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2025 Best Culinary Arts Schools in North Carolina

5 Colleges in North Carolina
733 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$24,750 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in culinary arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #97 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual looked at 5 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Culinary Arts Schools in North Carolina ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 733 degrees in culinary arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Culinary Arts School

Best Culinary Arts Schools in North Carolina Your choice of culinary arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for culinary arts schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Culinary Arts Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Culinary Arts
Bachelor's Degrees in Culinary Arts

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Culinary Arts Schools in North Carolina ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Culinary Arts in North Carolina

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the culinary arts degree levels they offer.

Top North Carolina Schools in Culinary Arts

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
218 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
5.5% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte if you want to pursue a degree in culinary arts. JWU Charlotte is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Charlotte. A Best Colleges rank of #208 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means JWU Charlotte is a great university overall.

There were approximately 218 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at JWU Charlotte in the most recent year we have data available. Those culinary arts students who get their degree from Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte make $2,868 more than the average culinary arts grad.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte

2
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NC
68 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in culinary arts has to look into Wake Technical Community College. Wake Technical Community College is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Raleigh. A Best Colleges rank of #461 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Wake Technical Community College is a great college overall.

There were about 68 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Wake Technical Community College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Wake Technical Community College

3
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
38 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
21.1% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in culinary arts needs to check out Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. A-B Tech is a medium-sized public college located in the city of Asheville. This college ranks 26th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 38 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at A-B Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Those culinary arts students who get their degree from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College earn $7,852 more than the standard culinary arts grad.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College

4
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
85 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$27,127 Median Starting Salary

Central Piedmont Community College is a good choice for students interested in a degree in culinary arts. Located in the city of Charlotte, Central Piedmont Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 18th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were approximately 85 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Central Piedmont Community College in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the culinary arts major at Central Piedmont Community College earn $2,377 above the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Central Piedmont Community College

5
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
69 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
24.6% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Jamestown, Guilford Technical Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 24th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were about 69 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Guilford Technical Community College in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the culinary arts program earn an average of $14,813 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Guilford Technical Community College

Best Culinary Arts Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Culinary Arts Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 192
Florida 282 298
Virginia 274 261
Tennessee 269 36
South Carolina 248 85
Kentucky 244 109
Louisiana 242 132
Mississippi 234 105
Arkansas 234 53
Alabama 233 64
West Virginia 207 33

View All Rankings >

Culinary Arts is one of 4 different types of Personal & Culinary Services programs to choose from.

Culinary Arts Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts/Chef Training 494
Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef 231
Institutional Food Workers 7
Culinary Science/Culinology 1

View All Culinary Arts Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Cosmetology 2,824
Funeral & Mortuary Science 106

View All Culinary Arts Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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