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2025 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

10 Colleges in the Southwest Region
758 Associate Degrees
$26,587 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a associate degree in culinary arts, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #23 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 10 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 758 associate degrees in culinary arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Culinary Arts School for Your Associate Degree

Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region Your choice of culinary arts for getting your associate degree school matters. Important measures of a quality culinary arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their associate degree from the school. After all, your associate degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for culinary arts students working on their associate degree.

More Ways to Rank Culinary Arts Schools

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More Culinary Arts Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Culinary Arts in the Southwest Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in culinary arts.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools for an Associate in Culinary Arts

1
El Centro College crest
El Centro College
Dallas, TX

It's hard to beat El Centro College if you want to pursue an associate degree in culinary arts. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a very large student population.

Culinary Arts associate degree recipients from El Centro College get an earnings boost of around $5,183 over the typical earnings of culinary arts majors.

More information about a associate in culinary arts from El Centro College

2
17 Annual Graduates

San Jacinto Community College is one of the best schools in the country for getting an associate degree in culinary arts. Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public college with a very large student population.More information about a associate in culinary arts from San Jacinto Community College

3
Lee College crest
Lee College
Baytown, TX
24 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in culinary arts needs to take a look at Lee College. Lee College is a moderately-sized public college located in the small city of Baytown.More information about a associate in culinary arts from Lee College

4

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in culinary arts has to look into Houston Community College. Houston Community College is a very large public college located in the large city of Houston.

After graduating, culinary arts associate recipients usually make around $26,419 in their early careers.

More information about a associate in culinary arts from Houston Community College

5

OSU Institute of Technology is a small public university located in the distant town of Okmulgee.

Students who graduate with their associate from the culinary arts program report average early career income of $25,272.

More information about a associate in culinary arts from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology

6

CNM is a fairly large public college located in the city of Albuquerque.

After graduation, culinary arts associate recipients generally make around $23,139 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a associate in culinary arts from Central New Mexico Community College

7

TSTC is a large public college located in the medium-sized city of Waco.

Associate students who receive their degree from the culinary arts program earn an average of $26,927 for their early career.

More information about a associate in culinary arts from Texas State Technical College

8
12 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Fort Worth, Tarrant County College is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in culinary arts from Tarrant County College District

9
197 Annual Graduates
$26,613 Median Starting Salary
$12,094 Median Student Debt

Escoffier - Austin is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of Austin.

Students who graduate with their associate from the culinary arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $26,613.

More information about a associate in culinary arts from Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Austin

10
93 Annual Graduates
$28,089 Median Starting Salary
$19,101 Median Student Debt

Culinary Institute LeNotre is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of Houston.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the culinary arts program make an average of $28,089 for their early career.

More information about a associate in culinary arts from Culinary Institute Inc

Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best culinary arts colleges for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 200 669
Arizona 169 87
New Mexico 140 38
Oklahoma 136 26

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One of 4 majors within the Personal & Culinary Services area of study, Culinary Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Culinary Arts Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts/Chef Training 470
Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef 172
General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts 86
Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager 15
Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant 7
Institutional Food Workers 5
Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter 3

Related Major Annual Graduates
Funeral & Mortuary Science 337
Cosmetology 252

Notes and References

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