Best Culinary & Pastry Schools in Hollister, California (2026)

Quick answer: Culinary professionals in California earn a median of $64,500 per year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). This page lists accredited culinary professional schools near Hollister, California with local wage data and median graduate earnings for each school.

If you want to train as a culinary professional in Hollister, California, start by weighing program length, schedule, and cost at nearby schools. For context, the state median annual wage for this occupation is approximately $64,500 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Hollister Quick Facts

MetricValueSource
State median annual wage$64,500BLS OEWS, May 2025
California pay range (10th to 90th percentile)$37,380 to $101,870BLS OEWS, May 2025
San Jose, CA metro median wage$79,020BLS OEWS, May 2025
National job outlook (2024 to 2034)+7.1% growth, about 24,400 openings per yearBLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034
State employment31,670 workersBLS OEWS, May 2025
San Benito County establishments30BLS QCEW, 2024
San Benito County industry employment450BLS QCEW, 2024
San Benito County unemployment rate6.3%BLS LAUS, 2024
California location quotient1.35BLS OEWS, May 2025

Nearby Cities

Explore the Culinary professional Career

What You’ll Find Below

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


Culinary & Pastry Schools near Hollister

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

Modesto Junior College

Modesto, CA 58.9 miles away BOC Score 64.3
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 27.8% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 62
  • Annual completions: 1195
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $46,619 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#2

CET-San Jose

San Jose, CA 42.0 miles away BOC Score 57.7
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 79.6% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 19
  • Annual completions: 331
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $40,676 (College Scorecard)

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#3

Mission College

Santa Clara, CA 49.1 miles away BOC Score 52.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 46.4% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 28
  • Annual completions: 829
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $55,281 (College Scorecard)

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#4

Cabrillo College

Aptos, CA 30.5 miles away BOC Score 51.4
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 38.1% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 58
  • Annual completions: 868
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $54,586 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

Culinary Worker Pay and Job Outlook

Chefs and Head Cooks annual wage by percentile: $37,900 at the 10th percentile, $62,470 median, $98,560 at the 90th. Source: U.S. BLS OEWS, May 2025 release.
What chefs and head cooks earn across the pay scale
Projected job growth for chefs and head cooks: 197,300 jobs in 2024 to 211,300 in 2034, +7.1% change. Source: U.S. BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034.
Projected job growth for chefs and head cooks
Top-paying states for chefs and head cooks - Rhode Island leads at $79,930. Source: U.S. BLS OEWS, May 2025 release.
Top-paying states for chefs and head cooks

Next Steps

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does culinary professional training take near Hollister?

Culinary professional certificate programs near Hollister 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 California?

According to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), culinary professionals in California earned a median annual wage of approximately $64,500. Pay varies with experience, certification, and employer; the 10th to 90th percentile range was approximately $37,380 to $101,870 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

How many culinary professional schools are near Hollister?

San Benito County reports approximately 30 culinary professional related establishments employing about 450 workers (BLS QCEW, 2024). Compare the schools listed above for tuition, duration, and credential alignment with the local employer base.


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)