2026 Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools in Missouri
[Culinary Arts/Chef Training](/majors/personal-and-culinary-services/culinary-arts/culinary-arts-chef-training/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 9 schools to find the best return on investment for culinary arts/chef training students.
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2026 Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools in Missouri
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the culinary arts/chef training degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools
For return on investment in culinary arts/chef training, no school beat Saint Louis Community College this year. Set in the suburb of Bridgeton, Saint Louis Community College is a very large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $3,660, with out-of-state students paying around $6,990. Students borrow a median of $11,424 to complete the culinary arts/chef training program here. Soon after graduation, culinary arts/chef training degree recipients from Saint Louis Community College generally make around $26,318. That is a strong return on a $11,424 median debt.
Ozarks Technical Community College came in at #2 on our 2026 list of the best value culinary arts/chef training schools. Located in the city of Springfield, Ozarks Technical Community College is a large public university. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $4,256, with out-of-state students paying around $7,040. Students borrow a median of $10,501 to complete the culinary arts/chef training program here. Culinary Arts/chef Training graduates of Ozarks Technical Community College earn a median of $25,879 early in their careers. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value.
Students looking for strong value in culinary arts/chef training will find it at East Central College, which ranked #3. Located in the town of Union, East Central College is a mid-sized public university. Students from in state pay about $4,272 in tuition and fees, compared with $7,680 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for culinary arts/chef training graduates is $12,062. Early-career culinary arts/chef training graduates make about $37,925. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value.
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Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 9 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
