Best Value Colleges for Culinary Arts and Related Services
Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.
9
Schools Ranked
$29,376
Avg. Earnings
N/A
Best Payback
1,093
Graduates
How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.
| # | School | Major Earnings | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnson & Wales University-Providence Providence, RI · Private | $29,511 | N/A |
| 2 | Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte Charlotte, NC · Private | $29,511 | N/A |
| 3 | Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH · Private | $34,526 | N/A |
| 4 | SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill Cobleskill, NY · Public | $29,685 | N/A |
| 5 | Walnut Hill College Philadelphia, PA · For-Profit | $32,391 | N/A |
| 6 | Nicholls State University Thibodaux, LA · Public | $26,997 | N/A |
| 7 | Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science Paul Smiths, NY · Private | $28,381 | N/A |
| 8 | Mississippi University for Women Columbus, MS · Public | $25,580 | N/A |
| 9 | National Louis University Chicago, IL · Private | $35,060 | N/A |
Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.