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2024 Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Southwest Region

20 Colleges in the Southwest Region
2,247 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$24,361 Avg Early-Career Salary
Culinary Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #97 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 20 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 2,247 degrees in culinary arts to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Culinary Arts School

Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Southwest Region The culinary arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Culinary Arts rankings. We derive our Best Overall Culinary Arts School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Culinary Arts Rankings by Degree Level

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Culinary Arts in the Southwest Region

The schools below may not offer all types of culinary arts degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools in Culinary Arts

1
El Centro College crest
El Centro College
Dallas, TX
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
117 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$28,035 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in culinary arts needs to look into El Centro College. El Centro College is a very large public college located in the city of Dallas. A Best Colleges rank of #362 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means El Centro College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 117 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at El Centro College in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the culinary arts program at El Centro College get $3,674 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from El Centro College

2
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$20,663 Median Starting Salary

Houston Community College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in culinary arts. Located in the large city of Houston, Houston Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #308 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Houston Community College is a great college overall.

There were roughly 53 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Houston Community College in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the culinary arts program make about $20,663 for their early career.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Houston Community College

3
Lee College crest
Lee College
Baytown, TX
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
13th Most Popular In TX
113 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat Lee College if you wish to pursue a degree in culinary arts. Located in the city of Baytown, Lee College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #89 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Lee College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 113 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Lee College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Lee College

4
St Philip's College crest
St Philip's College
San Antonio, TX
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
112 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$25,289 Median Starting Salary

St Philip's College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in culinary arts. Located in the large city of San Antonio, St Philip's College is a public college with a large student population. This college ranks 46th out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were approximately 112 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at St Philip's College in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the culinary arts program make an average of $25,289 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from St Philip’s College

5
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In TX
56 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded

San Jacinto College is a fairly large public college located in the suburb of Pasadena. This college ranks 36th out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were about 56 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at San Jacinto College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from San Jacinto Community College

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
70 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$21,957 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Albuquerque, CNM is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #534 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means CNM is a great college overall.

There were approximately 70 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at CNM in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, culinary arts degree recipients usually make around $21,957 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Central New Mexico Community College

7
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
249 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$24,859 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Austin, Escoffier - Austin is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

There were about 249 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Escoffier - Austin in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, culinary arts degree recipients generally earn about $24,859 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Austin

8
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
$28,696 Median Starting Salary

Austin Community College District is a fairly large public college located in the city of Austin. A Best Colleges rank of #640 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Austin Community College District is a great college overall.

There were about 17 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Austin Community College District in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the culinary arts major at Austin Community College District make $4,335 above the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Austin Community College District

9
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
$27,245 Median Starting Salary
$18,750 Median Student Debt

Located in the distant town of Okmulgee, OSU Institute of Technology is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 7th out of 32 schools for overall quality in the state of Oklahoma.

There were roughly 24 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at OSU Institute of Technology in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the culinary arts degree program at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology earn $2,884 more than the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology

10
DMC crest
Del Mar College
Corpus Christi, TX
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
24th Most Popular In TX

DMC is a moderately-sized public college located in the large city of Corpus Christi. A Best Colleges rank of #613 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means DMC is a great college overall.

There were approximately 5 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at DMC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Del Mar College

Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 317 701
Arizona 287 87
Oklahoma 257 26
New Mexico 219 42

View All Rankings >

One of 4 majors within the Personal & Culinary Services area of study, Culinary Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Culinary Arts Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts/Chef Training 1,224
Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef 413
General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts 383
Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager 75
Food Service, Waiter/Waitress, & Dining Room Management/Manager 49
Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant 38
Institutional Food Workers 35
Culinary Science/Culinology 11
Other Culinary Arts & Related Services 10
Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter 8

View All Culinary Arts Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Culinary Arts

Related Major Annual Graduates
Cosmetology 15,959
Funeral & Mortuary Science 439
Other Personal & Culinary Services 6

View All Culinary Arts Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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