Best Culinary & Pastry Schools in Kentucky (2026)

Quick answer: Culinary professionals in Kentucky earn a median of $48,070 per year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). This page lists accredited culinary professional schools in Kentucky with local wage data and median graduate earnings for each school.

Looking for culinary professional schools in Kentucky? The programs below combine classroom instruction with hands-on practice. For context, the state median annual wage for this occupation is approximately $48,070 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Kentucky Quick Facts

MetricValueSource
State median annual wage$48,070BLS OEWS, May 2025
Kentucky pay range (10th to 90th percentile)$31,550 to $88,410BLS OEWS, May 2025
Top-paying Kentucky metro for this fieldLexington, KY, $56,790BLS OEWS, May 2025
National job outlook (2024 to 2034)+7.1% growth, about 24,400 openings per yearBLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034
State employment1,790 workersBLS OEWS, May 2025
Kentucky location quotient0.70BLS 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 Kentucky figures above as a reference point when comparing program length, schedule, and tuition.

How we rank schools – graduation rate, graduate earnings, cost and retention. Advertising plays no part.

This page lists 12 schools within 136 miles, closest group first, then ordered by BOC Score with the highest at the top. 12 of them carry a score.

Location / proximity to this page
Defines the local group
Graduation rate how often students finish
30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry whether it paid off
25%
Average net price what students actually pay after aid; lower ranks higher
20%
Retention rate how many come back for year two
15%
Fully online availability whether you can study while working
10%

Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal about the institution rather than about this subject. Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.

#1

Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College

Bowling Green, KY 82.1 miles away BOC Score 56.0
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Programs offered: 32
  • Annual completions: 5164
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $41,507 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#2

Madisonville Community College

Madisonville, KY 122.0 miles away BOC Score 55.9
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 51.7% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 43
  • Annual completions: 2086
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $54,485 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#3

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College

Elizabethtown, KY 30.3 miles away BOC Score 55.0
Tuition $4,728 - $14,212
Contact
Key stats
  • Graduation rate: 54.0%
  • Programs offered: 41
  • Annual completions: 4861
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $43,584 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#4

Maysville Community and Technical College

Maysville, KY 102.7 miles away BOC Score 52.5
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 53.6% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 45
  • Annual completions: 3513
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $42,970 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#5

Bluegrass Community and Technical College

Lexington, KY 49.0 miles away BOC Score 51.0
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Programs offered: 62
  • Annual completions: 6837
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $48,181 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#6

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College

Cincinnati, OH 106.1 miles away BOC Score 50.7
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 18.3% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 72
  • Annual completions: 1354
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $59,235 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#7

Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Oneida-Huntsville

Huntsville, TN 102.4 miles away BOC Score 50.3
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 28
  • Annual completions: 298
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $41,875 (College Scorecard)

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#8

Jefferson Community and Technical College

Louisville, KY 41.6 miles away BOC Score 49.7
Tuition $4,808 - $14,457
Contact
Key stats
  • Graduation rate: 33.2%
  • Programs offered: 57
  • Annual completions: 4516
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $50,106 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#9

Vincennes University

Vincennes, IN 135.6 miles away BOC Score 48.2
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 36.7% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 78
  • Annual completions: 1509
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $54,333 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#10

Somerset Community College

Somerset, KY 61.2 miles away BOC Score 47.1
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 41.6% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 58
  • Annual completions: 4729
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $43,252 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#11

Sullivan University

Louisville, KY 37.3 miles away BOC Score 43.9
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 56.3% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 37
  • Annual completions: 649
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $53,068 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#12

Nossi College of Art and Design

Nashville, TN 129.7 miles away BOC Score 34.8
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 39.7% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 4
  • Annual completions: 47
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $35,271 (College Scorecard)

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

Culinary Worker Pay and Job Outlook

Annual Wage by Percentile, United States - 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, United States, 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 Kentucky?

Culinary professional certificate programs in Kentucky 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 Kentucky?

According to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), culinary professionals in Kentucky earned a median annual wage of approximately $48,070. Pay varies with experience, certification, and employer; the 10th to 90th percentile range was approximately $31,550 to $88,410 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

How many culinary professional schools are in Kentucky?

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)