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2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts in the Rocky Mountains Region

8 Ranked Colleges
295 Degrees Awarded
$12,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 the Rocky Mountains Region” 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 the Rocky Mountains region, there were 1,951 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,385 and $19,256 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 295 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,967 and $17,711 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in culinary arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality culinary arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the culinary arts program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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 the Rocky Mountains Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region.

Top 8 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts in the Rocky Mountains Region

#1

Salt Lake Community College

Salt Lake City, Utah

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Salt Lake Community College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Salt Lake Community College is a large public school situated in Salt Lake City, Utah. It awarded 10 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Salt Lake Community College, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Salt Lake Community College is $6,963 for rocky mountains region associate degree culinary arts students.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Salt Lake Community College

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Wyoming Community College District landed the #2 spot on the list. Sheridan, Wyoming is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s culinary arts degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region associate degree culinary arts students list, Northern Wyoming Community College District has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $10,101 for Rocky Mountains Region Associate Degree Culinary Arts students per year to attend Northern Wyoming Community College District.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Northern Wyoming Community College District

#3

Pikes Peak Community College

Colorado Springs, Colorado

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Pikes Peak Community College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region. This fairly large school is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and it awarded 48 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

PPCC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. It costs about $10,336 for rocky mountains region associate degree culinary arts students per year to attend PPCC.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Pikes Peak Community College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Utah Valley University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region. UVU is located in Orem, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 36 associates’s culinary arts degrees to qualified students.

UVU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Utah Valley University is $9,159 for Rocky Mountains Region Associate Degree Culinary Arts students.

Read more about Culinary Arts at UVU

#5

The University of Montana

Missoula, Montana

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Montana landed the #5 spot on the list. The University of Montana is located in Missoula, Montana and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 associates’s culinary arts degrees to qualified students.

UM not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UM is $15,246 for rocky mountains region associate degree culinary arts students.

Read more about Culinary Arts at The University of Montana

Johnson & Wales University - Denver did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #6. JWU Denver is a private not-for-profit institution located in Denver, Colorado. The school has a small population, and it awarded 80 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

JWU Denver not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend JWU Denver is $26,221 for Rocky Mountains Region Associate Degree Culinary Arts students.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Culinary Arts at JWU Denver

Flathead Valley Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Flathead Valley Community College is a public institution located in Kalispell, Montana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Flathead Valley Community College, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $9,554 for rocky mountains region associate degree culinary arts students per year to attend Flathead Valley Community College.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Flathead Valley Community College

#8

Colorado Mesa University

Grand Junction, Colorado

Colorado Mesa University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #8. This medium-sized school is located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and it awarded 12 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region associate degree culinary arts students list, Colorado Mesa has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Colorado Mesa is $15,569 for Rocky Mountains Region Associate Degree Culinary Arts students.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Colorado Mesa University

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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.

Credits

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