CULINARY SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK — Federal Data, September 2026
Culinary Schools in New York, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
6 accredited institutions in New York 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 6 ranked programs in New York, the median graduate needs 5.2 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $12,000, against median earnings of $24,636 one year after completion.
That is faster 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 Institute of Culinary Education in New York, at 3.6 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on New York institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about culinary schools in New York
The Ranking
6 culinary schools in New York, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Institute of Culinary EducationNew York, NY | for-profit | Certificate | 3.6 | $6,777 | $22,759 | 75% |
| 2 | Erie Community CollegeBuffalo, NY | Public | Associate | 4.9 | $6,439 | $15,793 | 28% |
| 3 | Culinary Institute of AmericaHyde Park, NY | nonprofit | Associate | 5.1 | $12,000 | $28,049 | 63% |
| 4 | Niagara County Community CollegeSanborn, NY | Public | Associate | 5.4 | $12,000 | $26,514 | 32% |
| 5 | SUNY College of Technology at AlfredAlfred, NY | Public | Associate | 5.4 | $12,000 | $26,598 | 55% |
| 6 | Monroe UniversityBronx, NY | for-profit | Associate | 8.8 | $13,364 | $18,256 | 57% |
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 New York, one by one
Institute of Culinary Education
New York, NY
Institute of Culinary Education is a private for-profit institution in New York. Its culinary arts graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,777 and report median earnings of $22,759 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.6 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.6 months faster than the New York state median of 5.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 75% completion rate.
Erie Community College
Buffalo, NY
Erie Community College is a public institution in Buffalo. Its culinary arts graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,439 and report median earnings of $15,793 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.9 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 0.3 months faster than the New York state median of 5.2. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 28% completion rate.
Culinary Institute of America
Hyde Park, NY
Culinary Institute of America is a private nonprofit institution in Hyde Park. Its culinary arts graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,000 and report median earnings of $28,049 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.1 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and right on the New York state median of 5.2. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 63% completion rate.
Niagara County Community College
Sanborn, NY
Niagara County Community College is a public institution in Sanborn. Its culinary arts graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,000 and report median earnings of $26,514 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.4 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and right on the New York state median of 5.2. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 32% completion rate.
SUNY College of Technology at Alfred
Alfred, NY
SUNY College of Technology at Alfred is a public institution in Alfred. Its culinary arts graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,000 and report median earnings of $26,598 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.4 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and right on the New York state median of 5.2. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 55% 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 New York
Comparing a different trade in New York
For NEW YORK School Operators
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