A degree in culinary arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #97 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 8 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Culinary Arts Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 327 degrees in culinary arts to qualified students.
Your choice of culinary arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Culinary Arts School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
The culinary arts school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Culinary Arts Schools in Pennsylvania.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the culinary arts degrees they offer, see the list below.
Every student pursuing a degree in culinary arts has to look into Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus. IUP is a moderately-sized public university located in the town of Indiana. A Best Colleges rank of #888 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means IUP is a great university overall.
There were approximately 17 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at IUP in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the culinary arts major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus earn $2,098 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Pennsylvania College of Technology is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in culinary arts. Located in the small city of Williamsport, Penn College is a public college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #948 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Penn College is a great college overall.
There were about 19 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Penn College in the most recent data year. Culinary Arts degree recipients from Pennsylvania College of Technology receive an earnings boost of about $4,123 above the average earnings of culinary arts majors.
It's difficult to beat Pittsburgh Technical College if you want to pursue a degree in culinary arts. Pittsburgh Technical College is a small private not-for-profit college located in the rural area of Oakdale. A Best Colleges rank of #872 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Pittsburgh Technical College is a great college overall.
There were roughly 32 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Pittsburgh Technical College in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the culinary arts program report average early career earnings of $27,271.
Any student who is interested in culinary arts needs to check out Montgomery County Community College. Montco is a moderately-sized public college located in the large suburb of Blue Bell. This college ranks 81st out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were approximately 33 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Montco in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, culinary arts degree recipients usually make an average of $25,520 in their early careers.
Located in the city of Philadelphia, Community College of Philadelphia is a public college with a large student population. This college ranks 68th out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were roughly 10 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Community College of Philadelphia in the most recent data year. After graduating, culinary arts degree recipients usually make around $29,199 in their early careers.
Located in the city of Philadelphia, The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
There were roughly 69 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the culinary arts degree program at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College earn $2,989 above the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Northampton Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the suburb of Bethlehem. This college ranks 89th out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were about 6 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Northampton Community College in the most recent data year.
Located in the midsize suburb of York, YTI is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population. This school ranks 107th out of 109 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were roughly 23 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at YTI in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the culinary arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $23,933.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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).