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Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

21 Colleges
$9,043 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$25,593 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, culinary arts was ranked #100 in the country. In fact 19,806 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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 Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 21 schools in the Great Lakes Region 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. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the culinary arts associate degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Chippewa Valley Technical College the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. CVTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Eau Claire.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CVTC are $6,683 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, CVTC is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Culinary Arts at Chippewa Valley Technical College Report

Out of the 21 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Madison Area Technical College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Madison College is a large public school located in the 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 $17,638 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Madison College also made our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, coming in at #4.

Full Culinary Arts at Madison Area Technical College Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Waukesha County Technical College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. WCTC is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Pewaukee.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WCTC are $6,603 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at WCTC accumulate an average of around $16,964 in student debt.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, WCTC also did well on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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#4

Oakland Community College

Bloomfield Hills, MI

Out of the 21 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Oakland Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Oakland Community College is a large public school located in the 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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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Gateway Technical College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the medium-sized 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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Fox Valley Technical College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. Located in the suburb of Appleton, FVTC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

FVTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,861 in tuition and fees each year.

FVTC also made our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, coming in at #5.

Full Culinary Arts at Fox Valley Technical College Report

#7

Schoolcraft College

Livonia, MI

Schoolcraft College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. Schoolcraft College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Livonia.

Schoolcraft College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,574 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Schoolcraft College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $21,172.

Full Culinary Arts at Schoolcraft College Report

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, Cincinnati State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Cincinnati State are $9,090 a year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cincinnati State also did well on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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Milwaukee Area Technical College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, MATC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MATC are $6,908 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from MATC carry an average student debtload of $21,618.

Full Culinary Arts at Milwaukee Area Technical College Report

Kalamazoo Valley Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. Kalamazoo Valley Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Kalamazoo.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kalamazoo Valley Community College are $8,502 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Kalamazoo Valley Community College carry an average student debtload of $20,618.

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Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best culinary arts schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 228
Ohio 133
Illinois 253
Indiana 12
Wisconsin 106

Culinary Arts is one of 4 different types of programs to choose from.

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 21 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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