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Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

9 Colleges
$5,779 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$25,593 Avg Salary

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.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in the Plains States 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.

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. 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.

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

Best Plains States Region Schools for Affordable Quality for an Associate in Culinary Arts

#1

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS

Our 2023 rankings named Johnson County Community College the best value school in the Plains States Region for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Overland Park, JCCC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at JCCC are $5,352 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at JCCC accumulate an average of around $13,463 in student debt.

JCCC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.

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#2

Saint Paul College

Saint Paul, MN

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Saint Paul College is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Saint Paul College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Saint Paul.

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 while working on their Associate Degree is $20,167.

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Out of the 9 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Southeast Community College Area landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Lincoln, Southeast Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Southeast Community College are $3,780 a year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Southeast Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $18,731.

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#4

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, IA

Out of the 9 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Kirkwood Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Cedar Rapids, Kirkwood Community College is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Kirkwood Community College are $7,072 a year. On average, culinary arts graduates from Kirkwood Community College take out $20,239 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Out of the 9 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Des Moines Area Community College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DMACC are $10,440 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at DMACC accumulate an average of around $11,783 in student debt.

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Ozarks Technical Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Springfield, OTC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at OTC are $6,028 a year. On average, culinary arts graduates from OTC take out $20,319 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Western Iowa Tech 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 #7 on the list. Western Iowa Tech Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Sioux City.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,826 per year.

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#8

Butler Community College

El Dorado, KS

With a ranking of #8, Butler Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Butler CC is a medium-sized public school located in the town of El Dorado.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Butler CC are $5,976 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at Butler CC accumulate an average of around $18,041 in student debt.

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#9

Saint Louis Community College

Saint Louis, MO

Saint Louis Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, Saint Louis Community College is a public college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Saint Louis Community College are $7,155 per year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Saint Louis Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $16,624.

Full Culinary Arts at Saint Louis Community College Report

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Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best culinary arts colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 67
Minnesota 40
Kansas 39
Iowa 85
Nebraska 66
North Dakota 4
South Dakota 2

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

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 9 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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