2026 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Hawaii
[Culinary Arts](/majors/personal-and-culinary-services/culinary-arts/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong culinary arts education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools to find the best return on investment for culinary arts students.
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2026 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Hawaii
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in culinary arts, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Culinary Arts Schools
Kapiolani Community College earned the #1 spot for value among culinary arts schools in Hawaii. Set in the city of Honolulu, Kapiolani Community College is a moderately-sized public institution. Students from in state pay about $3,284 in tuition and fees, compared with $8,420 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for culinary arts graduates is $10,087. Early-career culinary arts graduates make about $26,882. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Leeward Community College earned it the #2 place for culinary arts. Located in the suburb of Pearl City, Leeward Community College is a moderately-sized public university. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $3,214, while out-of-state students pay about $8,350. Culinary Arts graduates carry a median of $10,776 in student loans. Early-career culinary arts graduates make about $21,784. Set against $10,776 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff.
A rank of #3 makes University Of Hawaii Maui College one of the best values for culinary arts. Set in the city of Kahului, University Of Hawaii Maui College is a mid-sized public institution. Students from in state pay about $3,284 in tuition and fees, with out-of-state students paying around $8,420. Students borrow a median of $11,824 to complete the culinary arts program here. Early-career culinary arts graduates make about $24,669. That is a strong return on a $11,824 median debt.
More Culinary Arts Rankings
View All Culinary Arts Rankings >
Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 5 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
