2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Culinary Arts is the 80th most popular major in the country with 21,906 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Iowa, there were 177 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,000 and $13,021 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 72 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,684 and $18,179 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Schools for an Associate in Iowa 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 Schools for an Associate in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k

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

Top 4 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $30-$48k) in Iowa

#1

Western Iowa Tech Community College

Sioux City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$5,287 Average Net Price

$30,228 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Iowa Tech Community College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Western Iowa Tech Community College is a public institution located in Sioux City, Iowa. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 12 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Western Iowa Tech Community College, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Western Iowa Tech Community College is $5,287 for iowa associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Western Iowa Tech Community College

#2

Des Moines Area Community College

Ankeny, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$8,543 Average Net Price

$29,487 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Des Moines Area Community College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k. DMACC is located in Ankeny, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 27 associates’s culinary arts degrees to qualified students.

DMACC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Des Moines Area Community College is $8,543 for iowa associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at DMACC

#3

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$8,831 Average Net Price

$28,816 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Kirkwood Community College landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this fairly large public school handed out 14 degrees to qualified associates’s culinary arts students in 2019-2020.

Kirkwood Community College also made our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $8,831 for Iowa Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Kirkwood Community College.

Full Kirkwood Community College Culinary Arts Report

#4

Iowa Western Community College

Council Bluffs, Iowa

#4 in overall quality

$10,002 Average Net Price

$33,993 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa Western Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. This medium-sized school is located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and it awarded 5 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $30-$48k list, Iowa Western Community College has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa Western Community College is $10,002 for Iowa Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Iowa Western Community College

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $30-$48k)

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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