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Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

9 Colleges
$14,293 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$25,389 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You

In 2021-2022, 327 degrees and certificates were awarded to culinary arts students who went to a Pennsylvania college or university. This makes it the #17 most popular major in the state.

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. 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in Pennsylvania 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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.


 

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

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

Best Pennsylvania Schools for Affordable Quality for an Associate in Culinary Arts

Our analysis found Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus to be the best value school for culinary arts students who want to pursue a associate degree in Pennsylvania. IUP is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Indiana.

IUP undergraduate students pay an average of $11,320 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

IUP did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Pennsylvania list.

Read More…

The excellent associate degree programs at Community College of Philadelphia helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value culinary arts schools in Pennsylvania. Community College of Philadelphia is a large public school located in the city of Philadelphia.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Community College of Philadelphia are $8,688 a year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Community College of Philadelphia

Out of the 9 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Pennsylvania College of Technology landed the # 3 spot on the list. Penn College is a small public school located in the city of Williamsport.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Penn College are $17,940 a year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Pennsylvania College of Technology

Out of the 9 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Montgomery County Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Blue Bell, Montco is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Montco undergraduate students pay an average of $10,650 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Montgomery County Community College

#5

Jna Institute of Culinary Arts

Philadelphia, PA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Jna Institute of Culinary Arts. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Jna Institute of Culinary Arts is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Jna Institute of Culinary Arts are $14,575 per year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Jna Institute of Culinary Arts take out while working on their Associate Degree is $12,690.

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Pittsburgh Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Pittsburgh Technical College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Oakdale.

Pittsburgh Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $16,974 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College are $23,550 per year. Culinary Arts majors at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College take out an average of $14,784 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $423, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

With a ranking of #8, Northampton County Area Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Northampton Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Bethlehem.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northampton Community College are $10,650 per year.

Full Culinary Arts at Northampton County Area Community College Report

YTI Career Institute-York did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #9 on the list. YTI is a small private for-profit school located in the suburb of York.

Culinary Arts majors at YTI take out an average of $17,224 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Culinary Arts at YTI Career Institute-York Report

Best Value Culinary Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Value Culinary Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 1,514
New Jersey 167
Maryland 153
Delaware 30

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

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 9 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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