DegreeVerdict
ROI Calculator
Home›Majors›Culinary Arts and Related Services
ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES

Is a associate's degree in Culinary Arts and Related Services worth it?

Compare cost, debt and earnings across 111 college programs with reportable data.

Based onObserved earnings + college priceEstimate10-year payoff
Estimated 10-year payoff
Negative payoff

−$179,456 over 10 years

National scenario across reporting associate's degree programs, using median year-4 earnings, their institutions’ average net prices and a typical 2-year duration.

Not availableTime to earn back the modeled cost
−157%Estimated return after 10 years
$38,508Observed earnings · year 4
Not reachedHighest annual price before payoff reaches $0
Start with your decision

What do you need to compare?

PRICE SENSITIVITY

The price can change the verdict.

Hold observed earnings constant and see how the modeled ten-year payoff changes as annual price rises.

What stays fixed$38,508 observed annual earnings · 2 years of study · $45,000 alternative annual earnings · ten-year horizonThe marked price is the average college-wide net-price context across reporting institutions. This is a sensitivity test, not a tuition quote or earnings forecast.
WHAT THIS DEGREE PAYS

Outcomes at a glance

$38,508Typical earnings four years after completion
$33,502Average earnings five years after completion
$15,584Typical federal student debt
20thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
Not availableDegrees awarded in 2024–25
108College programs reporting earnings

Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 2 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.

A PRACTICAL READ

Four useful answers about Culinary Arts and Related Services

How much do Culinary Arts and Related Services associate's degree graduates earn?

The national median is $38,508 four years after completion across reportable associate's degree programs in this federal field.

How much federal debt do graduates have?

The median reported federal debt is $15,584. The figure excludes private loans and does not describe every graduate.

Does the college matter for Culinary Arts and Related Services?

Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $35,626 to $41,909 in observed year-4 earnings.

What careers are related to Culinary Arts and Related Services?

DegreeVerdict links this field to 12 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.

COMPARE DEGREE LEVELS

More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.

Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.

OPEN PROFILE

Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma

Year-4 earnings
$33,155
Federal debt
$11,834
Programs in the comparison
99
89 report earnings →CURRENT VIEW

Associate's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$38,508
Federal debt
$15,584
Programs in the comparison
111
108 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Bachelor's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$47,139
Federal debt
$27,000
Programs in the comparison
20
20 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Master's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$51,558
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
1
1 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification)

Year-4 earnings
$31,636
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
1
1 report earnings →
COLLEGE-TO-COLLEGE RANGE

Where the middle half of programs lands

Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.

Median
25th percentile$35,626National median$38,50875th percentile$41,909
108 programs report year‑4 earnings.
BEFORE YOU CHOOSE

Compare price, debt and earnings together

$41,90975th-percentile year-4 earnings among reporting programs
$15,584Median federal debt across programs that report it
9Programs with earnings in the top quarter and debt at or below the median
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION

Three useful places to start

Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.

Highest observed earnings

Seattle Central College

$53,946 four years after completionSeattle, WA · inspect the full program →Lowest reported federal debt

Texas State Technical College

$11,000 among completer borrowersWaco, TX · inspect the full program →Largest recent graduating class

Culinary Institute of America

604 reported awards in 2024–25Hyde Park, NY · inspect the full program →
PRICE × EARNINGS MAP

Where colleges sit for this exact degree

Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.

$50,208Observed year-4 earnings$41,850
$2,979Annual college-wide average net price$31,027
All reporting colleges Lower-price, higher-earnings quadrantAxes trim the outer 5% for readability; outliers remain pinned to the chart edge. Price is institution-wide context, not exact program tuition.
Build your shortlist

Choose colleges offering this exact degree

Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.

30 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 25 shown
Search every reporting program →
WHERE OUTCOMES ARE STRONGEST

See the spread, not just the national number.

