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2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts in California

8 Ranked Colleges
469 Degrees Awarded
$6,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Culinary Arts is the 80th most popular major in the country with 21,906 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in culinary arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent culinary arts programs, but they also cost less that 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

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” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california associate degree culinary arts students.

Top 8 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts in California

#1

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 #1 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California list. Los Angeles Trade Technical College is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 42 associates’s 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 yearly cost to attend Los Angeles Trade Technical College is $6,907 for california associate degree culinary arts students.

Full Los Angeles Trade Technical 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. This fairly large school is located in Santa Rosa, California, and it awarded 14 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

SRJC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $5,782 for california associate degree culinary arts students per year to attend SRJC.

Full Santa Rosa Junior College Culinary Arts Report

#3

Orange Coast College

Costa Mesa, California

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Orange Coast College landed the #3 spot on the list. Orange Coast College is located in Costa Mesa, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 associates’s culinary arts degrees to qualified students.

Orange Coast College also made our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend Orange Coast College is $3,178 for california associate degree culinary arts students.

Full Orange Coast College Culinary Arts Report

#4

Cypress College

Cypress, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Cypress College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California list. Cypress, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s culinary arts degrees to 29 students in 2019-2020.

Cypress College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cypress College is $3,489 for California Associate Degree Culinary Arts students.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Cypress College

#5

San Diego Mesa College

San Diego, California

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego Mesa College landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 9 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

San Diego Mesa College also made our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $4,978 for california associate degree culinary arts students per year to attend San Diego Mesa College.

Read more about Culinary Arts at San Diego Mesa College

#6

Laney College

Oakland, California

Laney College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California list. Oakland, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s culinary arts degrees to 15 students in 2019-2020.

Laney College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Laney College is $11,977 for California Associate Degree Culinary Arts students.

Full Laney College Culinary Arts Report

#7

Riverside City College

Riverside, California
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Riverside City College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California list. Riverside City College is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 associates’s culinary arts degrees to qualified students.

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. The yearly cost to attend Riverside City College is $4,620 for california associate degree culinary arts students.

Full Riverside City College Culinary Arts Report

#8

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara, California
#8 in overall quality

Santa Barbara City College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California ranking, coming in at #8. This fairly large school is located in Santa Barbara, California, and it awarded 3 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california associate degree culinary arts students list, SBCC has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SBCC is $7,556 for California Associate Degree Culinary Arts students.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at SBCC

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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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