Free tool · federal data

What does this major pay at different colleges?

Pick a major, a degree level and a state. You get what graduates of each college's program earned four years after graduating and what they borrowed in federal loans, from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, with the national median for the same program as the yardstick.

Side by side

Is it worth it? The federal figures, side by side

Federal data cannot decide that for you, but it puts what graduates earned beside what they borrowed. Programs appear in the order you added them, with no ranking.

Median earnings four years after graduating, federal debt, monthly payment and peer comparisons for Baker College Culinary Arts.
MeasureBaker CollegeCulinary Arts, associate's · MIRemove
Median earnings, 4 years after graduating$39,471 (114 graduates)
Federal debt borrowed at this college (median)$12,000
Monthly payment, 10-year plan$127
Payment as a share of median monthly earningsbefore taxroughly 4%
National median, same program and degree$39,605
Typical program nearbythe state, or its Census division when the state has fewer than 3 programs$42,387 (Michigan, 4 programs)
Total federal debt counting every college attendeda second federal measure; it includes loans from colleges attended before this one$12,000

Earnings: College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, for graduates who received federal aid, worked and were not enrolled. Debt: graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20. The monthly payment is a standard 10-year plan on the median debt borrowed at that college. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education. College cost is not shown here; each college's profile has its net price.

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Culinary Arts, associate's programs nationwide

Nationally, associate's graduates in Culinary Arts earn a median $39,605 four years after graduating. Among 52 programs with federal earnings data, SUNY College of Technology at Delhi (NY) graduates had the highest median, $50,208 (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).

Programs with data
52
Highest median
$50,208
National median
$39,605
The link opens this exact comparison.
Culinary Arts, associate's programs nationwide: median earnings four years after graduating and median federal debt, in order of earnings.
CollegeStateMedian earnings, 4 yrs aftervs national medianDebt borrowed at this college (median)Add to the side-by-side comparison
SUNY College of Technology at DelhiNY$50,208+27%—
Southern New Hampshire UniversityNH$50,055+26%—
Culinary Institute of AmericaNY$48,317+22%$12,000Compare
Kalamazoo Valley Community CollegeMI$45,697+15%$11,250Compare
National Louis UniversityIL$45,609+15%$12,833Compare
Grand Rapids Community CollegeMI$45,302+14%$12,319Compare
Dallas CollegeTX$44,490+12%—
Wake Technical Community CollegeNC$42,564+7%—Compare
Texas State Technical CollegeTX$42,361+7%$11,000Compare
Kirkwood Community CollegeIA$42,218+7%$9,511Compare
Paul Smiths College of Arts and ScienceNY$41,909+6%—
Valencia CollegeFL$41,850+6%$11,422Compare
Utah Valley UniversityUT$41,464+5%—Compare
Pikes Peak State CollegeCO$41,389+5%—Compare
Culinary Institute IncTX$41,359+4%$26,531Compare
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts-BoulderCO$41,274+4%$16,000
Niagara County Community CollegeNY$41,072+4%$11,970Compare
Des Moines Area Community CollegeIA$40,878+3%$8,334Compare
Keiser University-Ft LauderdaleFL$40,731+3%$18,500Compare
Saint Louis Community CollegeMO$40,669+3%—Compare
Cuyahoga Community College DistrictOH$40,291about the same—Compare
Baker CollegeMI$39,471about the same$12,000In comparison
Delaware Technical Community College-TerryDE$38,938about the same—Compare
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts-AustinTX$38,626about the same$16,880Compare
Walnut Hill CollegePA$38,528−3%$12,000Compare

The 25 highest of 52 programs. Ordered by median earnings four years after graduating: one federal measure, not a ranking of program quality.

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Same major, other degree levels: Bachelor's · Undergraduate certificate

What these numbers are

Earnings: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars. Only programs with at least 30 graduates in the earnings cohort are listed, and a multi-state system whose figure pools campuses in several states is left out of state lists. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education. Federal program group: Culinary Arts and Related Services. Earnings reflect who enrolls and where graduates work as well as the program itself.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study data, 10 June 2026. Download every program (CSV).