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Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

24 Colleges
$9,867 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$25,807 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Culinary Arts 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.

The Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 24 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for culinary arts students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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.

Top 10 Best Culinary Arts Schools

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

CVTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,683 in tuition and fees each year.

CVTC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Culinary Arts at Chippewa Valley Technical College Report

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Madison Area Technical College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Madison College is a large public school located in the city of Madison.

Madison College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,769 in tuition and fees each year. On average, culinary arts graduates from Madison College take out $12,588 in student loans while working on their degree.

Madison College also claimed a spot on our Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

Full Culinary Arts at Madison Area Technical College Report

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$6,603 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Waukesha County Technical College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts 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.

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$6,803 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Gateway Technical College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts 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.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Gateway Technical College are $6,803 per year.

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#5

Oakland Community College

Bloomfield Hills, MI
$5,200 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Oakland Community College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Oakland Community College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Bloomfield Hills.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Oakland Community College are $5,200 per year.

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With a ranking of #6, Fox Valley Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students. Located in the suburb of Appleton, FVTC is a public college 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 in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Culinary Arts at Fox Valley Technical College Report

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#7

Schoolcraft College

Livonia, MI
$7,574 Average Tuition & Fees

Schoolcraft College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Schoolcraft College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Livonia.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Schoolcraft College are $7,574 per year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Schoolcraft College take out is $18,560.

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Cincinnati State Technical and Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for culinary arts students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Cincinnati, Cincinnati State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cincinnati State are $9,090 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cincinnati State also did well on our Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Culinary Arts at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Report

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$6,908 Average Tuition & Fees

Milwaukee Area Technical College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of Milwaukee, MATC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at MATC are $6,908 a year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at MATC take out is $20,109.

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#10

Grand Rapids Community College

Grand Rapids, MI
$11,589 Average Tuition & Fees

Grand Rapids Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Grand Rapids Community College is a large public school located in the city of Grand Rapids.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Grand Rapids Community College are $11,589 per year. After completing their degree, culinary arts graduates from Grand Rapids Community College carry an average student debtload of $13,157.

Full Culinary Arts at Grand Rapids Community College Report

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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 24 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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