2023 Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Personal & Culinary Services School for You
Personal & Culinary Services is the #31 most popular major in the country with 130,328 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. This report analyzed 130 schools in the Southwest Region 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.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 15% Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools
Our analysis found El Centro College to be the best value school for personal and culinary services students who want to pursue a degree in the Southwest Region . Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a very large student population.
El Centro College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,000 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, personal and culinary services majors at El Centro College accumulate an average of around $12,971 in student debt.
El Centro College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region list.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Lee College is a great value for personal and culinary services students. Located in the small city of Baytown, Lee College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Lee College are $4,302 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Lee College also is in the top 10% of our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.
Full Personal & Culinary Services at Lee College Report
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The excellent programs at Amarillo College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best personal and culinary services schools in the Southwest Region . Amarillo College is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Amarillo.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Amarillo College are $4,704 per year.
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The excellent programs at South Plains College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best personal and culinary services schools in the Southwest Region . Located in the distant town of Levelland, South Plains College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at South Plains College are $4,276 a year. Personal & Culinary Services majors at South Plains College take out an average of $11,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
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The excellent programs at Howard College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best personal and culinary services schools in the Southwest Region . Located in the town of Big Spring, Howard County Junior College is a public college with a small student population.
Howard County Junior College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,430 in tuition and fees each year.
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San Jacinto Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jacinto College are $5,040 per year. After completing their degree, personal and culinary services graduates from San Jacinto College carry an average student debtload of $9,003.
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Houston Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region list. Houston Community College is a very large public school located in the city of Houston.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Houston Community College are $5,460 per year. After completing their degree, personal and culinary services graduates from Houston Community College carry an average student debtload of $22,573.
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College of the Mainland landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value personal and culinary services programs. COM is a small public school located in the suburb of Texas City.
COM undergraduate students pay an average of $3,873 in tuition and fees each year.
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Del Mar College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value personal and culinary services programs. DMC is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Corpus Christi.
DMC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,930 in tuition and fees each year.
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Lone Star College System did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for personal and culinary services students. It came in at #10 on the list. North Harris Montgomery is a fairly large public school located in the city of The Woodlands.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at North Harris Montgomery are $6,168 per year. Personal & Culinary Services majors at North Harris Montgomery take out an average of $7,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, North Harris Montgomery also did well on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Frank Phillips College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for personal and culinary services students. It came in at #11 on the list. FPC is a small public school located in the town of Borger.
FPC undergraduate students pay an average of $4,388 in tuition and fees each year.
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Grayson College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value personal and culinary services programs. Located in the rural area of Denison, Grayson College is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Grayson College are $5,482 a year.
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Kilgore College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for personal and culinary services students. It came in at #13 on the list. Kilgore College is a moderately-sized public school located in the fringe town of Kilgore.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kilgore College are $5,256 per year. Personal & Culinary Services majors at Kilgore College take out an average of $9,500 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Weatherford College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value personal and culinary services programs. Weatherford College is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Weatherford.
Weatherford College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,800 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, personal and culinary services graduates from Weatherford College carry an average student debtload of $5,500.
In addition to its great value ranking, Weatherford College is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region list.
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Central New Mexico Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for personal and culinary services students. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the large city of Albuquerque, CNM is a public school with a fairly large student population.
CNM undergraduate students pay an average of $7,540 in tuition and fees each year. Personal & Culinary Services majors at CNM take out an average of $8,735 in student loans while working on their egree.
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El Paso Community College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the city of El Paso, El Paso Community College is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at El Paso Community College are $5,314 per year.
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Austin Community College District ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the large city of Austin, Austin Community College District is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Austin Community College District undergraduate students pay an average of $10,590 in tuition and fees each year.
Austin Community College District excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region list.
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Navarro College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Navarro College is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Corsicana.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Navarro College are $6,368 a year. While working on their degree, personal and culinary services majors at Navarro College accumulate an average of around $13,000 in student debt.
Full Personal & Culinary Services at Navarro College Report
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Tarrant County College District ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region list. Tarrant County College is a very large public school located in the city of Fort Worth.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Tarrant County College are $8,235 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Tarrant County College is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region list.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Southwest Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Dallas Institute of Funeral Service | Dallas, TX |
| 21 | Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service | Houston, TX |
| 22 | Culinary Institute Inc | Houston, TX |
| 23 | Pima Community College | Tucson, AZ |
| 24 | Texas State Technical College | Waco, TX |
| 25 | St Philip’s College | San Antonio, TX |
| 26 | The Art Institute of Dallas | Dallas, TX |
Best Personal & Culinary Services Colleges by State
Explore the best personal and culinary services colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Arizona | 132 |
| Texas | 1,155 |
| New Mexico | 76 |
| Oklahoma | 45 |
More Personal & Culinary Services Rankings in the Southwest Region
Personal & Culinary Services Related Majors for 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 Related Majors
| 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.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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