Best Culinary & Pastry Schools in Alabama (2026)

Quick answer: Culinary professionals in Alabama earn a median of $62,400 per year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). This page lists accredited culinary professional schools in Alabama with local wage data and median graduate earnings for each school.

If you want to train as a culinary professional in Alabama, start by weighing program length, schedule, and cost at nearby schools. For context, the state median annual wage for this occupation is approximately $62,400 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Alabama Quick Facts

MetricValueSource
State median annual wage$62,400BLS OEWS, May 2025
Alabama pay range (10th to 90th percentile)$39,940 to $85,990BLS OEWS, May 2025
Top-paying Alabama metro for this fieldAuburn, AL, $68,830BLS OEWS, May 2025
National job outlook (2024 to 2034)+7.1% growth, about 24,400 openings per yearBLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034
State employment1,000 workersBLS OEWS, May 2025
Alabama location quotient0.37BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the Culinary professional Career

What You’ll Find Below

The school listings below are sorted by proximity to Programs. Each entry includes the school name, address, and the credentials offered. Use the Alabama figures above as a reference point when comparing program length, schedule, and tuition.

How We Rank Schools

We first gather the schools closest to the city or state page you are viewing, then rank that local group by BOC Score, with the highest at the top. The BOC Score is computed from federal IPEDS and College Scorecard data; schools without enough data to score appear last.

Location / proximity to this page
Defines the local group
Graduation rate
30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
25%
Average net price (lower is better)
20%
Retention rate
15%
Fully online availability
10%

Schools without enough federal outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

#1

East Mississippi Community College

Scooba, MS 98.3 miles away BOC Score 57.7
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 44.4% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 43
  • Annual completions: 770
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $42,022 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#2

Mississippi University for Women

Columbus, MS 105.4 miles away BOC Score 57.1
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Programs offered: 2
  • Annual completions: 15
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $62,987 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#3

Georgia Northwestern Technical College

Rome, GA 135.3 miles away BOC Score 53.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 37.8% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 113
  • Annual completions: 4534
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $44,490 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#4

George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville

Hanceville, AL 87.5 miles away BOC Score 52.6
Tuition $5,220 - $19,008
Contact
Key stats
  • Graduation rate: 49.7%
  • Programs offered: 46
  • Annual completions: 2010
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $50,276 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#5

West Georgia Technical College

Waco, GA 111.0 miles away BOC Score 51.0
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 33.0% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 95
  • Annual completions: 4107
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $43,835 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#6

Meridian Community College

Meridian, MS 117.0 miles away BOC Score 50.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Programs offered: 60
  • Annual completions: 893
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $50,810 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#7

Columbus Technical College

Columbus, GA 109.6 miles away BOC Score 47.2
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 23.6% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 109
  • Annual completions: 2527
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $43,818 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#8

East Central Community College

Decatur, MS 137.2 miles away BOC Score 46.4
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 37.8% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 38
  • Annual completions: 297
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $36,389 (College Scorecard)

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#9

H Councill Trenholm State Community College

Montgomery, AL 41.0 miles away BOC Score 45.2
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 16.3% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 28
  • Annual completions: 476
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $34,122 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#10

Shelton State Community College

Tuscaloosa, AL 49.4 miles away BOC Score 40.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 25.7% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 32
  • Annual completions: 909
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $50,082 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#11

Lawson State Community College

Birmingham, AL 44.8 miles away BOC Score 38.3
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 26.5% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 43
  • Annual completions: 463
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $44,506 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#12

J. F. Drake State Community and Technical College

Huntsville, AL 136.2 miles away BOC Score 28.9
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 12.5% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 23
  • Annual completions: 329
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $52,160 (College Scorecard)

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

Culinary Worker Pay and Job Outlook

Annual Wage by Percentile - Chefs and Head Cooks
Chefs and Head Cooks annual wage percentiles, BLS OEWS May 2025P10 $37900, P25 $48440, P50 $62470, P75 $78750, P90 $98560.10th$37,90025th$48,44050th (median)$62,47075th$78,75090th$98,560
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Chefs and Head Cooks annual wage percentiles
PercentileAnnual wage
10th$37,900
25th$48,440
50th (median)$62,470
75th$78,750
90th$98,560
Projected employment growth, Chefs and Head Cooks, 2024-2034
Chefs and Head Cooks employment 2024 vs 2034 projection, BLS Employment Projections2024 employment 197300; 2034 projected employment 211300; percent change +7.1%.2024197,300 jobs2034 (proj.)211,300 jobsChange: +7.1%
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034
Chefs and Head Cooks employment projection 2024 to 2034
YearEmployment
2024197,300
2034 projected211,300
Percent change+7.1%

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does culinary professional training take in Alabama?

Culinary professional certificate programs in Alabama typically take 6 to 12 months of full-time study, while associate degree programs generally run about 2 years. Actual completion time depends on schedule (full-time vs. part-time) and any prerequisite coursework.

How much do culinary professionals earn in Alabama?

According to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), culinary professionals in Alabama earned a median annual wage of approximately $62,400. Pay varies with experience, certification, and employer; the 10th to 90th percentile range was approximately $39,940 to $85,990 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

How many culinary professional schools are in Alabama?

The schools listed above are within about 800 miles of Programs. Compare them by tuition, program length, and the credential each one awards.


About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.

Data sources

Figures on this page are sourced from the federal and state datasets below. Methodology: how we rank and source data.

DataProviderVintage
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMay 2025
Employment ProjectionsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics2024-2034
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data SystemNational Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)2024
College Scorecard (school-level outcomes)U.S. Department of Educationlatest release
College Scorecard (field-of-study earnings)U.S. Department of Educationlatest release (updated 2026-06-12)
Occupational licensing requirementsCareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor)latest release (updated 2026-02-22)
Registered apprenticeship programsCareerOneStop / Apprenticeship.gov (U.S. Department of Labor)latest release (updated 2025-10-25)