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2022 Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

8 Ranked Colleges
190 Degrees Awarded
$6,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 10,007 people earned their degree in culinary arts/chef training, making the major the 135th most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 809 culinary arts/chef training graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 190 culinary arts/chef training graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,469 and $14,548 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in culinary arts/chef training. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality culinary arts/chef training programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the culinary arts/chef training program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 8 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts/Chef Training (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Elgin Community College

Elgin, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Elgin Community College landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Elgin, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 7 diplomas to qualified associates’s culinary arts/chef training students in 2019-2020.

ECC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend ECC is $3,717 for illinois associate degree culinary arts/chef training students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Culinary Arts/Chef Training at Elgin Community College

#2

Joliet Junior College

Joliet, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Joliet Junior College. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Joliet Junior College is located in Joliet, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 58 associates’s culinary arts/chef training degrees to qualified students.

Joliet Junior College also made our “Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Joliet Junior College is $4,134 for Illinois Associate Degree Culinary Arts/Chef Training students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Culinary Arts/Chef Training at Joliet Junior College

#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s culinary arts/chef training degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois associate degree culinary arts/chef training students whose families make $30-$48k list, Kennedy-King College has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $5,764 for illinois associate degree culinary arts/chef training students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Kennedy-King College.

Read more about Culinary Arts/Chef Training at Kennedy-King College

#4

Richland Community College

Decatur, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Richland Community College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Richland Community College is a public institution located in Decatur, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 13 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Richland Community College also took the #5 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $3,900 for illinois associate degree culinary arts/chef training students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Richland Community College.

Read full report on Culinary Arts/Chef Training at Richland Community College

#5

Triton College

River Grove, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Triton College. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Triton College is a public institution located in River Grove, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 8 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois associate degree culinary arts/chef training students whose families make $30-$48k list, Triton College has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Triton College is $4,579 for Illinois Associate Degree Culinary Arts/Chef Training students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Culinary Arts/Chef Training at Triton College

#6

National Louis University

Chicago, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

National Louis University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 45 degrees to qualified associates’s culinary arts/chef training students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois associate degree culinary arts/chef training students whose families make $30-$48k list, NLU has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,403 for illinois associate degree culinary arts/chef training students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend NLU.

Full National Louis University Culinary Arts/Chef Training Report

#7

Rend Lake College

Ina, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

Rend Lake College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Ina, Illinois, this small public school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified associates’s culinary arts/chef training students in 2019-2020.

Rend Lake College also took the #8 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $5,283 for illinois associate degree culinary arts/chef training students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Rend Lake College.

Read more about Culinary Arts/Chef Training at Rend Lake College

#8

Saint Augustine College

Chicago, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

Saint Augustine College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 6 diplomas to qualified associates’s culinary arts/chef training students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois associate degree culinary arts/chef training students whose families make $30-$48k list, St. Augustine College has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Saint Augustine College is $12,491 for Illinois Associate Degree Culinary Arts/Chef Training students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Saint Augustine College Culinary Arts/Chef Training Report

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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