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Culinary & pastry schools

If you finish a culinary & pastry program and work as a chef, expect to start around $37,900–$48,440 a year and reach the trade's median of $62,470 with experience; the top quarter earn $78,750 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). There are 550 accredited campuses offering it; their graduates' actual first-year median, counting every graduate whatever job they took, was $24,208, with median debt of $12,000.

What you'd earn working as a chef

Annual wages for the 200,040 people employed as chefs and head cooks nationally — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. This is the figure to plan around if you intend to work in the trade.

How pay grows in this trade

What graduates of these programs actually earned

Federal College Scorecard medians for every federally aided graduate of these programs, whatever job they took after finishing — including part-time work, apprentice wages and work outside the trade. That is why they sit below the trade's wage ladder above. Use them to compare schools against each other, not to judge what the career pays.

Find culinary programs by state

Where culinary graduates earn the most

Public vs. non-profit vs. for-profit culinary schools

How to choose a culinary program

• Check accreditation first. Every campus listed here is accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, or awarded federally reported credentials. Each profile names the accreditor and links to the federal record.
• Compare completion, not just tuition. A cheap program that half the class never finishes costs more than it looks. Profiles show each campus's completion rate against its state average.
• Look at earnings a year out, by program. The Scorecard reports median earnings for graduates of this specific program at this specific campus where cohorts are large enough. That is the number to compare, not national averages.
• Ask about federal aid. "Title IV eligible: Yes" means FAFSA, Pell Grants and federal loans apply. Many also accept GI Bill and WIOA funding — ask.
• Verify state licensing where it applies. Trades like culinary may need a state license or certification after the program; the school should say which exam its graduates sit.

Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.

"What the trade pays" is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025): annual wages for everyone employed in the occupation nationally, at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles. The 10th–25th percentile band is a fair guide to entry-level pay; the 75th–90th to experienced workers. Program earnings (above) are lower because they count every graduate of the program in their first year, including part-time work, apprentice wages and jobs outside the trade.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026), the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Completions survey, and the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP). Figures are federal medians and means for campuses in this program group; "not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy (small cohorts) — never an estimate.