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Culinary Arts: Schools, Apprenticeships & Licensing by State

Two ways in: pay for school (580 U.S. schools offer Culinary Arts and Related Services programs at certificate/associate level, median net price $8,331/yr) or get paid to train (297 registered apprenticeship programs in the federal database). No license required; ACF apprenticeships exist; food-handler cards are the only universal credential.

US schools (category)
580
Median net price / yr
$8,331
Median earnings (10 yrs after entry)
$38,801
school-wide medians, all programs
Apprenticeship programs
297
paid training

Working culinary arts professionals earn a median of $36,830/yr nationally — state medians range from $29,050 (Louisiana) to $46,800 (Washington). Wage data: U.S. Dept of Labor via CareerOneStop.

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Culinary Arts schools & apprenticeships by state

About half of states run their own apprenticeship agencies (including NY, MN, OR, VT, WA, DC) and are under-reported in the federal database — a low count there does not mean apprenticeships don't exist in that state.

School data: U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard (most recent release, pulled July 2026). Apprenticeship data: U.S. Dept of Labor. Licensing summaries cited to official state boards per state page. Methodology.