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2023 Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools
Finding the Best Culinary Arts School for You
In 2021-2022, 22,075 people earned a degree or certificate in culinary arts, making the major the #11 most popular in the United States.
There are so many trade school programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 190 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for trade school students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Culinary Arts Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Culinary Arts Colleges.
Top 25 Top Trade Schools in Culinary Arts
Our 2023 rankings named Institute of Culinary Education - Los Angeles the best school in the United States for culinary arts students. Located in the midsize city of Pasadena, Institute of Culinary Education - Los Angeles is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Institute of Culinary Education. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools list. Institute of Culinary Education is a small private for-profit school located in the city of New York.
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The excellent programs at Arizona Culinary Institute helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best culinary arts schools in the United States. Located in the city of Scottsdale, Arizona Culinary Institute is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
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The excellent programs at Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best culinary arts schools in the United States. Located in the medium-sized city of Boulder, Escoffier - Boulder is a private for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Culinary Institute of America. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools list. The Culinary Institute of America is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Hyde Park.
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Lincoln Technical Institute - Shelton came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Shelton, Lincoln Tech - Shelton is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
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With a ranking of #7, Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for culinary arts students. IUP is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Indiana.
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Chippewa Valley Technical College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools list. Located in the city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
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Metro Technology Centers came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Oklahoma City, Metro Technology Centers is a public school with a small student population.
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With a ranking of #10, El Centro College did quite well on this year’s best schools for culinary arts students. Located in the city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Johnson County Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for culinary arts students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Overland Park, JCCC is a public college with a large student population.
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Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Austin came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Austin, Escoffier - Austin is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
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International Air and Hospitality Academy did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for culinary arts students. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the city of Vancouver, International Air and Hospitality Academy is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
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Saint Paul College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for culinary arts students. It came in at #14 on the list. Saint Paul College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Saint Paul.
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Madison Area Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for culinary arts students. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the city of Madison, Madison College is a public school with a large student population.
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University of Hawaii Maui College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Kahului, UH Maui College is a public college with a small student population.
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Cerritos College landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best culinary arts programs. Located in the suburb of Norwalk, Cerritos College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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National Louis University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for culinary arts students. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the large city of Chicago, NLU is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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Des Moines Area Community College ranked #19 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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North Shore Community College ranked #20 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools list. Located in the suburb of Danvers, North Shore Community College is a public college with a small student population.
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Clover Park Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for culinary arts students. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the city of Lakewood, CPTC is a public college with a small student population.
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Pickens Technical College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Aurora, Pickens Technical College is a public college with a fairly small student population.
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Waukesha County Technical College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Pewaukee, WCTC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
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CET, San Jose ranked #24 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools list. Located in the large city of San Jose, CET, San Jose is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
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The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
Read full report on Culinary Arts at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College
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Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Culinary Arts students that almost earned our Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 29 | Pennsylvania College of Technology | Williamsport, PA |
| 30 | Tulsa Technology Center | Tulsa, OK |
| 31 | Davis Technical College | Kaysville, UT |
| 32 | Wake Technical Community College | Raleigh, NC |
| 33 | Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte | Charlotte, NC |
| 34 | Cincinnati State Technical and Community College | Cincinnati, OH |
| 35 | Atlantic Technical College | Coconut Creek, FL |
| 36 | Culinary Institute Inc | Houston, TX |
| 37 | Dorsey College Roseville Campus (Culinary) | Roseville, MI |
| 38 | Athens Technical College | Athens, GA |
Culinary Arts by Region
View the Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Other U.S. Territories |
| Great Lakes |
Rankings in Majors Related to Culinary Arts
One of 4 majors within the trade school area of study, culinary arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
Culinary Arts Focus Areas
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Culinary Arts/Chef Training | 10,546 |
| Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef | 5,029 |
| General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts | 3,303 |
| Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager | 1,394 |
| Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant | 786 |
| Other Culinary Arts & Related Services | 335 |
| Institutional Food Workers | 204 |
| Culinary Science/Culinology | 203 |
| Bartending/Bartender | 157 |
| Food Service, Waiter/Waitress, & Dining Room Management/Manager | 82 |
| Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter | 28 |
| Wine Steward/Sommelier | 8 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Culinary Arts
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Cosmetology | 124,611 |
| Funeral & Mortuary Science | 2,186 |
| Casino Operations and Services | 385 |
| Other Personal & Culinary Services | 95 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 the rest 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to U.S. Army Europe Images.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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