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2024 Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

19 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
1,900 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$25,807 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in culinary arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #97 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 19 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of culinary arts. Combined, these schools handed out 1,900 degrees in culinary arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Culinary Arts School

Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of culinary arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for culinary arts schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Culinary Arts Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Culinary Arts
Bachelor's Degrees in Culinary Arts

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Culinary Arts in the Great Lakes Region

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the culinary arts degree levels they offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Culinary Arts

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$31,385 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in culinary arts needs to look into National Louis University. NLU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #393 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means NLU is a great university overall.

There were about 53 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at NLU in the most recent data year. Culinary Arts degree recipients from National Louis University get an earnings boost of about $5,578 over the average earnings of culinary arts graduates.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from National Louis University

2
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$29,703 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat Madison Area Technical College if you want to pursue a degree in culinary arts. Madison College is a fairly large public college located in the city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #419 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Madison College is a great college overall.

There were about 51 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Madison College in the most recent year we have data available. Those culinary arts students who get their degree from Madison Area Technical College earn $3,896 more than the typical culinary arts grad.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Madison Area Technical College

3
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In WI

It's hard to beat Chippewa Valley Technical College if you want to pursue a degree in culinary arts. CVTC is a moderately-sized public college located in the small city of Eau Claire. A Best Colleges rank of #410 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means CVTC is a great college overall.

There were approximately 21 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at CVTC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Chippewa Valley Technical College

4
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
45 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$30,232 Median Starting Salary

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in culinary arts. Cincinnati State is a medium-sized public college located in the large city of Cincinnati. A Best Colleges rank of #442 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Cincinnati State is a great college overall.

There were about 45 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Cincinnati State in the most recent year we have data available. Culinary Arts degree recipients from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College earn a boost of approximately $4,425 above the average earnings of culinary arts graduates.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College

5
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
$27,277 Median Starting Salary
$20,109 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Milwaukee, MATC is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #814 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means MATC is a great college overall.

There were approximately 25 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at MATC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the culinary arts program report average early career income of $27,277.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Milwaukee Area Technical College

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
$30,651 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Pewaukee, WCTC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #622 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means WCTC is a great college overall.

There were approximately 19 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at WCTC in the most recent data year. Culinary Arts degree recipients from Waukesha County Technical College receive an earnings boost of approximately $4,844 above the typical income of culinary arts majors.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Waukesha County Technical College

7
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
66 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
31.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 27th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 66 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Grand Rapids Community College in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, culinary arts degree recipients generally earn an average of $26,568 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Grand Rapids Community College

8
Baker College crest
Baker College
Owosso, MI
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
42 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$28,205 Median Starting Salary

Baker College is a small private not-for-profit college located in the distant town of Owosso. This college ranks 44th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were about 42 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Baker College in the most recent year we have data available. Those culinary arts students who get their degree from Baker College receive $2,398 more than the typical culinary arts graduate.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Baker College

9
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$24,945 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize suburb of Appleton, FVTC is a public college with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #578 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means FVTC is a great college overall.

There were approximately 76 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at FVTC in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, culinary arts degree recipients typically make around $24,945 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Fox Valley Technical College

9
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
56 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
53.6% Growth in Graduates

Schoolcraft College is a moderately-sized public college located in the small city of Livonia. This college ranks 37th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 56 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Schoolcraft College in the most recent year we have data available. Culinary Arts degree recipients from Schoolcraft College earn a boost of about $2,700 over the typical earnings of culinary arts majors.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Schoolcraft College

Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best culinary arts schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 228
Ohio 314 133
Illinois 304 253
Indiana 294 12
Wisconsin 273 106

View All Rankings >

Culinary Arts is one of 4 different types of Personal & Culinary Services programs to choose from.

Culinary Arts Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts/Chef Training 811
Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef 471
Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant 191
Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager 156
Culinary Science/Culinology 102
General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts 78
Other Culinary Arts & Related Services 59
Food Service, Waiter/Waitress, & Dining Room Management/Manager 18
Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter 9
Institutional Food Workers 4

View All Culinary Arts Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Cosmetology 13,309
Funeral & Mortuary Science 355
Other Personal & Culinary Services 1

View All Culinary Arts Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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