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Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

2023 Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

11 Colleges
$5,993 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$26,556 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree School for You

In 2021-2022, 149,352 personal & culinary services students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #2 most popular in the country.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which trade school program is right for you. 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 Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 11 schools in the Plains States Region to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for personal & culinary services 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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

Top 10 Best Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Schools

#1

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS

Our analysis found Johnson County Community College to be the best value school for personal & culinary services students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Plains States Region . JCCC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Overland Park.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at JCCC are $5,472 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, JCCC also is in the top 20% of our Best Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

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#2

Saint Paul College

Saint Paul, MN

The excellent associate degree programs at Saint Paul College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value personal & culinary services schools in the Plains States Region . Located in the large city of Saint Paul, Saint Paul College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Saint Paul College are $6,318 a year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southeast Community College Area. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Southeast Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Lincoln.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeast Community College are $3,864 per year.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Southeast Community College Area Report

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#4

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ridgewater College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the town of Willmar, Ridgewater College is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ridgewater College are $6,114 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Ridgewater College is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list.

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The excellent associate degree programs at Kansas City Kansas Community College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value personal & culinary services schools in the Plains States Region . Kansas City Kansas Community College is a small public school located in the midsize city of Kansas City.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kansas City Kansas Community College are $6,244 per year.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Kansas City Kansas Community College Report

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#6

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, IA

Kirkwood Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Kirkwood Community College is a large public school located in the city of Cedar Rapids.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Kirkwood Community College are $7,604 a year.

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With a ranking of #7, Des Moines Area Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for personal & culinary services students working on their associate degree. DMACC is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Ankeny.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DMACC are $10,680 per year.

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Ozarks Technical Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for personal & culinary services students to get a associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. OTC is a large public school located in the city of Springfield.

OTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,368 in tuition and fees each year.

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Western Iowa Tech Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree personal & culinary services programs. Located in the small city of Sioux City, Western Iowa Tech Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,946 a year.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Western Iowa Tech Community College Report

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#10

Butler Community College

El Dorado, KS

Butler Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree personal & culinary services programs. Located in the distant town of El Dorado, Butler CC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Butler CC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,010 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Butler Community College Report

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Best Personal & Culinary Services Colleges by State

Explore the best personal & culinary services schools for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 1,296
Minnesota 1,197
Iowa 953
South Dakota 212
North Dakota 207
Missouri 1,495
Nebraska 571

Personal & Culinary Services Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Cosmetology 124,611
Culinary Arts 22,075
Funeral & Mortuary Science 2,186
Casino Operations and Services 385
Other Personal & Culinary Services 95

Majors Similar to Personal & Culinary Services

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanic & Repair Technologies 105,741
Precision Production 55,411
Construction Trades 40,802
Transportation & Materials Moving 33,306

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 11 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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