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2022 Best Value Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

12 Ranked Colleges
1,160 Degrees Awarded
Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 Illinois, there were 1,160 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,336 and $20,786 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer a degree in culinary arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality culinary arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the culinary arts program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Culinary Arts Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

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

Top 12 Best Value Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

Joliet Junior College

Joliet, Illinois

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Joliet Junior College landed the #1 spot on the list. Joliet Junior College is a fairly large public school situated in Joliet, Illinois. It awarded 66 ’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Joliet Junior College, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Joliet Junior College is $4,482 for illinois culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Joliet Junior College

#2

Elgin Community College

Elgin, Illinois

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Elgin Community College landed the #2 spot on the list. Elgin, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s culinary arts degrees to 77 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at ECC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend ECC is $6,022 for Illinois Culinary Arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at ECC

#3

Moraine Valley Community College

Palos Hills, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Moraine Valley Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. MVCC is a fairly large school located in Palos Hills, Illinois that handed out 31 ’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

MVCC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Moraine Valley Community College is $5,411 for Illinois Culinary Arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Moraine Valley Community College

#4

College of Lake County

Grayslake, Illinois

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, College of Lake County landed the #4 spot on the list. College of Lake County is a fairly large school located in Grayslake, Illinois that handed out 107 ’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k list, College of Lake County has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend College of Lake County is $6,232 for illinois culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full College of Lake County Culinary Arts Report

#5

Southwestern Illinois College

Belleville, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southwestern Illinois College. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. This medium-sized school is located in Belleville, Illinois, and it awarded 14 ’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

SWIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $8,720 for illinois culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend SWIC.

Read more about Culinary Arts at SWIC

#6

Richland Community College

Decatur, Illinois

Richland Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Richland Community College is a small school located in Decatur, Illinois that handed out 58 ’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Richland Community College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Richland Community College is $5,782 for Illinois Culinary Arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Richland Community College

#7

Triton College

River Grove, Illinois

Triton College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #7. Triton College is a medium-sized public school situated in River Grove, Illinois. It awarded 27 ’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k list, Triton College has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $7,436 for Illinois Culinary Arts students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Triton College.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Triton College

#11 in overall quality

City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small public school handed out 96 diplomas to qualified ’s culinary arts students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k list, Kennedy-King College has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $7,737 for illinois culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Kennedy-King College.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College

#9

McHenry County College

Crystal Lake, Illinois

McHenry County College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. MCC is located in Crystal Lake, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 ’s culinary arts degrees to qualified students.

MCC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend McHenry County College is $8,060 for Illinois Culinary Arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at MCC

#10

National Louis University

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #10, National Louis University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 68 ’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NLU, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $16,888 for illinois culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend National Louis University.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at NLU

#11

Rend Lake College

Ina, Illinois

Rend Lake College landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Located in Ina, Illinois, this small public school awarded 9 diplomas to qualified ’s culinary arts students in 2019-2020.

Rend Lake College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Rend Lake College is $7,450 for illinois culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Rend Lake College Culinary Arts Report

#12

Saint Augustine College

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #12, Saint Augustine College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Saint Augustine College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 6 ’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k list, St. Augustine College has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for St. Augustine College is $15,013 for illinois culinary arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at St. Augustine 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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