2023 Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools in Iowa

3 Colleges

$25,889 Avg Salary

$9,615 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Culinary Arts School for You

In 2021-2022, 200 degrees and certificates were awarded to culinary arts students who went to a Iowa college or university. This makes it the #12 most popular major in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for trade school students. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools in Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 3 schools in Iowa to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for trade school students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Culinary Arts Schools in Iowa

The following schools top our list of the Best Culinary Arts Colleges.

Top Iowa Trade Schools in Culinary Arts

Des Moines Area Community College

Ankeny, IA

45 Degrees

Our 2023 rankings named Des Moines Area Community College the best school in Iowa for culinary arts students. DMACC is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Ankeny.

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, IA

40 Degrees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Kirkwood Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Trade Schools in Iowa list. Kirkwood Community College is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Cedar Rapids.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Kirkwood Community College

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Western Iowa Tech Community College

Sioux City, IA

33 Degrees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Western Iowa Tech Community College is a great place for culinary arts students. Located in the city of Sioux City, Western Iowa Tech Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Best Culinary Arts Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Degrees Awarded
Kansas	96
Missouri	87
Minnesota	125
South Dakota	3
North Dakota	4
Nebraska	130

Culinary Arts is one of 4 different types of trade school programs to choose from.

Culinary Arts Concentrations

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

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 3 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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