2023 Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Personal & Culinary Services School for You
In 2020-2021, 130,328 people earned a degree or certificate in personal and culinary services, making the major the #31 most popular in the United States.
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.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools ranking. This report analyzed 907 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value programs for personal and culinary services 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 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality in Personal & Culinary Services
Our analysis found Clover Park Technical College to be the best value school for personal and culinary services students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. CPTC is a small public school located in the city of Lakewood.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CPTC are $5,740 per year. While working on their degree, personal and culinary services majors at CPTC accumulate an average of around $15,685 in student debt.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Johnson County Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools list. JCCC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Overland Park.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at JCCC are $5,352 a year. After completing their degree, personal and culinary services graduates from JCCC carry an average student debtload of $8,586.
In addition to its great value ranking, JCCC is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools list.
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The excellent programs at Saint Paul College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best personal and culinary services schools in the United States. Located in the city of Saint Paul, Saint Paul College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Saint Paul College are $6,041 a year. Personal & Culinary Services majors at Saint Paul College take out an average of $16,240 in student loans while working on their egree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend El Centro College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools list. El Centro College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Dallas.
El Centro College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,000 in tuition and fees each year. Personal & Culinary Services majors at El Centro College take out an average of $12,971 in student loans while working on their egree.
In addition to its great value ranking, El Centro College is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools list.
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Out of the 907 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Chippewa Valley Technical College landed the # 5 spot on the list. CVTC is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Eau Claire.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CVTC are $6,683 per year. While working on their degree, personal and culinary services majors at CVTC accumulate an average of around $9,395 in student debt.
In addition to its great value ranking, CVTC is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools list.
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Lee College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for personal and culinary services students. It came in at #6 on the list. Lee College is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Baytown.
Lee College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,302 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Lee College is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools list.
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Southeast Community College Area landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value personal and culinary services programs. Southeast Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Lincoln.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeast Community College are $3,780 per year. After completing their degree, personal and culinary services graduates from Southeast Community College carry an average student debtload of $16,400.
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Waukesha County Technical College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools list. WCTC is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Pewaukee.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WCTC are $6,603 per year. Personal & Culinary Services majors at WCTC take out an average of $8,100 in student loans while working on their egree.
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With a ranking of #9, Madison Area Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for personal and culinary services students. Madison College is a large public school located in the large city of Madison.
Madison College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,769 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that personal and culinary services majors at Madison College take out is $11,142.
Madison College also claimed a spot on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Athens Technical College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Athens, Athens Technical College is a public college with a small student population.
Athens Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,462 in tuition and fees each year.
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Mid-State Technical College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools list. Mid-State is a small public school located in the rural area of Wisconsin Rapids.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Mid-State are $6,351 a year. The average amount in student loans that personal and culinary services majors at Mid-State take out is $5,250.
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Ridgewater College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for personal and culinary services students. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the town of Willmar, Ridgewater College is a public school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ridgewater College are $5,914 per year. The average amount in student loans that personal and culinary services majors at Ridgewater College take out is $9,500.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Ridgewater College also did well on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Gwinnett Technical College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools list. GTC is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Lawrenceville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at GTC are $5,636 per year.
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Amarillo College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for personal and culinary services students. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the city of Amarillo, Amarillo College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Amarillo College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,704 in tuition and fees each year.
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South Plains College landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value personal and culinary services programs. South Plains College is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Levelland.
South Plains College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,276 in tuition and fees each year. On average, personal and culinary services graduates from South Plains College take out $11,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value personal and culinary services programs. Located in the rural area of Shell Lake, WITC is a public college with a small student population.
WITC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,960 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, personal and culinary services majors at WITC accumulate an average of around $5,500 in student debt.
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Georgia Northwestern Technical College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools ranking. Located in the city of Rome, Georgia Northwestern Technical College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Georgia Northwestern Technical College are $5,462 a year. While working on their degree, personal and culinary services majors at Georgia Northwestern Technical College accumulate an average of around $3,020 in student debt.
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Arkansas State University - Newport did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for personal and culinary services students. It came in at #17 on the list. ASUN is a small public school located in the rural area of Newport.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ASUN are $4,320 per year.
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Wiregrass Georgia Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for personal and culinary services students. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Valdosta, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College is a public college with a small student population.
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,552 in tuition and fees each year.
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West Georgia Technical College landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value personal and culinary services programs. Located in the rural area of Waco, West Georgia Technical College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at West Georgia Technical College are $5,452 per year. The average amount in student loans that personal and culinary services majors at West Georgia Technical College take out is $6,195.
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Kansas City Kansas Community College landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value personal and culinary services programs. Kansas City Kansas Community College is a small public school located in the city of Kansas City.
Kansas City Kansas Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,510 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, personal and culinary services graduates from Kansas City Kansas Community College carry an average student debtload of $12,643.
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Howard College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for personal and culinary services students. It came in at #22 on the list. Howard County Junior College is a small public school located in the distant town of Big Spring.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Howard County Junior College are $5,430 a year.
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Gateway Technical College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools ranking. Located in the midsize suburb of Kenosha, Gateway Technical College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Gateway Technical College are $6,803 per year. The average amount in student loans that personal and culinary services majors at Gateway Technical College take out is $9,500.
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San Jacinto Community College landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value personal and culinary services programs. San Jacinto College is a very large public school located in the suburb of Pasadena.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at San Jacinto College are $5,040 a year. While working on their degree, personal and culinary services majors at San Jacinto College accumulate an average of around $9,003 in student debt.
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Piedmont Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for personal and culinary services students. It came in at #25 on the list. Piedmont Technical College is a small public school located in the distant town of Greenwood.
Piedmont Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,593 in tuition and fees each year. On average, personal and culinary services graduates from Piedmont Technical College take out $15,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Remaining Award Winners
This section shows the rest of the schools awarded a Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 907 different United States personal and culinary services schools we analyzed.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great value schools for Personal & Culinary Services students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools award.
Personal & Culinary Services by Region
View the Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Personal & Culinary Services Rankings
Majors Related to Personal & Culinary Services
Personal & Culinary Services Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Cosmetology | 107,895 |
| Culinary Arts | 19,806 |
| Funeral & Mortuary Science | 2,354 |
| Casino Operations and Services | 192 |
| Other Personal & Culinary Services | 81 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Personal & Culinary Services
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Mechanic & Repair Technologies | 96,336 |
| Precision Production | 52,913 |
| Construction Trades | 35,794 |
| Transportation & Materials Moving | 29,084 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 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.