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Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

11 Colleges
$9,351 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$25,389 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, culinary arts was ranked #11 in the country. In fact 22,075 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2021-2022.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for trade school students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience.

The Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 11 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for culinary arts students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Check out the culinary arts associate degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Clover Park Technical College the best value school in the Far Western US Region for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. CPTC is a small public school located in the small city of Lakewood.

CPTC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,979 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Clover Park Technical College

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Hawaii Maui College is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. UH Maui College is a small public school located in the city of Kahului.

UH Maui College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,420 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#3

Cerritos College

Norwalk, CA

Out of the 11 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Cerritos College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Cerritos College is a large public school located in the large suburb of Norwalk.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Cerritos College are $10,324 a year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Cerritos College

The excellent associate degree programs at Kapiolani Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value culinary arts schools in the Far Western US Region . Kapiolani CC is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Honolulu.

Kapiolani CC undergraduate students pay an average of $8,420 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Kapiolani CC carry an average student debtload of $11,265.

Read More…

Out of the 11 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Southwestern Oregon Community College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the remote town of Coos Bay, SWOCC is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SWOCC are $6,637 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from SWOCC carry an average student debtload of $12,998.

Read More…

#6

Riverside City College

Riverside, CA

Riverside City College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. Located in the city of Riverside, Riverside City College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Riverside City College are $10,000 a year.

Full Culinary Arts at Riverside City College Report

Hawaii Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the town of Hilo, Hawaii CC is a public college with a small student population.

Hawaii CC undergraduate students pay an average of $8,340 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Hawaii Community College

With a ranking of #8, Central Oregon Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Bend, COCC is a public college with a small student population.

COCC undergraduate students pay an average of $12,609 in tuition and fees each year. On average, culinary arts graduates from COCC take out $12,650 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Lake Washington Institute of Technology ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large suburb of Kirkland, LWTech is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at LWTech are $10,390 a year.

Full Culinary Arts at Lake Washington Institute of Technology Report

#10

College of Southern Nevada

Las Vegas, NV

College of Southern Nevada ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. CSN is a very large public school located in the large city of Las Vegas.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSN are $11,869 per year. Culinary Arts majors at CSN take out an average of $13,419 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best culinary arts schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 342
California 1,378
Oregon 123
Nevada 74
Alaska 33
Hawaii 212

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 11 schools only.

  • 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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