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2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

11 Ranked Colleges
294 Degrees Awarded
$10,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

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 Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” 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 Illinois, there were 1,160 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,336 and $20,786 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 294 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,469 and $14,548 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in culinary arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent culinary arts programs, but they also 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

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 for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 11 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

Elgin Community College

Elgin, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elgin Community College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. ECC is a medium-sized public school situated in Elgin, Illinois. It awarded 18 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

ECC also made our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $7,348 for Illinois Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend ECC.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at ECC

#2

Joliet Junior College

Joliet, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Joliet Junior College. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Joliet Junior College is a fairly large public school situated in Joliet, Illinois. It awarded 58 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Joliet Junior College, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Joliet Junior College

#3

Moraine Valley Community College

Palos Hills, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Moraine Valley Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. MVCC is a fairly large school located in Palos Hills, Illinois that handed out 17 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at MVCC, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Moraine Valley Community College is $9,395 for Illinois Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full Moraine Valley Community College Culinary Arts Report

#4

Triton College

River Grove, Illinois

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Triton College landed the #4 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in River Grove, Illinois, and it awarded 14 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Triton College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Triton College is $6,112 for Illinois Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full Triton College Culinary Arts Report

#5

Richland Community College

Decatur, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Richland Community College. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. Richland Community College is a small public school situated in Decatur, Illinois. It awarded 13 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Richland Community College also took the #9 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Richland Community College is $7,945 for illinois associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Richland Community College

#6

Southwestern Illinois College

Belleville, Illinois

Southwestern Illinois College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking, coming in at #6. Southwestern Illinois College is a public institution located in Belleville, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 10 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SWIC also made our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $10,642 for Illinois Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Southwestern Illinois College.

Read more about Culinary Arts at SWIC

City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking, coming in at #7. Kennedy-King College is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 16 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Kennedy-King College also made our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $11,098 for illinois associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Kennedy-King College

#8

National Louis University

Chicago, Illinois

National Louis University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. National Louis University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 60 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

NLU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $21,269 for Illinois Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend NLU.

Read more about Culinary Arts at National Louis University

#9

Rend Lake College

Ina, Illinois

Rend Lake College landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Rend Lake College is a small school located in Ina, Illinois that handed out 4 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Rend Lake College, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Rend Lake College is $6,568 for Illinois Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Rend Lake College

#10

McHenry County College

Crystal Lake, Illinois

McHenry County College landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. MCC is a public institution located in Crystal Lake, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 9 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

MCC also took the #8 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend MCC is $10,597 for Illinois Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at McHenry County College

#11

Saint Augustine College

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #11, Saint Augustine College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 6 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

St. Augustine College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for St. Augustine College is $14,952 for Illinois Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full St. Augustine 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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