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Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region

2023 Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region

130 Colleges
$17,887 Avg Salary
$10,457 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Personal & Culinary Services School for You

With 149,352 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022, personal & culinary services is the #2 most popular major in the United States.

Today's trade school students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Trade College Search has created the Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 130 schools in the Southwest Region to see which ones offered the best programs for trade school students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Personal & Culinary Services Colleges.

Top 15% Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools

#1

Arizona Culinary Institute

Scottsdale, AZ

Our 2023 rankings named Arizona Culinary Institute the best school in the Southwest Region for personal & culinary services students. Located in the midsize city of Scottsdale, Arizona Culinary Institute is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Arizona Culinary Institute

#2

Avenue Five Institute

Austin, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Avenue Five Institute. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Austin, Avenue Five Institute is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Avenue Five Institute Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Avenue Five Institute - South Austin Campus. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Austin, Avenue Five Institute - South Austin Campus is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Avenue Five Institute - South Austin Campus

#4

Penrose Academy

Scottsdale, AZ

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Penrose Academy. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region list. Penrose Academy is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of Scottsdale.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Penrose Academy

#5

Studio Academy of Beauty

Chandler, AZ

The excellent programs at Studio Academy of Beauty helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best personal & culinary services schools in the Southwest Region . Studio Academy of Beauty is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of Chandler.

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Paul Mitchell the School Austin came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the city of Austin, Paul Mitchell the School Austin is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

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Tint School of Makeup and Cosmetology-Irving did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for personal & culinary services students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large city of Irving, Tint School of Makeup and Cosmetology-Irving is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Tint School of Makeup and Cosmetology-Irving

Aveda Institute - Tucson came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Aveda Institute - Tucson is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Tucson.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Aveda Institute - Tucson

Aveda Institute - Phoenix landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best personal & culinary services programs. Aveda Institute - Phoenix is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the midsize city of Tempe.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Aveda Institute - Phoenix

#10

Pure Aesthetics

Tucson, AZ

Pure Aesthetics did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for personal & culinary services students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Tucson, Pure Aesthetics is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Pure Aesthetics

The Salon Professional Academy - Lewisville did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for personal & culinary services students. It came in at #11 on the list. TSPA - Lewisville is a small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Lewisville.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at The Salon Professional Academy - Lewisville Report

#12

Metro Technology Centers

Oklahoma City, OK

Metro Technology Centers came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the large city of Oklahoma City, Metro Technology Centers is a public college with a small student population.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Metro Technology Centers

DuVall’s School of Cosmetology did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for personal & culinary services students. It came in at #13 on the list. DuVall's School of Cosmetology is a small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Bedford.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at DuVall’s School of Cosmetology

Texas College of Cosmetology-Lubbock ranked #14 on this year’s Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region list. Texas College of Cosmetology-Lubbock is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Lubbock.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Texas College of Cosmetology-Lubbock Report

Empire Beauty School-Avondale came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the midsize suburb of Avondale, Empire Beauty School-Avondale is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Empire Beauty School-Avondale Report

#16

El Centro College

Dallas, TX

El Centro College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for personal & culinary services students. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at El Centro College

Paul Mitchell the School Arlington landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best personal & culinary services programs. Located in the large city of Arlington, Paul Mitchell the School Arlington is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Paul Mitchell the School Arlington

With a ranking of #18, Diamonds Cosmetology College did quite well on this year’s best schools for personal & culinary services students. Diamonds Cosmetology College is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the small city of Sherman.

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With a ranking of #19, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Austin did quite well on this year’s best schools for personal & culinary services students. Located in the city of Austin, Escoffier - Austin is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

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Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Personal & Culinary Services Trade Schools in the Southwest Region award.

Rank College Location
20 Exposito School of Hair Design Amarillo, TX
21 Aveda Institute - San Antonio San Antonio, TX
22 Total Transformation Institute of Cosmetology San Marcos, TX
23 Paul Mitchell the School Phoenix Phoenix, AZ
24 International Beauty College Garland, TX
25 Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy-Albuquerque Albuquerque, NM
26 Empire Beauty School-Tucson Tucson, AZ

Best Personal & Culinary Services Colleges by State

Explore the best personal & culinary services schools for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 3,080
Texas 12,596
New Mexico 1,065
Oklahoma 1,910

Personal & Culinary Services Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Cosmetology 124,611
Culinary Arts 22,075
Funeral & Mortuary Science 2,186
Casino Operations and Services 385
Other Personal & Culinary Services 95

Majors Similar to Personal & Culinary Services

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanic & Repair Technologies 105,741
Precision Production 55,411
Construction Trades 40,802
Transportation & Materials Moving 33,306

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to U.S. Army Europe Images.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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