Best Culinary & Pastry Schools in Arkansas (2026)

Quick answer: Culinary professionals in Arkansas earn a median of $46,170 per year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). This page lists accredited culinary professional schools in Arkansas with local wage data and median graduate earnings for each school.

This guide rounds up culinary professional schools serving Arkansas and the local job-market figures worth checking first. For context, the state median annual wage for this occupation is approximately $46,170 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Arkansas Quick Facts

MetricValueSource
State median annual wage$46,170BLS OEWS, May 2025
Arkansas pay range (10th to 90th percentile)$33,500 to $87,730BLS OEWS, May 2025
Top-paying Arkansas metro for this fieldHot Springs, AR, $58,240BLS OEWS, May 2025
National job outlook (2024 to 2034)+7.1% growth, about 24,400 openings per yearBLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034
State employment880 workersBLS OEWS, May 2025
Arkansas location quotient0.53BLS 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 Arkansas 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

Arkansas Tech University

Russellville, AR 48.5 miles away BOC Score 58.4
Tuition $8,674 - $22,808
Contact
Key stats
  • Admission rate: 95.9%
  • Graduation rate: 48.6%
  • Programs offered: 62
  • Annual completions: 3141
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $49,759 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#2

Ozarka College

Melbourne, AR 79.6 miles away BOC Score 57.5
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 45.2% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 20
  • Annual completions: 519
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $46,188 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#3

College of the Ozarks

Point Lookout, MO 123.6 miles away BOC Score 55.7
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 62.4% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 10
  • Annual completions: 64
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $44,258 (College Scorecard)

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#4

Southern Missouri Technical Institute

West Plains, MO 125.4 miles away BOC Score 53.5
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 12
  • Annual completions: 98
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $40,421 (College Scorecard)

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#5

University of Memphis

Memphis, TN 138.2 miles away BOC Score 53.0
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 50.1% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 22
  • Annual completions: 1288
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $57,507 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#6

NorthWest Arkansas Community College

Bentonville, AR 139.2 miles away BOC Score 52.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 29.2% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 47
  • Annual completions: 554
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $48,056 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#7

South Arkansas College

El Dorado, AR 122.7 miles away BOC Score 49.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 27.9% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 31
  • Annual completions: 771
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $48,099 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#8

Coahoma Community College

Clarksdale, MS 113.8 miles away BOC Score 44.1
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 39.5% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 47
  • Annual completions: 832
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $31,140 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#9

Mississippi Delta Community College

Moorhead, MS 150.3 miles away BOC Score 41.8
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 36
  • Annual completions: 381
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $37,960 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#10

University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College

North Little Rock, AR 13.4 miles away BOC Score 41.7
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 34.4% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 67
  • Annual completions: 1028
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $41,807 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#11

Texarkana College

Texarkana, TX 143.5 miles away BOC Score 38.5
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 41.1% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 34
  • Annual completions: 1308
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $41,406 (College Scorecard)

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#12

Remington College-Memphis Campus

Memphis, TN 134.4 miles away BOC Score 21.8
Tuition $17,083 - $32,443
Contact
Key stats
  • Graduation rate: 35.2%
  • Programs offered: 16
  • Annual completions: 353
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $33,677 (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 Arkansas?

Culinary professional certificate programs in Arkansas 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 Arkansas?

According to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), culinary professionals in Arkansas earned a median annual wage of approximately $46,170. Pay varies with experience, certification, and employer; the 10th to 90th percentile range was approximately $33,500 to $87,730 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

How many culinary professional schools are in Arkansas?

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)