2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Culinary Arts 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 191 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best value experiences for culinary arts students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality in Culinary Arts
Our 2023 rankings named Johnson County Community College the best value school in the United States for culinary arts students. JCCC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Overland Park.
JCCC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,352 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at JCCC take out is $11,625.
In addition to its great value ranking, JCCC is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Schools list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lee College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools list. Lee College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Baytown.
Lee College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,302 in tuition and fees each year.
Lee College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Schools list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend El Centro College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools list. El Centro College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Dallas.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at El Centro College are $6,000 a year. On average, culinary arts graduates from El Centro College take out $12,971 in student loans while working on their degree.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, El Centro College also is in the top 10% of our Best Culinary Arts Schools ranking.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Chippewa Valley Technical College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools list. CVTC is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Eau Claire.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CVTC are $6,683 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, CVTC also is in the top 15% of our Best Culinary Arts Schools ranking.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Paul College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools list. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, Saint Paul College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Saint Paul College are $6,041 per year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Saint Paul College take out is $19,381.
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Southeast Community College Area ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools list. Southeast Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Lincoln.
Southeast Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $3,780 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Southeast Community College take out is $16,400.
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With a ranking of #7, Clover Park Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students. CPTC is a small public school located in the city of Lakewood.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CPTC are $5,740 per year.
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Madison Area Technical College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value culinary arts programs. Madison College is a large public school located in the large city of Madison.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Madison College are $6,769 per year. On average, culinary arts graduates from Madison College take out $12,588 in student loans while working on their degree.
In addition to its great value ranking, Madison College is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Schools list.
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Athens Technical College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value culinary arts programs. Located in the city of Athens, Athens Technical College is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Athens Technical College are $5,462 a year.
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With a ranking of #10, Waukesha County Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students. WCTC is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Pewaukee.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WCTC are $6,603 a year.
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Gwinnett Technical College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools ranking. GTC is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Lawrenceville.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at GTC are $5,636 a year.
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With a ranking of #12, Gateway Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students. Located in the suburb of Kenosha, Gateway Technical College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Gateway Technical College are $6,803 a year.
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South Plains College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value culinary arts programs. South Plains College is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Levelland.
South Plains College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,276 in tuition and fees each year.
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West Georgia Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for culinary arts students. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the rural area of Waco, West Georgia Technical College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at West Georgia Technical College are $5,452 a year.
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Kansas City Kansas Community College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools ranking. Kansas City Kansas Community College is a small public school located in the midsize city of Kansas City.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Kansas City Kansas Community College are $6,510 a year.
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Central Georgia Technical College landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value culinary arts programs. Located in the city of Warner Robins, CGTC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CGTC are $5,442 per year.
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With a ranking of #17, University of Hawaii Maui College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students. UH Maui College is a small public school located in the small city of Kahului.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UH Maui College are $8,414 a year.
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Arkansas State University - Newport landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value culinary arts programs. ASUN is a small public school located in the rural area of Newport.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ASUN are $4,320 per year.
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Georgia Northwestern Technical College ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools list. Located in the small city of Rome, Georgia Northwestern Technical College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Georgia Northwestern Technical College are $5,462 a year.
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Oakland Community College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools ranking. Oakland Community College is a large public school located in the large suburb of Bloomfield Hills.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Oakland Community College are $5,200 a year.
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Wiregrass Georgia Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for culinary arts students. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Valdosta, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College is a public college with a small student population.
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,552 in tuition and fees each year.
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Pickens Technical College ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools list. Pickens Technical College is a fairly small public school located in the city of Aurora.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Pickens Technical College are $8,830 a year.
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Southern Crescent Technical College landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value culinary arts programs. Southern Crescent Technical College is a small public school located in the suburb of Griffin.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Southern Crescent Technical College are $5,526 a year.
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Fox Valley Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for culinary arts students. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in the midsize suburb of Appleton, FVTC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at FVTC are $6,861 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, FVTC also did well on our Best Culinary Arts Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Delgado Community College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools ranking. Delgado Community College is a fairly large public school located in the city of New Orleans.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Delgado Community College are $4,079 a year.
Full Culinary Arts at Delgado Community College Report
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great value schools for Culinary Arts students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Culinary Arts Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 29 | Wake Technical Community College | Raleigh, NC |
| 30 | San Jacinto Community College | Pasadena, TX |
| 31 | Ogeechee Technical College | Statesboro, GA |
| 32 | Augusta Technical College | Augusta, GA |
| 33 | Lanier Technical College | Oakwood, GA |
| 34 | Grayson College | Denison, TX |
| 35 | Cincinnati State Technical and Community College | Cincinnati, OH |
| 36 | Des Moines Area Community College | Ankeny, IA |
| 37 | Kapiolani Community College | Honolulu, HI |
| 38 | Kirkwood Community College | Cedar Rapids, IA |
| 38 | Del Mar College | Corpus Christi, TX |
Culinary Arts by Region
View the Best Value Culinary Arts 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
Majors Related to Culinary Arts
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.
- 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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