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2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate School for You
In 2021-2022, 22,075 people earned a degree or certificate in culinary arts, making the major the #11 most popular in the United States.
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. 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Trade College Search has created the Best Value Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 93 schools in the United States to see which basic certificate 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.
Top 15% Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Schools
Our 2023 rankings named El Centro College the best value school in the United States for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at El Centro College are $6,000 a year.
El Centro College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools list.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Lee College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the small city of Baytown, Lee College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Lee College are $4,302 a year.
Lee College also claimed a spot on our Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Chippewa Valley Technical College is a great value for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Located in the city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
CVTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,793 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, CVTC is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools list.
Full Culinary Arts at Chippewa Valley Technical College Report
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The excellent basic certificate programs at Clover Park Technical College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value culinary arts schools in the United States. Located in the small city of Lakewood, CPTC is a public school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CPTC are $5,979 per year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Southeast Community College Area. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the large city of Lincoln, Southeast Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeast Community College are $3,864 per year.
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Madison Area Technical College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate culinary arts programs. Located in the city of Madison, Madison College is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Madison College are $6,812 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Madison College also is in the top 5% of our Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking.
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With a ranking of #7, Saint Paul College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Saint Paul College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Saint Paul.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Saint Paul College are $6,318 per year.
Saint Paul College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools list.
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Athens Technical College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Schools list. Athens Technical College is a small public school located in the midsize city of Athens.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Athens Technical College are $5,462 per year.
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With a ranking of #9, Gwinnett Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Located in the suburb of Lawrenceville, GTC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
GTC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,686 in tuition and fees each year.
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Gateway Technical College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate culinary arts programs. Gateway Technical College is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Kenosha.
Gateway Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,917 in tuition and fees each year.
Gateway Technical College also claimed a spot on our Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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South Plains College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the distant town of Levelland, South Plains College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Plains College are $4,857 per year.
Full Culinary Arts at South Plains College Report
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West Georgia Technical College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate culinary arts programs. West Georgia Technical College is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Waco.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at West Georgia Technical College are $5,522 per year.
Full Culinary Arts at West Georgia Technical College Report
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Georgia Northwestern Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #13 on the list. Georgia Northwestern Technical College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Rome.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Georgia Northwestern Technical College are $5,512 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Georgia Northwestern Technical College also is in the top 15% of our Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Central Georgia Technical College | Warner Robins, GA |
| 15 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | Valdosta, GA |
| 16 | Arkansas State University - Newport | Newport, AR |
| 17 | Southern Crescent Technical College | Griffin, GA |
| 18 | Fox Valley Technical College | Appleton, WI |
| 18 | Pickens Technical College | Aurora, CO |
Culinary Arts by Region
View the Best Value Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Other U.S. Territories |
| Great Lakes |
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 Majors Related 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 25 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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