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2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $30-$48k) in California

8 Ranked Colleges
469 Degrees Awarded
$5,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California 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. 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 for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k” 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 California, there were 1,907 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $24,600 and $22,956 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 469 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,451 and $19,634 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in culinary arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality culinary arts 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 program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Culinary Arts Schools

The culinary arts school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to 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 for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 8 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $30-$48k) in California

#1

Orange Coast College

Costa Mesa, California

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Orange Coast College landed the #1 spot on the list. Orange Coast College is a fairly large school located in Costa Mesa, California that handed out 25 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $30-$48k list, Orange Coast College has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Orange Coast College is $3,002 for california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Orange Coast College Culinary Arts Report

#2

Santa Rosa Junior College

Santa Rosa, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Santa Rosa Junior College. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Santa Rosa Junior College is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Rosa, California. It awarded 14 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SRJC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Santa Rosa Junior College is $4,975 for California Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Santa Rosa Junior College

#3

Cypress College

Cypress, California
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Cypress College landed the #3 spot on the list. Cypress, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s culinary arts degrees to 29 students in 2019-2020.

Cypress College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Cypress College is $3,094 for california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Cypress College Culinary Arts Report

#4

San Diego Mesa College

San Diego, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego Mesa College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in San Diego, California, this large public school handed out 9 diplomas to qualified associates’s culinary arts students in 2019-2020.

San Diego Mesa College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for San Diego Mesa College is $4,861 for California Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at San Diego Mesa College

#5

Riverside City College

Riverside, California
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Riverside City College landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school handed out 17 degrees to qualified associates’s culinary arts students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $30-$48k list, Riverside City College has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Riverside City College

#6

Los Angeles Trade Technical College

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles Trade Technical College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Los Angeles Trade Technical College is a fairly large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 42 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Los Angeles Trade Technical College also took the #1 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $6,814 for california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Los Angeles Trade Technical College.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Los Angeles Trade Technical College

#7

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara, California
#8 in overall quality

Santa Barbara City College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #7. SBCC is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 associates’s culinary arts degrees to qualified students.

SBCC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Santa Barbara City College is $6,423 for California Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Santa Barbara City College Culinary Arts Report

#8

Laney College

Oakland, California

Laney College landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Laney College is located in Oakland, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 associates’s culinary arts degrees to qualified students.

Laney College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Laney College is $12,428 for california associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Laney College Culinary Arts Report

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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