1Seattle Central College$53,9462College of DuPage$50,5033SUNY College of Technology at Delhi$50,2084Southern New Hampshire University$50,0555Southern Maine Community College$49,5666Culinary Institute of America$48,3177Schenectady County Community College$48,0738Montgomery County Community College$47,5529University of Alaska Anchorage$46,23110Kalamazoo Valley Community College$45,697

Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking

Career outlook

Jobs this degree may lead to

Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.

Pay and projected demand

Related careers do not share one outlook

Bubble size = annual openings2025–35 national projection

Occupation wages describe workers in these jobs, not graduates of this degree. BLS projections are national estimates and do not guarantee hiring.

Chefs and Head Cooks$62,470 median wage200,040 jobs nationwide+6.6% projected growth through 2035 · 25,200 openings a yearTypical entry education: High school diploma or equivalent$37,900–$98,560 typical wage rangeFirst-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$44,080 median wage1,223,240 jobs nationwide+5.4% projected growth through 2035 · 171,500 openings a yearTypical entry education: High school diploma or equivalent$29,940–$65,570 typical wage rangeCooks, All Other$37,690 median wage19,350 jobs nationwide+5.2% projected growth through 2035 · 2,800 openings a yearTypical entry education: No formal educational credential$27,040–$51,140 typical wage rangeFood Service Managers$69,390 median wage238,430 jobs nationwide+5.8% projected growth through 2035 · 38,800 openings a yearTypical entry education: High school diploma or equivalent$45,960–$107,640 typical wage rangeCooks, Private Household$47,940 median wage1,100 jobs nationwide+5.1% projected growth through 2035 · 5,000 openings a yearTypical entry education: Postsecondary nondegree award$36,090–$91,130 typical wage rangeCooks, Institution and Cafeteria$37,450 median wage441,050 jobs nationwide+2.8% projected growth through 2035 · 62,900 openings a yearTypical entry education: No formal educational credential$28,480–$49,670 typical wage rangeCooks, Restaurant$37,390 median wage1,409,890 jobs nationwide+12.1% projected growth through 2035 · 218,600 openings a yearTypical entry education: No formal educational credential$28,700–$47,900 typical wage rangeFood Scientists and Technologists$88,720 median wage13,060 jobs nationwide+6.2% projected growth through 2035 · 1,000 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$52,920–$145,280 typical wage rangePostsecondary Teachers, All Other$77,640 median wage149,840 jobs nationwide+2.0% projected growth through 2035 · 12,500 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$44,300–$160,700 typical wage rangeButchers and Meat Cutters$40,140 median wage136,430 jobs nationwide+2.4% projected growth through 2035 · 15,100 openings a yearTypical entry education: No formal educational credential$29,460–$58,110 typical wage rangeSlaughterers and Meat Packers$40,130 median wage69,950 jobs nationwide+2.0% projected growth through 2035 · 7,700 openings a yearTypical entry education: No formal educational credential$33,340–$51,090 typical wage rangeBakers$37,160 median wage236,200 jobs nationwide+5.5% projected growth through 2035 · 36,500 openings a yearTypical entry education: No formal educational credential$28,120–$49,020 typical wage range

BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.

COMPARE NEARBY FIELDS

Similar degrees in the same subject family

These alternatives share the same broad federal CIP family and credential level. Earnings and debt use the same definitions as this page.

Associate's Degree

Funeral Service and Mortuary Science

Year-4 earnings
$53,579
Federal debt
$20,000
24 reporting programs →Associate's Degree

Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services

Year-4 earnings
$23,086
Federal debt
$10,802
13 reporting programs →
EXPLORE BY STATE

Where this degree has enough data to compare

State pages are published only when at least five operating colleges report year-4 earnings for this exact field and credential.

NY11 programs$40,890 average earningsMI7 programs$40,874 average earningsIL6 programs$42,704 average earningsFL6 programs$38,516 average earningsTX5 programs$38,797 average earningsPA5 programs$39,403 average earningsNC5 programs$38,534 average earnings

This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.