 | Rio Salado College Tempe, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 268 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 9% | — | — |
| 9 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ Public · 3 feeder programs | 256 | Art/Art Studies, General | $27,762 | 68% | — | 90% |
| 10 | South Mountain Community College Phoenix, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 253 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 16% | — | — |
| 11 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs | 223 | Art/Art Studies, General | $27,762 | 0% | — | 67% |
| 12 | Pima Community College Tucson, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs | 74 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | $25,344 | 28% | — | — |
| 13 | GateWay Community College Phoenix, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 62 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 29% | — | — |
| 14 | Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Digital Arts | $24,691 | 43% | $21,535 | 79% |
| 15 | University of Advancing Technology Tempe, AZ Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Digital Arts | $27,824 | 35% | $21,175 | 98% |
| 16 | Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Photography | $23,418 | 61% | — | 90% |
| 17 | Cochise County Community College District Sierra Vista, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 30% | — | — |
| 18 | Sessions College Tempe, AZ Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Commercial Photography | $19,275 | 40% | $17,833 | — |
| 19 | Central Arizona College Coolidge, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 27% | — | — |
| 20 | Yavapai College Prescott, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 21 | Prescott College Prescott, AZ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 56% | $23,166 | 95% |
| 22 | Coconino Community College Flagstaff, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 24% | — | — |
| 23 | Mohave Community College Kingman, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 38% | — | — |
All 23 schools in Arizona
Every school in Arizona with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mesa Community College | Mesa | Public | 797 | 2 |
| Glendale Community College | Glendale | Public | 725 | 3 |
| Estrella Mountain Community College | Avondale | Public | 551 | 1 |
| Chandler - Gilbert Community College | Chandler | Public | 524 | 2 |
| Paradise Valley Community College | Phoenix | Public | 447 | 1 |
| Phoenix College | Phoenix | Public | 405 | 2 |
| Scottsdale Community College | Scottsdale | Public | 273 | 1 |
| Rio Salado College | Tempe | Public | 268 | 1 |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion | Tempe | Public | 256 | 3 |
| South Mountain Community College | Phoenix | Public | 253 | 1 |
| Arizona State University Digital Immersion | Scottsdale | Public | 223 | 2 |
| Pima Community College | Tucson | Public | 74 | 2 |
| GateWay Community College | Phoenix | Public | 62 | 1 |
| Grand Canyon University | Phoenix | Private not-for-profit | 33 | 1 |
| University of Advancing Technology | Tempe | Private for-profit | 24 | 1 |
What photographers earn in Arizona
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $44,660. Arizona pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Arizona employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Arizona
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Photographers page.
How to become a Photographer
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Arizona
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 6 majors mapped to Photographers6 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0404Photojournalism
- 50.0101Visual and Performing Arts, General
- 50.0102Digital Arts
- 50.0406Commercial Photography
- 50.0605Photography
- 50.0701Art/Art Studies, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing photographers programs in Arizona.
What degree do you need to become a Photographer?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Art/Art Studies, General, which awarded 4,754 degrees in Arizona in 2024-25, 95.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Photographer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Fine and Studio Arts, Visual and Performing Arts, Film/Video and Photographic Arts, Design and Applied Arts. Together they graduate about 4,985 people a year in Arizona.
How much do photographers earn in Arizona?+
The median is $36,970 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 17.2% below the U.S. median of $44,660. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for photographers growing?+
BLS projects a +1.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 12,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Arizona?+
23 institutions in Arizona reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do photographers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Photographer, Photojournalist, Portrait Photographer, Commercial Photographer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-4021.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card