by our College Data Analytics Team
[Culinary Arts](/majors/personal-and-culinary-services/culinary-arts/) graduates earn very different salaries depending on where they study. The highest-paying schools turn a culinary arts degree into the strongest early-career earnings.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 5 schools on the early-career earnings of their culinary arts graduates.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools send culinary arts graduates into the highest-paying careers, see the list below.
West Hills College Lemoore tops our 2026 list of the highest-paying culinary arts schools in California. West Hills College Lemoore is a public school located in the rural area of Lemoore. Students who complete the culinary arts program here go on to a median salary of roughly $33,021.
Cet San Jose came in at #2 on our 2026 list of the highest-paying culinary arts schools. Located in the city of San Jose, Cet San Jose is a private not-for-profit institution. Early-career culinary arts graduates from Cet San Jose make a median of around $30,352 per year.
Institute Of Technology Inc produces some of the highest-paid graduates in culinary arts, landing the #3 spot this year. Institute Of Technology Inc is a private for-profit school located in the suburb of Clovis. Students who complete the culinary arts program here go on to a median salary of roughly $30,052.
Institute Of Culinary Education Los Angeles produces some of the highest-paid graduates in culinary arts, landing the #4 spot this year. Institute Of Culinary Education Los Angeles is a private for-profit school located in the city of Pasadena. Culinary Arts graduates of Institute Of Culinary Education Los Angeles earn a median of about $22,759 a year early in their careers.
Strong graduate earnings at Hacienda La Puente Adult Education earned it the #5 place for culinary arts. Hacienda La Puente Adult Education is a public school located in the suburb of La Puente. Students who complete the culinary arts program here go on to a median salary of roughly $16,342.
The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. Schools are ranked on the median early-career earnings of their culinary arts graduates, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 5 schools evaluated.
*Salary figures reflect median early-career earnings (about 5 years after graduation) and may vary by how long a person takes to complete their degree.
More about our data sources and methodologies.