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Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois

4 Colleges
$27,223 Avg Salary
$13,205 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Culinary Arts School for You

Culinary Arts is the #102 most popular major in Illinois with 253 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 4 schools in Illinois to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Culinary Arts Colleges.

Top Illinois Schools in Culinary Arts

Our 2023 rankings named National Louis University the best school in Illinois for culinary arts students. Located in the large city of Chicago, NLU is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Culinary Arts majors at NLU take out an average of $15,333 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $479, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at National Louis University

#2

Lake Land College

Mattoon, IL

The excellent programs at Lake Land College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best culinary arts schools in Illinois. Lake Land College is a small public school located in the town of Mattoon.

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#3

Joliet Junior College

Joliet, IL

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Joliet Junior College is a great place for culinary arts students. Joliet Junior College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Joliet.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois list. Kennedy-King College is a small public school located in the city of Chicago.

While working on their degree, culinary arts majors at Kennedy-King College accumulate an average of around $9,135 in student debt.

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Best Culinary Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 228
Ohio 133
Indiana 12
Wisconsin 106

One of 4 majors within the area of study, culinary arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

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 4 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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