Best Culinary & Pastry Schools in Missouri (2026)

Quick answer: Culinary professionals in Missouri earn a median of $64,480 per year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). This page lists accredited culinary professional schools in Missouri with local wage data and median graduate earnings for each school.

This guide rounds up culinary professional schools serving Missouri and the local job-market figures worth checking first. For context, the state median annual wage for this occupation is approximately $64,480 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Missouri Quick Facts

MetricValueSource
State median annual wage$64,480BLS OEWS, May 2025
Missouri pay range (10th to 90th percentile)$39,650 to $91,500BLS OEWS, May 2025
Top-paying Missouri metro for this fieldSpringfield, MO, $67,460BLS OEWS, May 2025
National job outlook (2024 to 2034)+7.1% growth, about 24,400 openings per yearBLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034
State employment1,750 workersBLS OEWS, May 2025
Missouri location quotient0.46BLS 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 Missouri 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 165 miles, closest group first, then ordered by BOC Score with the highest at the top. 11 of them carry a score. 1 does not have enough federal outcome data to score, and appears last rather than being hidden.

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

Jefferson College

Hillsboro, MO 117.6 miles away BOC Score 57.2
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 35.4% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 28
  • Annual completions: 519
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $50,937 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#2

College of the Ozarks

Point Lookout, MO 123.5 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

#3

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS 115.2 miles away BOC Score 55.0
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 30.2% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 64
  • Annual completions: 2912
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $52,956 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#4

Ozarks Technical Community College

Springfield, MO 84.2 miles away BOC Score 54.7
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 32.2% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 59
  • Annual completions: 1875
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $42,628 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#5

Southern Missouri Technical Institute

West Plains, MO 121.3 miles away BOC Score 53.5
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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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

#6

NorthWest Arkansas Community College

Bentonville, AR 159.3 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

St Charles Community College

Cottleville, MO 116.0 miles away BOC Score 51.7
Tuition $3,048 - $13,629
Contact
Key stats
  • Graduation rate: 23.9%
  • Programs offered: 42
  • Annual completions: 337
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $48,369 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#8

Southwestern Illinois College

Belleville, IL 152.1 miles away BOC Score 49.6
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 36.7% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 83
  • Annual completions: 3390
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $51,516 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#9

East Central College

Union, MO 94.8 miles away BOC Score 46.2
Tuition Contact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Completion rate: 43.0% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 35
  • Annual completions: 567
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $42,272 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#10

Kansas City Kansas Community College

Kansas City, KS 121.1 miles away BOC Score 44.4
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Completion rate: 40.2% (College Scorecard)
  • Programs offered: 52
  • Annual completions: 1485
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $50,545 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard

#11

Saint Louis Community College

Bridgeton, MO 126.5 miles away BOC Score 34.3
Tuition Contact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 50
  • Annual completions: 1025
  • Median graduate earnings, 4 yrs after completing (all majors, not a single program): $48,396 (College Scorecard)
  • Online programs available

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 Missouri?

Culinary professional certificate programs in Missouri 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 Missouri?

According to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), culinary professionals in Missouri earned a median annual wage of approximately $64,480. Pay varies with experience, certification, and employer; the 10th to 90th percentile range was approximately $39,650 to $91,500 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

How many culinary professional schools are in Missouri?

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)