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2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States 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.
Today's trade school students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in the Plains States 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.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
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2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Colleges.
Best Plains States Region Schools for Affordable Quality for an Associate in Culinary Arts
Our analysis found Johnson County Community College to be the best value school for culinary arts students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Plains States Region . Located in the midsize city of Overland Park, JCCC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at JCCC are $5,472 per year.
JCCC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list.
Full Culinary Arts at Johnson County Community College Report
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Saint Paul College is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Saint Paul College is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Saint Paul.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Saint Paul College are $6,318 a year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Saint Paul College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $11,696.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Southeast Community College Area is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Lincoln, Southeast Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeast Community College are $3,864 per year. On average, culinary arts graduates from Southeast Community College take out $14,745 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Kirkwood Community College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Cedar Rapids, Kirkwood Community College is a public college with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kirkwood Community College are $7,604 per year.
Read full report on Culinary Arts at Kirkwood Community College
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Des Moines Area Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DMACC are $10,680 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from DMACC carry an average student debtload of $9,745.
Ozarks Technical Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Springfield, OTC is a public school with a large student population.
OTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,368 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at OTC accumulate an average of around $12,671 in student debt.
Western Iowa Tech Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Western Iowa Tech Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Sioux City.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,946 per year.
Read full report on Culinary Arts at Western Iowa Tech Community College
Butler Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Butler CC is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of El Dorado.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Butler CC are $6,010 a year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Butler CC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $15,471.
Saint Louis Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Saint Louis Community College is a large public school located in the large suburb of Bridgeton.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Saint Louis Community College are $6,990 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Saint Louis Community College carry an average student debtload of $9,079.
Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State
Explore the best culinary arts colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Kansas | 96 |
| Missouri | 87 |
| Minnesota | 125 |
| South Dakota | 3 |
| Iowa | 200 |
| North Dakota | 4 |
| Nebraska | 130 |
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
Majors Similar to Culinary Arts
| 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.