2023 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools
Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You
Culinary Arts is the #100 most popular major in the country with 19,806 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 147 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for culinary arts majors pursuing a associate degree.
Top 15% Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder the best school in the United States for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Escoffier - Boulder is a moderately-sized private for-profit school located in the city of Boulder.
While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at Escoffier - Boulder accumulate an average of around $16,632 in student debt.
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Out of the 147 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Culinary Institute of America landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Hyde Park, The Culinary Institute of America is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at The Culinary Institute of America take out while working on their Associate Degree is $14,124. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $450.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best culinary arts schools in the United States. Located in the town of Indiana, IUP is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Chippewa Valley Technical College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best culinary arts schools in the United States. CVTC is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Eau Claire.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Johnson County Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools list. JCCC is a large public school located in the midsize city of Overland Park.
Culinary Arts majors at JCCC take out an average of $13,463 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Austin came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. Escoffier - Austin is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of Austin.
The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Escoffier - Austin take out while working on their Associate Degree is $17,367. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $133, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Saint Paul College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Saint Paul, Saint Paul College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Saint Paul College carry an average student debtload of $20,167.
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Cerritos College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Cerritos College is a large public school located in the suburb of Norwalk.
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University of Hawaii Maui College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools list. UH Maui College is a small public school located in the small city of Kahului.
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National Louis University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. NLU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at NLU take out while working on their Associate Degree is $17,353. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $479, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Madison Area Technical College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. Madison College is a large public school located in the large city of Madison.
On average, culinary arts graduates from Madison College take out $17,638 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Clover Park Technical College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree culinary arts programs. CPTC is a small public school located in the small city of Lakewood.
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North Shore Community College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools list. North Shore Community College is a small public school located in the suburb of Danvers.
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Des Moines Area Community College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. DMACC is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Ankeny.
Culinary Arts majors at DMACC take out an average of $11,783 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Waukesha County Technical College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools list. WCTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Pewaukee.
While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at WCTC accumulate an average of around $16,964 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #16, The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College did quite well on this year’s best schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College carry an average student debtload of $16,363. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $388, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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El Centro College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools list. El Centro College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Dallas.
On average, culinary arts graduates from El Centro College take out $22,807 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Pennsylvania College of Technology came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Williamsport, Penn College is a public school with a small student population.
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Cincinnati State Technical and Community College landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree culinary arts programs. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, Cincinnati State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
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Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #20 on the list. JWU Charlotte is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Charlotte.
While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at JWU Charlotte accumulate an average of around $17,376 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $314.
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Kapiolani Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Kapiolani CC is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Honolulu.
After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Kapiolani CC carry an average student debtload of $11,867.
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With a ranking of #22, Baker College did quite well on this year’s best schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Baker College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Owosso.
Culinary Arts majors at Baker College take out an average of $17,466 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $99.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Sullivan University | Louisville, KY |
| 24 | Culinary Institute Inc | Houston, TX |
| 25 | Grand Rapids Community College | Grand Rapids, MI |
| 26 | Stratford University | Fairfax, VA |
| 27 | Schoolcraft College | Livonia, MI |
| 28 | Johnson & Wales University - Providence | Providence, RI |
| 29 | Brookdale Community College | Lincroft, NJ |
Culinary Arts by Region
View the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Culinary Arts Rankings
Culinary Arts Related Rankings by Major
Culinary Arts is one of 4 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Culinary Arts
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Cosmetology | 107,895 |
| Funeral & Mortuary Science | 2,354 |
| Casino Operations and Services | 192 |
| Other Personal & Culinary Services | 81 |
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.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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