Program Payoff

Culinary Arts and Related Services programs in Arkansas

12 schools in Arkansas teach this, at certificate or associate level. 2 of them report what graduates earn two years out; the highest is $20,140 at NorthWest Arkansas Community College.

What this work pays in Arkansas

Cooks, Restaurant in Arkansas earn a median of $30,180 a year across 11,270 jobs. That is what the occupation pays everyone in it — not what graduates of any one program below earned.

Also leads toMedianJobs in Arkansas
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$33,80011,200
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria$30,2406,530
Bartenders$25,0903,020
Food Service Managers$55,1202,720
Bakers$30,3802,400

Occupation wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

Schools

SchoolCredentialMedian debtGraduate earnings, 2 yrsGraduates
NorthWest Arkansas Community College Bentonville Associate's degree $20,140 (11 grads) 23
University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College North Little Rock Associate's degree $17,953 $20,140 (27 grads) 36
Arkansas State University Mid-South West Memphis Undergraduate certificate not published 10
Arkansas State University-Newport Newport Undergraduate certificate not published 7
Arkansas Tech University Russellville Undergraduate certificate not published 13
Arkansas Tech University Russellville Associate's degree not published
NorthWest Arkansas Community College Bentonville Undergraduate certificate not published 57
Ozarka College Melbourne Undergraduate certificate not published 12
Ozarka College Melbourne Associate's degree not published 5
South Arkansas College El Dorado Undergraduate certificate not published 4
University of Arkansas Community College Rich Mountain Mena Undergraduate certificate not published
University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College North Little Rock Undergraduate certificate not published 100

A dash under earnings or debt means the U.S. Department of Education has not published a figure for that program — it withholds any median computed from too few graduates, which covers about four of every five programs. It never means zero, and it says nothing about whether the program is any good. Where a figure is shown, the number of graduates behind it is shown with it.

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The U.S. Department of Education publishes new cost, debt and earnings figures once a year, and every number on this page changes at once. One email when that happens for Culinary Arts and Related Services — nothing else, and nothing in between.

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Program and outcome figures: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, released 2026-06-10.