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2025 Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

20 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
1,966 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$24,750 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in culinary arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #97 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual looked at 20 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,966 degrees in culinary arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Culinary Arts School

Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of culinary arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for culinary arts schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Culinary Arts Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Culinary Arts
Bachelor's Degrees in Culinary Arts

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to 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.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Culinary Arts in the Great Lakes Region

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the culinary arts degree levels they offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Culinary Arts

1
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In WI
44 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat Madison Area Technical College if you wish to pursue a degree in culinary arts. Madison College is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #223 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Madison College is a great college overall.

There were about 44 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Madison College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Madison Area Technical College

2

Milwaukee Area Technical College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in culinary arts. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, MATC is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #465 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means MATC is a great college overall.

There were about 28 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at MATC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the culinary arts program report average early career income of $25,304.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Milwaukee Area Technical College

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
93 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
43.0% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in culinary arts needs to check out National Louis University. NLU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #385 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NLU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 93 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at NLU in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, culinary arts degree recipients typically earn around $24,786 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from National Louis University

4
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$34,736 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in culinary arts has to look into Fox Valley Technical College. Located in the midsize suburb of Appleton, FVTC is a public college with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #387 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means FVTC is a great college overall.

There were about 47 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at FVTC in the most recent data year. Culinary Arts degree recipients from Fox Valley Technical College earn a boost of approximately $9,986 above the average income of culinary arts majors.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Fox Valley Technical College

5
Baker College crest
Baker College
Owosso, MI
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
46 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
8.7% Growth in Graduates

Baker College is a small private not-for-profit college located in the town of Owosso. This college ranks 32nd out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 46 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Baker College in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the culinary arts program state that they receive average early career income of $25,204.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Baker College

6
COD crest
College of DuPage
Glen Ellyn, IL
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
38 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
50.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Glen Ellyn, COD is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 29th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 38 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at COD in the most recent year we have data available. Those culinary arts students who get their degree from College of DuPage receive $2,202 more than the standard culinary arts graduate.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from College of DuPage

7
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$28,037 Median Starting Salary

Sinclair Community College is a fairly large public college located in the midsize city of Dayton. A Best Colleges rank of #552 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Sinclair Community College is a great college overall.

There were about 60 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Sinclair Community College in the most recent year we have data available. Those culinary arts students who get their degree from Sinclair Community College receive $3,287 more than the typical culinary arts grad.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Sinclair Community College

8
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
70 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
35.7% Growth in Graduates

Cincinnati State is a medium-sized public college located in the large city of Cincinnati. A Best Colleges rank of #477 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Cincinnati State is a great college overall.

There were roughly 70 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Cincinnati State in the most recent data year. Those culinary arts students who get their degree from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College earn $11,580 more than the typical culinary arts student.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College

9
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
59 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$25,461 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #729 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Grand Rapids Community College is a great college overall.

There were roughly 59 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Grand Rapids Community College in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the culinary arts program make an average of $25,461 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Grand Rapids Community College

10
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In WI
33 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded

Located in the large suburb of Pewaukee, WCTC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. This college ranks 27th out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were approximately 33 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at WCTC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Waukesha County Technical College

Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best culinary arts colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 228
Ohio 314 133
Illinois 304 253
Indiana 294 12
Wisconsin 273 106

View All Rankings >

Culinary Arts is one of 4 different types of Personal & Culinary Services programs to choose from.

Culinary Arts Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts/Chef Training 910
Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef 489
Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant 216
Culinary Science/Culinology 115
Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager 94
General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts 65
Other Culinary Arts & Related Services 51
Food Service, Waiter/Waitress, & Dining Room Management/Manager 16
Wine Steward/Sommelier 4
Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter 3

View All Culinary Arts Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Cosmetology 15,259
Funeral & Mortuary Science 353
Other Personal & Culinary Services 2

View All Culinary Arts Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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