Best Culinary & Pastry Schools in Louisiana (2026)

Quick answer: Culinary professionals in Louisiana earn a median of $45,570 per year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). This page lists accredited culinary professional schools in Louisiana with local wage data and median graduate earnings for each school.

Programs sits within the Louisiana culinary professional workforce, served by accredited training providers. For context, the state median annual wage for this occupation is approximately $45,570 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Louisiana Quick Facts

MetricValueSource
State median annual wage$45,570BLS OEWS, May 2025
Louisiana pay range (10th to 90th percentile)$32,320 to $86,750BLS OEWS, May 2025
Top-paying Louisiana metro for this fieldAlexandria, LA, $47,670BLS OEWS, May 2025
National job outlook (2024 to 2034)+7.1% growth, about 24,400 openings per yearBLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034
State employment1,990 workersBLS OEWS, May 2025
Louisiana location quotient0.80BLS 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 Louisiana 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

Copiah-Lincoln Community College

Wesson, MS 94.0 miles away BOC Score 63.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 50.8% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 53
  • Annual completions: 444
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $36,902 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#2

Louisiana Culinary Institute

Baton Rouge, LA 54.8 miles away BOC Score 53.9
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 80.7% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 1
  • Annual completions: 47
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $36,043 (College Scorecard)

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#3

Hinds Community College

Raymond, MS 118.3 miles away BOC Score 53.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Programs offered: 70
  • Annual completions: 2718
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $40,042 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#4

Nicholls State University

Thibodaux, LA 99.9 miles away BOC Score 50.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 54.0% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 7
  • Annual completions: 109
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $51,767 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#5

SOWELA Technical Community College

Lake Charles, LA 99.1 miles away BOC Score 49.8
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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  • 3820 Senator J. Bennett Johnston Ave Lake Charles, LA 70615
  • (337) 421-6565
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 32
  • Annual completions: 2424
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $60,488 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#7

Nunez Community College

Chalmette, LA 128.0 miles away BOC Score 44.3
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 22.7% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 39
  • Annual completions: 1212
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $48,555 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#8

Baton Rouge Community College

Baton Rouge, LA 51.9 miles away BOC Score 43.7
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Programs offered: 48
  • Annual completions: 948
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $45,313 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#9

Lamar State College-Port Arthur

Port Arthur, TX 150.2 miles away BOC Score 42.9
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Programs offered: 36
  • Annual completions: 582
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $46,272 (College Scorecard)

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#10

Delgado Community College

New Orleans, LA 119.8 miles away BOC Score 41.7
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 22.9% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 85
  • Annual completions: 2367
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $48,141 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#11

Northshore Technical Community College

Lacombe, LA 117.0 miles away BOC Score 41.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Programs offered: 40
  • Annual completions: 3504
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $37,814 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#12

South Louisiana Community College

Lafayette, LA 55.5 miles away BOC Score 40.6
Tuition $4,210 - $19,044
Contact
Key stats
  • Graduation rate: 30.2%
  • Programs offered: 49
  • Annual completions: 3437
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $45,336 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

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 Louisiana?

Culinary professional certificate programs in Louisiana 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 Louisiana?

According to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), culinary professionals in Louisiana earned a median annual wage of approximately $45,570. Pay varies with experience, certification, and employer; the 10th to 90th percentile range was approximately $32,320 to $86,750 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

How many culinary professional schools are in Louisiana?

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)