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Culinary & pastry schools in Tennessee
Tennessee has 5 accredited campuses awarding culinary credentials. If you finish and work as a chef in Tennessee, expect to start around $45,410–$57,470 and reach a median of $69,810 with experience; the top quarter earn $81,900 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Tennessee). Graduates of these Tennessee programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of not reported in their first year, against $24,208 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What chefs and head cooks earn in Tennessee
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 3,820 employed in Tennessee. National median: $62,470.
Campuses in Tennessee, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: HuntsvilleKnoxvilleMemphisMorristownNashville
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville State Community College | Nashville | Public | 38 | not reported | not reported | 19% | not reported |
| Remington College-Memphis Campus | