Which Pennsylvania culinary arts program has the lowest debt?

Walnut Hill College reports the lowest median federal debt, $12,000, with first-year pay of $25,893.

How much do culinary arts graduates earn in Pennsylvania?

The median across 5 Pennsylvania culinary arts associate's programs is $25,893 in the first year after graduating and $35,824 five years after.

How many culinary arts associate's programs are in Pennsylvania?

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

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

5 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 Pennsylvania culinary arts associate's program pays its graduates $25,893 in their first year, $427 less than the national median. Montgomery County Community College reports the highest first-year pay ($31,763), and Walnut Hill College the lowest median debt ($12,000).

Median first-year pay$25,893National $26,320

Median pay after 5 years$35,824National $33,858

Median federal debt$15,417National $15,750

Debt-to-earnings63%National 63%

All 5 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	Montgomery County Community CollegeBlue Bell · public	$31,763	Not reported	$15,417	49%
2	YTI Career Institute-YorkYork · private for-profit	$29,494	$33,391	$19,222	65%
3	Walnut Hill CollegePhiladelphia · private for-profit	$25,893	$38,256	$12,000	46%
4	Pennsylvania College of TechnologyWilliamsport · public	$25,269	$32,090	$16,000	63%
5	Jna Institute of Culinary ArtsPhiladelphia · private for-profit	$18,774	Not reported	$13,250	71%

Debt and first-year pay at every Pennsylvania culinary arts program

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

Montgomery County Community College$31,763
YTI Career Institute-York$29,494
Walnut Hill College$25,893
Pennsylvania College of Technology$25,269
Jna Institute of Culinary Arts$18,774

Lowest median debt

Walnut Hill College$12,000
Jna Institute of Culinary Arts$13,250
Montgomery County Community College$15,417
Pennsylvania College of Technology$16,000
YTI Career Institute-York$19,222

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

$36,580

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 54,100 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $22,650Top 10%: $45,120

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

$43,050

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 35,560 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $29,530Top 10%: $61,780

Bartenders

$28,420

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 37,490 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $17,460Top 10%: $62,830

Buyers and Purchasing Agents

$73,550

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 17,430 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $44,470Top 10%: $121,520

Common questions

Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell reports the highest median first-year pay, $31,763. Its median federal debt is $15,417.

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 Pennsylvania 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