CULINARY SCHOOLS IN MICHIGAN — Federal Data, September 2026
Culinary Schools in Michigan, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
8 accredited institutions in Michigan report enough federal data on this program to be compared. They are ranked here on a single measure: how many months of gross pay it takes a graduate to cover the median debt.
See The RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 8 ranked programs in Michigan, the median graduate needs 6.7 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $13,600, against median earnings of $26,639 one year after completion.
That is slower than the national median of 6.4 months for this field, measured across the 88 institutions in our national culinary schools ranking. The best performer in the state is Grand Rapids Community College in Grand Rapids, at 5.3 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Michigan institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about culinary schools in Michigan
The Ranking
8 culinary schools in Michigan, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Rapids Community CollegeGrand Rapids, MI | Public | Certificate | 5.3 | $12,125 | $27,630 | 21% |
| 2 | Baker CollegeOwosso, MI | nonprofit | Associate | 5.7 | $12,000 | $25,204 | 36% |
| 3 | Kalamazoo Valley Community CollegeKalamazoo, MI | Public | Associate | 6.4 | $14,382 | $26,843 | 28% |
| 4 | Northwestern Michigan CollegeTraverse City, MI | Public | Associate | 6.4 | $14,199 | $26,586 | 25% |
| 5 | Schoolcraft Community College DistrictLivonia, MI | Public | Associate | 6.9 | $15,750 | $27,248 | 18% |
| 6 | Dorsey CollegeMadison Heights, MI | for-profit | Certificate | 7.3 | $13,000 | $21,367 | 54% |
| 7 | Dorsey College-RosevilleRoseville, MI | for-profit | Certificate | 7.3 | $13,000 | $21,367 | 35% |
| 8 | Ferris State UniversityBig Rapids, MI | Public | Associate | 10.5 | $23,251 | $26,692 | 47% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026). Debt is the median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of completers in this program; earnings are median earnings one year after completion. Where a school offers the program at both certificate and associate level, the shorter payback is shown. Completion is the institution’s published rate, not the program’s.
The Top Five, In Detail
The five fastest payback programs in Michigan, one by one
Grand Rapids Community College
Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids Community College is a public institution in Grand Rapids. Its culinary arts graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,125 and report median earnings of $27,630 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.3 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.4 months faster than the Michigan state median of 6.7. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 21% completion rate.
Baker College
Owosso, MI
Baker College is a private nonprofit institution in Owosso. Its culinary arts graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,000 and report median earnings of $25,204 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.7 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 1.0 months faster than the Michigan state median of 6.7. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 36% completion rate.
Kalamazoo Valley Community College
Kalamazoo, MI
Kalamazoo Valley Community College is a public institution in Kalamazoo. Its culinary arts graduates leave with a median federal debt of $14,382 and report median earnings of $26,843 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 6.4 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.3 months faster than the Michigan state median of 6.7. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 28% completion rate.
Northwestern Michigan College
Traverse City, MI
Northwestern Michigan College is a public institution in Traverse City. Its culinary arts graduates leave with a median federal debt of $14,199 and report median earnings of $26,586 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 6.4 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 0.3 months faster than the Michigan state median of 6.7. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 25% completion rate.
Schoolcraft Community College District
Livonia, MI
Schoolcraft Community College District is a public institution in Livonia. Its culinary arts graduates leave with a median federal debt of $15,750 and report median earnings of $27,248 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 6.9 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and right on the Michigan state median of 6.7. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 18% completion rate.
Read It Carefully
What this ranking does not measure
Absence from this page is not a verdict. The Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, so a small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all. Schools that enroll no students on federal aid are outside this dataset entirely.
The measure is a ratio, not a repayment plan, and it counts federal loan debt only. Cash payments, private loans and employer sponsorship are invisible here. Local wages shape earnings as much as the school does, which is exactly why comparing inside one state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.
Other States
The same program, another state
Other Programs in Michigan
Comparing a different trade in Michigan
For MICHIGAN School Operators
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