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2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k

8 Ranked Colleges
469 Degrees Awarded
$24,714 Avg Salary
Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 21,906 people earned their degree in culinary arts, making the major the 80th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, culinary arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $23,822 and had an average of $19,004 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,907 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $24,600 and $22,956 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 469 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,451 and $19,634 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in culinary arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great culinary arts programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the culinary arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Culinary Arts Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 8 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $48-$75k) in California

#1

Orange Coast College

Costa Mesa, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Orange Coast College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Orange Coast College is a public institution located in Costa Mesa, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 25 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Orange Coast College, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Orange Coast College is $6,303 for california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Orange Coast College Culinary Arts Report

#2

Santa Rosa Junior College

Santa Rosa, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Santa Rosa Junior College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k. Santa Rosa, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s culinary arts degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

SRJC also made our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend SRJC is $8,027 for california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Santa Rosa Junior College Culinary Arts Report

#3

Cypress College

Cypress, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Cypress College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k. Located in Cypress, California, this fairly large public school awarded 29 degrees to qualified associates’s culinary arts students in 2019-2020.

Cypress College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cypress College is $5,878 for california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Cypress College

#4

Los Angeles Trade Technical College

Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Los Angeles Trade Technical College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Los Angeles Trade Technical College is a fairly large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 42 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Los Angeles Trade Technical College also made our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Los Angeles Trade Technical College is $8,211 for California Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Los Angeles Trade Technical College

#5

San Diego Mesa College

San Diego, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego Mesa College. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. San Diego Mesa College is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

San Diego Mesa College also took the #6 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Diego Mesa College is $8,015 for California Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full San Diego Mesa College Culinary Arts Report

#6

Riverside City College

Riverside, California
#7 in overall quality

Riverside City College landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 17 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Riverside City College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list.

Full Riverside City College Culinary Arts Report

#7

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara, California
#8 in overall quality

Santa Barbara City College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Santa Barbara City College is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 associates’s culinary arts degrees to qualified students.

SBCC also took the #8 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Santa Barbara City College is $10,386 for california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Santa Barbara City College

#8

Laney College

Oakland, California

Laney College landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Oakland, California, and it awarded 15 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Laney College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,350 for california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Laney College.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Laney College

Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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