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

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Colorado For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Colorado, there were 1,721 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $26,100 and $17,054 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 205 culinary arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,269 and $19,040 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Colorado For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking looked at 4 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.

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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Colorado For Those Making $75-$110k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

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

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

Top 4 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $75-$110k) in Colorado

#1

Pikes Peak Community College

Colorado Springs, Colorado

#2 in overall quality

$15,957 Average Net Price

$27,729 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Colorado For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Pikes Peak Community College landed the #1 spot on the list. Colorado Springs, Colorado is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s culinary arts degrees to 48 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our colorado associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $75-$110k list, PPCC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Colorado” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Pikes Peak Community College is $15,957 for Colorado Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read more about Culinary Arts at PPCC

#2

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder

Boulder, Colorado

#4 in overall quality

$11,583 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Colorado For Those Making $75-$110k list. This medium-sized school is located in Boulder, Colorado, and it awarded 39 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Escoffier - Boulder did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Colorado” list. It costs about $11,583 for colorado associate degree culinary arts students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Escoffier - Boulder

#3

Johnson & Wales University - Denver

Denver, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$26,525 Average Net Price

$27,999 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Johnson & Wales University - Denver. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Colorado For Those Making $75-$110k list. JWU Denver is a private not-for-profit institution located in Denver, Colorado. The school has a small population, and it awarded 80 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

JWU Denver did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Colorado” list. It costs about $26,525 for Colorado Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Johnson & Wales University - Denver.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University - Denver

#4

Colorado Mesa University

Grand Junction, Colorado

#3 in overall quality

$18,596 Average Net Price

$23,182 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 #4 for the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools for an Associate in Colorado For Those Making $75-$110k. Colorado Mesa University is a medium-sized school located in Grand Junction, Colorado that handed out 12 associates’s culinary arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Colorado Mesa, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Colorado” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Colorado Mesa University is $18,596 for Colorado Associate Degree Culinary Arts students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Colorado Mesa University

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $75-$110k) in the Rocky Mountains Region
• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Culinary Arts (Income $75-$110k)

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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