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Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

7 Colleges
$1,335 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$27,848 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Culinary Arts 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 7 schools in California 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.

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.

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for culinary arts majors pursuing a .

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality in Culinary Arts

#1

Cerritos College

Norwalk, CA
$1,346 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Cerritos College to be the best value school for culinary arts students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the suburb of Norwalk, Cerritos College is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cerritos College are $1,346 a year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Cerritos College

#2

Riverside City College

Riverside, CA
$1,420 Average Tuition & Fees

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 Schools in California list. Riverside City College is a large public school located in the large city of Riverside.

Riverside City College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,420 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Culinary Arts at Riverside City College Report

$1,238 Average Tuition & Fees

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

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Los Angeles Trade Technical College are $1,238 per year. After completing their degree, culinary arts graduates from Los Angeles Trade Technical College carry an average student debtload of $7,633.

Full Culinary Arts at Los Angeles Trade Technical College Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Antelope Valley is a great value for culinary arts students. Located in the large suburb of Lancaster, UAV is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

After completing their degree, culinary arts graduates from UAV carry an average student debtload of $9,220.

Read More…

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Institute of Technology is a great value for culinary arts students. Located in the suburb of Clovis, Fresno Institute of Technology is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Culinary Arts majors at Fresno Institute of Technology take out an average of $13,440 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Institute of Technology

Out of the 7 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Institute of Culinary Education - Los Angeles landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Pasadena, Institute of Culinary Education - Los Angeles is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

On average, culinary arts graduates from Institute of Culinary Education - Los Angeles take out $6,811 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $344.

Full Culinary Arts at Institute of Culinary Education - Los Angeles Report

#4

CET, San Jose

San Jose, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend CET, San Jose. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Jose, CET, San Jose is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Full Culinary Arts at CET, San Jose Report

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 7 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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