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Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

3 Colleges
$1,335 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$25,593 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You

Culinary Arts is the #141 most popular major in California with 408 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. 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, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 3 schools in California to see which associate degree 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.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for an Associate in Culinary Arts

#1

Cerritos College

Norwalk, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Cerritos College the best value school in California for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Norwalk, Cerritos College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cerritos College are $1,346 per year.

Cerritos College also claimed a spot on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Full Culinary Arts at Cerritos College Report

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#2

Riverside City College

Riverside, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Riverside City College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California list. Riverside City College is a large public school located in the city of Riverside.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Riverside City College are $1,420 per year.

Full Culinary Arts at Riverside City College Report

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Los Angeles Trade Technical College is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Trade Technical College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Los Angeles Trade Technical College are $1,238 per year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Los Angeles Trade Technical College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $15,077.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Los Angeles Trade Technical College

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Best Value Culinary Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 158
Oregon 66
Nevada 61
Hawaii 111
Alaska 10

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 3 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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