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Culinary & pastry schools in Illinois
Illinois has 23 accredited campuses awarding culinary credentials. If you finish and work as a chef in Illinois, expect to start around $40,330–$50,000 and reach a median of $58,830 with experience; the top quarter earn $73,620 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Illinois). Graduates of these Illinois programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $22,926 in their first year, against $24,208 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What chefs and head cooks earn in Illinois
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 8,290 employed in Illinois. National median: $62,470.
Campuses in Illinois, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: BellevilleCentraliaChicagoCrystal LakeDanvilleDecaturEast PeoriaElginGlen EllynGrayslakeInaJolietMaltaMattoonPalatinePalos HillsRiver GroveSpringfield
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Louis University | Chicago | non-profit | 113 | $31,385 | $12,833 | not reported | not reported |
| Joliet Junior College | Joliet | Public | 78 | $22,926 | not reported | 21% | not reported |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College | Chicago | Public | 118 | $20,684 | $5,250 | 31% | not reported |
| Lake Land College | Mattoon | Public | 196 | not reported | not reported | 58% | not reported |
| Elgin Community College | Elgin | Public | 63 | not reported | not reported | 41% | not reported |
| College of Lake County | Grayslake | Public | 62 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Kaskaskia College | Centralia | Public | 48 | not reported | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Richland Community College | Decatur | Public | 46 | not reported | not reported | 60% | not reported |
| Moraine Valley Community College | Palos Hills | Public | 43 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | Public | 21 | not reported | not reported | 25% | not reported |
| Rend Lake College | Ina | Public | 18 | not reported | not reported | 63% | not reported |
| Lincoln Land Community College | Springfield | Public | 16 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| Southwestern Illinois College | Belleville | Public | 15 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Illinois Central College | East Peoria | Public | 9 | not reported | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| McHenry County College | Crystal Lake | Public | 9 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Danville Area Community College | Danville | Public | 6 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Triton College | River Grove | Public | 6 | not reported | not reported | 29% | not reported |
| William Rainey Harper College | Palatine | Public | 6 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| St. Augustine College | Chicago | non-profit | 3 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College | Chicago | Public | 2 | not reported | not reported | 18% | not reported |
| Kishwaukee College | Malta | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Roosevelt University | Chicago | non-profit | 1 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| The French Pastry School | Chicago | — | — | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
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.
Ranked by median earnings of this program's graduates one year after completion (College Scorecard field-of-study, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026); campuses without a reported figure follow, by credentials awarded. "Program debt" is the median federal loan debt for graduates of this program at this campus. Completion is the campus-wide 150%-of-time rate. "Not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy.