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Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region

2023 Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region

28 Colleges
$25,389 Avg Salary
$15,195 Avg Student Debt

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.

The Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 28 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones were the most popular associate degree programs for trade school students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Culinary Arts program at each school on the list.


 

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for culinary arts majors pursuing a associate degree.

Our analysis found Saint Louis Community College to be the most popular school for culinary arts students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Plains States Region . Saint Louis Community College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Bridgeton.

Women make up 60% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Saint Louis Community College carry an average student debt load of $9,079.

Full Culinary Arts at Saint Louis Community College Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Des Moines Area Community College is a great place for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 36% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

On average, culinary arts graduates from DMACC take out $9,745 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Culinary Arts at Des Moines Area Community College Report

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Metropolitan Community College is a great place for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of Omaha, MCC is a public school with a large student population.

Women make up 70% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southeast Community College Area. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Lincoln, Southeast Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Of the 14 students majoring in culinary arts at Southeast Community College, 50% are male and 50% are female.

The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Southeast Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $14,745.

Full Culinary Arts at Southeast Community College Area Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ozarks Technical Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Springfield, OTC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 24 students majoring in culinary arts at OTC, 38% are male and 63% are female.

Culinary Arts majors at OTC take out an average of $12,671 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Culinary Arts at Ozarks Technical Community College Report

#6

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, IA

With a ranking of #6, Kirkwood Community College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids, Kirkwood Community College is a public college with a large student population.

Of the 17 students majoring in culinary arts at Kirkwood Community College, 41% are male and 59% are female.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Kirkwood Community College

#7

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS

Johnson County Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the midsize city of Overland Park, JCCC is a public college with a large student population.

Of the 19 students majoring in culinary arts at JCCC, 37% are male and 63% are female.

Full Culinary Arts at Johnson County Community College Report

#7

Saint Paul College

Saint Paul, MN

With a ranking of #7, Saint Paul College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Saint Paul College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Saint Paul.

Of the 20 students majoring in culinary arts at Saint Paul College, 40% are male and 60% are female.

On average, culinary arts graduates from Saint Paul College take out $11,696 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Culinary Arts at Saint Paul College Report

#9

Butler Community College

El Dorado, KS

With a ranking of #9, Butler Community College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Butler CC is a medium-sized public school located in the town of El Dorado.

About 64% of the students majoring in culinary arts at the school are women while 36% are male.

On average, culinary arts graduates from Butler CC take out $15,471 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Culinary Arts at Butler Community College Report

#10

Central Community College

Grand Island, NE

Central Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Central Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Grand Island.

Women make up 80% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

Full Culinary Arts at Central Community College Report

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

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

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 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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