Which New York culinary arts program has the lowest debt?

Erie Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $6,439, with first-year pay of $15,793.

How much do culinary arts graduates earn in New York?

The median across 6 New York culinary arts associate's programs is $26,556 in the first year after graduating and $34,465 five years after.

How many culinary arts associate's programs are in New York?

6 New York programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

Culinary Arts (Associate's) Programs in New York, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

6 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Associate's in Culinary Arts and Related Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median New York culinary arts associate's program pays its graduates $26,556 in their first year, $236 more than the national median. Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science reports the highest first-year pay ($32,023), and Erie Community College the lowest median debt ($6,439).

Median first-year pay$26,556National $26,320

Median pay after 5 years$34,465National $33,858

Median federal debt$12,000National $15,750

Debt-to-earnings45%National 63%

All 6 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Paul Smiths College of Arts and SciencePaul Smiths · private nonprofit	$32,023	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
2	Culinary Institute of AmericaHyde Park · private nonprofit	$28,049	$41,224	$12,000	43%
3	SUNY College of Technology at AlfredAlfred · public	$26,598	Not reported	$12,000	45%
4	Niagara County Community CollegeSanborn · public	$26,514	$31,183	$12,000	45%
5	Monroe UniversityBronx · private for-profit	$18,256	$28,947	$13,364	73%
6	Erie Community CollegeBuffalo · public	$15,793	Not reported	$6,439	41%

Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York culinary arts program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science$32,023
Culinary Institute of America$28,049
SUNY College of Technology at Alfred$26,598
Niagara County Community College$26,514
Monroe University$18,256

Lowest median debt

Erie Community College$6,439
Culinary Institute of America$12,000
SUNY College of Technology at Alfred$12,000
Niagara County Community College$12,000
Monroe University$13,364

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to culinary arts, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Cooks, Restaurant

$43,680

Median pay in New York. 71,530 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, with about 218,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: no formal educational credential, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $34,490Top 10%: $54,240

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

$47,190

Median pay in New York. 65,580 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 171,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $36,570Top 10%: $73,020

Bartenders

$61,210

Median pay in New York. 43,130 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 121,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: no formal educational credential.

Bottom 10%: $33,640Top 10%: $93,530

Buyers and Purchasing Agents

$79,460

Median pay in New York. 31,240 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 47,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $51,820Top 10%: $132,080

Common questions

Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science in Paul Smiths reports the highest median first-year pay, $32,023.

Culinary Arts (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked89 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of New York rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the culinary arts associate's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024