Best Culinary & Pastry Schools in Minnesota (2026)

Quick answer: Culinary professionals in Minnesota earn a median of $62,600 per year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). This page lists accredited culinary professional schools in Minnesota with local wage data and median graduate earnings for each school.

Several training options serve culinary professional students in Minnesota, from short certificates to longer hands-on programs. For context, the state median annual wage for this occupation is approximately $62,600 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Minnesota Quick Facts

MetricValueSource
State median annual wage$62,600BLS OEWS, May 2025
Minnesota pay range (10th to 90th percentile)$48,400 to $95,890BLS OEWS, May 2025
Top-paying Minnesota metro for this fieldMinneapolis, MN, $63,240BLS OEWS, May 2025
National job outlook (2024 to 2034)+7.1% growth, about 24,400 openings per yearBLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034
State employment1,730 workersBLS OEWS, May 2025
Minnesota location quotient0.45BLS 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 Minnesota 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

North Dakota State College of Science

Wahpeton, ND 164.9 miles away BOC Score 72.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 52.3% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 56
  • Annual completions: 633
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $60,587 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#2

Minnesota State Community and Technical College

Fergus Falls, MN 143.4 miles away BOC Score 64.5
Tuition $5,908 - $17,194
Contact
Key stats
  • Graduation rate: 46.5%
  • Programs offered: 79
  • Annual completions: 1129
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $54,581 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#3

Minnesota North College

Hibbing, MN 145.5 miles away BOC Score 63.9
Tuition $6,022 - $16,346
Contact
Key stats
  • Graduation rate: 41.7%
  • Programs offered: 47
  • Annual completions: 699
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $54,100 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#4

St Cloud Technical and Community College

Saint Cloud, MN 38.9 miles away BOC Score 63.7
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 43.6% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 56
  • Annual completions: 817
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $58,691 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#5

Chippewa Valley Technical College

Eau Claire, WI 102.0 miles away BOC Score 61.2
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 48.2% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 93
  • Annual completions: 3593
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $57,493 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#6

Central Lakes College-Brainerd

Brainerd, MN 78.4 miles away BOC Score 60.4
Tuition $6,249 - $19,543
Contact
Key stats
  • Graduation rate: 50.6%
  • Programs offered: 41
  • Annual completions: 456
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $50,357 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#7

South Central College

North Mankato, MN 86.3 miles away BOC Score 60.0
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 33.7% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 56
  • Annual completions: 515
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $52,003 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#8

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN 17.3 miles away BOC Score 58.9
Tuition $5,940 - $16,032
Contact
Key stats
  • Graduation rate: 42.8%
  • Programs offered: 87
  • Annual completions: 2896
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $59,906 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#9

Northcentral Technical College

Wausau, WI 186.7 miles away BOC Score 57.8
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 47.3% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 102
  • Annual completions: 2485
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $50,869 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#10

Western Technical College

La Crosse, WI 151.3 miles away BOC Score 56.2
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 36.4% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 84
  • Annual completions: 1710
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $53,114 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#11

Saint Paul College

Saint Paul, MN 32.0 miles away BOC Score 48.2
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 36.4% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 71
  • Annual completions: 1406
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $52,870 (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 Minnesota?

Culinary professional certificate programs in Minnesota 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 Minnesota?

According to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), culinary professionals in Minnesota earned a median annual wage of approximately $62,600. Pay varies with experience, certification, and employer; the 10th to 90th percentile range was approximately $48,400 to $95,890 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

How many culinary professional schools are in Minnesota?

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)