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.
College Factual analyzed 3 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the highest-paying culinary arts schools.
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.
Virginia Western Community College earned the #1 spot for highest-paid culinary arts graduates in Virginia. Located in the city of Roanoke, Virginia Western Community College is a public institution. After graduating, culinary arts degree recipients from Virginia Western Community College typically earn about $33,687 annually.
Tidewater Community College produces some of the highest-paid graduates in culinary arts, landing the #2 spot this year. Set in the city of Norfolk, Tidewater Community College is a public institution. Students who complete the culinary arts program here go on to a median salary of roughly $24,232.
A rank of #3 makes Ecpi University one of the highest-paying schools for culinary arts. Located in the city of Virginia Beach, Ecpi University is a private for-profit institution. Early-career culinary arts graduates from Ecpi University make a median of around $33,929 per year.
This ranking is produced 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 · 3 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.