Culinary Arts and Related Services Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Culinary Arts and Related Services maps to BLS occupations averaging about $47,994, with roughly 218,910 workers nationwide in those roles. About 7,466 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median program completion runs near 58%.
Key Statistics
Culinary Arts and Related Services: what the data shows
Common questions about culinary arts and related services degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a culinary arts and related services degree?
A Culinary Arts and Related Services program is classified under NCES CIP 00.1205 in the 00.0012 field family (00.12).
IPEDS counted 55 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of culinary arts and related services degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 00.12 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Casino Operations and Services (CIP 00.1206)
- Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services (CIP 00.1204)
- Education (CIP 00.1202)
- Elementary Education (CIP 00.1202)
- Funeral Service and Mortuary Science (CIP 00.1203)
How long does it take to get a culinary arts and related services degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.1205 in our file:
- 7,466 Bachelor's (47.5% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 8,114 Master's (51.6% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 152 Doctorate (1.0% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in culinary arts and related services?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Coordination, Monitoring, Time Management, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Chefs and Head Cooks (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a culinary arts and related services degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Culinary Arts and Related Services to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Chefs and Head Cooks | 182,320 | $60,990 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | 1,452,130 | $36,830 |
| Bakers | 231,890 | $36,650 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a culinary arts and related services degree worth it?
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $31,243 and median net price is $8,036.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Culinary Arts and Related Services and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$31,243 Median In-State Public
$17,382 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Culinary Arts and Related Services majors are, on average, $31,243 for in-state public colleges, and $17,382 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Culinary Arts and Related Services programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
55 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Culinary Arts and Related Services from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Culinary Arts and Related Services.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 156,755 |
| 2 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 54,926 |
| 3 | Dallas College | TX | 41,815 |
| 4 | Tarrant County College District | TX | 40,214 |
| 5 | Houston Community College | TX | 37,970 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Culinary Arts and Related Services programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tohono O'odham Community College | AZ | $932 |
| 2 | Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute | NM | $1,095 |
| 3 | Copper Mountain Community College | CA | $1,114 |
| 4 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 5 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Culinary Arts and Related Services programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $29 |
| 2 | Miami Lakes Educational Center and Technical College | FL | $98 |
| 3 | Coastal Pines Technical College | GA | $124 |
| 4 | Coahoma Community College | MS | $560 |
| 5 | Henry Ford College | MI | $576 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Culinary Arts and Related Services programs.
Graduation Rates
57.53% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
57.13% Average Graduation Rate
109 Institutions Reporting
45.45% - 70.63% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Culinary Arts and Related Services programs across institutions.
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 00.12 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Casino Operations and Services CIP 00.1206
- Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services CIP 00.1204
- Education CIP 00.1202
- Elementary Education CIP 00.1202
- Funeral Service and Mortuary Science CIP 00.1203
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.1205 in the survey year used in our extract (15,732 total across levels below).
- 7,466 Bachelor's (47.5% of IPEDS total)
- 8,114 Master's (51.6% of IPEDS total)
- 152 Doctorate (1.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $47,994. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Culinary Arts and Related Services graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Chefs and Head Cooks | $73,379 | 182,320 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | $45,498 | 1,452,130 |
| Bakers | $43,665 | 231,890 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$48,604 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Culinary Arts and Related Services majors is $48,604.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Culinary Arts and Related Services majors.
Occupations by Share
218,910 2023 Workforce
The number of Culinary Arts and Related Services graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Culinary Arts and Related Services by share of the total number of graduates.
Return on Investment & Value
Debt and earnings fields below come from College Scorecard where present in our degree extract.
Financial value (extract)
$29,875 Median Student Debt
$87,434 Median Annual Earnings (10 years after enrollment)
34.17% Debt-to-Earnings Ratio
3.4 years Estimated Payback Period (assuming 10% of income)
2620.07% Return on Investment (10-year earnings vs 4-year cost)
Ten-year earnings in this extract exceed four years of median net price.
$32,144 Estimated Total Cost (4 years at median net price)
Financial value comparison for Culinary Arts and Related Services degree.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Culinary Arts and Related Services in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Culinary Arts and Related Services.
Age distribution for Culinary Arts and Related Services degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Gender distribution data is not available for this degree program.
Gender distribution of Culinary Arts and Related Services degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Race and ethnicity distribution data is not available for this degree program.
Racial and ethnic distribution of Culinary Arts and Related Services degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Culinary Arts and Related Services are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Culinary Arts and Related Services.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Culinary Arts and Related Services field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Culinary Arts and Related Services majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Culinary Arts and Related Services majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Culinary Arts and Related Services majors.
About
Culinary Arts and Related Services
In 2023, 55 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Culinary Arts and Related Services.
CIP Code
00.1205 - Culinary Arts and Related Services
What the data shows
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $47,994. The largest mapped role by headcount is Chefs and Head Cooks (182,320 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $31,243 in-state at public colleges and $17,382 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.