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Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Florida

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Florida

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

8 Colleges
$7,548 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$25,389 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You

In 2021-2022, 1,298 degrees and certificates were awarded to culinary arts students who went to a Florida college or university. This makes it the #14 most popular major in the state.

It's not easy to decide which trade school program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 Florida ranking. This report analyzed 8 schools in Florida to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for culinary arts students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

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

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

#1

Miami Dade College

Miami, FL

Our 2023 rankings named Miami Dade College the best value school in Florida for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of Miami, MDC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at MDC are $2,838 a year. On average, culinary arts graduates from MDC take out $15,167 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, MDC is ranked #5 for overall quality for culinary arts in Florida.

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#2

Valencia College

Orlando, FL

Out of the 8 schools in Florida that were part of this year’s ranking, Valencia College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Orlando, Valencia College is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Valencia College are $2,474 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at Valencia College accumulate an average of around $16,761 in student debt.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Valencia College is ranked #4 for overall quality for culinary arts in Florida.

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#3

Pensacola State College

Pensacola, FL

Out of the 8 schools in Florida that were part of this year’s ranking, Pensacola State College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Pensacola, Pensacola State is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Pensacola State undergraduate students pay an average of $2,365 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#4

Daytona State College

Daytona Beach, FL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Daytona State College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Florida list. Daytona State College is a large public school located in the small city of Daytona Beach.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Daytona State College are $3,106 per year. Culinary Arts majors at Daytona State College take out an average of $13,578 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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#5

Indian River State College

Fort Pierce, FL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indian River State College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Florida list. Located in the suburb of Fort Pierce, Indian River State College is a public college with a large student population.

Indian River State College undergraduate students pay an average of $2,764 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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With a ranking of #6, Eastern Florida State College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Melbourne, EFSC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

EFSC undergraduate students pay an average of $2,791 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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With a ranking of #7, AI Miami International University of Art and Design did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of Miami, International Fine Arts College is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

International Fine Arts College undergraduate students pay an average of $20,794 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at International Fine Arts College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $19,726. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $213.

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#8

Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale, FL

With a ranking of #8, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Fort Lauderdale.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale are $23,248 per year. On average, culinary arts graduates from Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale take out $20,082 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $271.

Full Culinary Arts at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale Report

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Best Value Culinary Arts Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
South Carolina 215
Georgia 864
Arkansas 283
North Carolina 811
West Virginia 59
Virginia 357
Louisiana 367
Tennessee 104
Alabama 94
Kentucky 359
Mississippi 320

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 8 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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