Career Training Path › Culinary & pastry schools › Washington
Culinary & pastry schools in Washington
Washington has 16 accredited campuses awarding culinary credentials. If you finish and work as a chef in Washington, expect to start around $49,920–$58,650 and reach a median of $76,010 with experience; the top quarter earn $81,540 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Washington). Graduates of these Washington programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $25,102 in their first year, against $24,208 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What chefs and head cooks earn in Washington
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 5,320 employed in Washington. National median: $62,470.
Campuses in Washington, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: BellinghamBremertonDes MoinesKirklandLakewoodLynnwoodMount VernonOlympiaRentonSeattleSpokaneTacomaVancouverWalla Walla
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Air and Hospitality Academy | Vancouver | for-profit | 56 | $25,102 | $9,500 | not reported | not reported |
| Seattle Central College | Seattle | Public | 52 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Lake Washington Institute of Technology | Kirkland | Public | 40 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Spokane Community College | Spokane | Public | 31 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Clark College | Vancouver | Public | 25 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Bellingham Technical College | Bellingham | Public | 22 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Clover Park Technical College | Lakewood | Public | 21 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Renton Technical College | Renton | Public | 19 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| South Seattle College | Seattle | Public | 15 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Olympic College | Bremerton | Public | 14 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| South Puget Sound Community College | Olympia | Public | 9 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Edmonds College | Lynnwood | Public | 7 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Skagit Valley College | Mount Vernon | Public | 7 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Walla Walla Community College | Walla Walla | Public | 7 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Bates Technical College | Tacoma | Public | 5 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Highline College | Des Moines | Public | 1 | 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.