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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.

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

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for personal & culinary services majors pursuing a associate degree.

Top 10 Best Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Schools

#1

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS

Our 2023 rankings named Johnson County Community College the best value school in the Plains States Region for personal & culinary services students working on their associate degree. JCCC is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Overland Park.

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

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

Read More…

#2

Saint Paul College

Saint Paul, MN

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Saint Paul College is a great value for personal & culinary services students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, Saint Paul College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

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

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Saint Paul College

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

#4

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

Out of the 11 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ridgewater College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the town of Willmar, Ridgewater College is a public college with a small student population.

Ridgewater College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,114 in tuition and fees each year.

Ridgewater College also claimed a spot on our Best Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

Out of the 11 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Kansas City Kansas Community College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Kansas City Kansas Community College is a small public school located in the medium-sized city of Kansas City.

Kansas City Kansas Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,244 in tuition and fees each year.

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#6

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, IA

With a ranking of #6, Kirkwood Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for personal & culinary services students working on their associate degree. Kirkwood Community College is a large public school located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kirkwood Community College are $7,604 per year.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Kirkwood Community College Report

Des Moines Area Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. DMACC is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Ankeny.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at DMACC are $10,680 a year.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Des Moines Area Community College Report

Ozarks Technical Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. OTC is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Springfield.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at OTC are $6,368 per year.

Read More…

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 school with a medium-sized student population.

Western Iowa Tech Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,946 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Western Iowa Tech Community College

#10

Butler Community College

El Dorado, KS

Butler 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 #10 on the list. Located in the distant town of El Dorado, Butler CC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Butler CC are $6,010 a year.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Butler Community College

Best Personal & Culinary Services Colleges by State

Explore the best personal & culinary services colleges 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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