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2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You
Culinary Arts is the #11 most popular major in the country with 22,075 degrees and certificates awarded in 2021-2022.
It's not easy to decide which trade school program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.
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 the Southwest Region ranking. This report analyzed 22 schools in the Southwest Region 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.
Top 10 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Lee College the best value school in the Southwest Region for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Baytown, Lee College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Lee College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,302 in tuition and fees each year.
Lee College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Southwest Region list.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means El Centro College is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at El Centro College are $6,000 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from El Centro College carry an average student debtload of $9,985.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, El Centro College is ranked #4 for overall quality for culinary arts in the Southwest Region .
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means South Plains College is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the distant town of Levelland, South Plains College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
South Plains College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,857 in tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Grayson College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value culinary arts schools in the Southwest Region . Located in the rural area of Denison, Grayson College is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Grayson College are $5,692 a year.
Full Culinary Arts at Grayson College Report
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jacinto Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the suburb of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at San Jacinto College are $5,040 a year.
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Del Mar College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. Located in the large city of Corpus Christi, DMC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DMC are $5,990 per year.
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With a ranking of #7, Houston Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Houston Community College is a very large public school located in the large city of Houston.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Houston Community College are $5,460 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Houston Community College carry an average student debtload of $19,775.
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With a ranking of #8, Kilgore College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Kilgore College is a moderately-sized public school located in the fringe town of Kilgore.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kilgore College are $5,256 per year.
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Austin Community College District ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the large city of Austin, Austin Community College District is a public college with a very large student population.
Austin Community College District undergraduate students pay an average of $10,590 in tuition and fees each year.
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Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. OSU Institute of Technology is a small public school located in the distant town of Okmulgee.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at OSU Institute of Technology are $11,384 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at OSU Institute of Technology accumulate an average of around $15,266 in student debt.
OSU Institute of Technology also claimed a spot on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
Request InformationBest Culinary Arts Colleges by State
Explore the best culinary arts colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Arizona | 376 |
| Texas | 1,430 |
| Oklahoma | 332 |
| New Mexico | 109 |
Culinary Arts Related Majors for 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
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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 22 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.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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