Federal data
Highest earning culinary arts and related services programs in the United States
U.S. culinary arts and related services programs, ranked by median earnings one year after completion, from the College Scorecard field-of-study file (September 18, 2026). Only programs with at least 30 counted graduates in the earnings sample are shown, and at least 5 programs must qualify for this list to exist.
| Rank | School | City | Sector | Median earnings, 1 year after | Graduates counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Culinary Institute of America | Hyde Park | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $43,808 | 49 |
| 2 | Johnson & Wales University | Providence | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $32,775 | 247 |
| 3 | Walnut Hill College | Philadelphia | For-profit, 4-year | $27,593 | 45 |
| 4 | Nicholls State University | Thibodaux | Public, 4-year | $23,038 | 36 |
| 5 | Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Carolina Campus | Carolina | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $14,017 | 60 |
Earnings cover federally aided graduates only, as published by College Scorecard.
How to read this. A smaller program can show a high or low figure from just a few graduates, and this earnings figure only ever covers students who received federal aid, so it does not describe every graduate.
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