2022 Best Value Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $0-$30k) in Colorado

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 21,906 people earned their degree in culinary arts, making the major the 80th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, culinary arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $23,822 and had an average of $19,004 in loans still to pay off.

Across Colorado, there were 1,721 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $26,100 and $17,054 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in culinary arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great culinary arts programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the culinary arts program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Culinary Arts Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for 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.

Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for colorado culinary arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $0-$30k) in Colorado

#1

Pikes Peak Community College

Colorado Springs, Colorado

#2 in overall quality

$8,861 Average Net Price

$31,400 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Pikes Peak Community College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and it awarded 85 ’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

PPCC also made our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend PPCC is $8,861 for colorado culinary arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Pikes Peak Community College

#2

Colorado Mesa University

Grand Junction, Colorado

#3 in overall quality

$12,708 Average Net Price

$35,568 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Colorado Mesa University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k. Colorado Mesa University is located in Grand Junction, Colorado and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 31 ’s culinary arts degrees to qualified students.

Colorado Mesa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado” list. It costs about $12,708 for Colorado Culinary Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Colorado Mesa.

Full Colorado Mesa University Culinary Arts Report

#3

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder

Boulder, Colorado

#4 in overall quality

$9,889 Average Net Price

$24,600 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder landed the #3 spot on the list. Escoffier - Boulder is a medium-sized school located in Boulder, Colorado that handed out 1,230 ’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Escoffier - Boulder also made our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $9,889 for Colorado Culinary Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder.

Full Escoffier - Boulder Culinary Arts Report

#4

Johnson & Wales University - Denver

Denver, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$23,662 Average Net Price

$33,015 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Johnson & Wales University - Denver. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k list. Denver, Colorado is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s culinary arts degrees to 118 students in 2019-2020.

JWU Denver not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Culinary Arts Schools in Colorado” list. The yearly cost to attend JWU Denver is $23,662 for colorado culinary arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Culinary Arts at JWU Denver

• Best Value Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Rocky Mountains Region
• Best Value Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $0-$30k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to U.S. Army Europe Images.

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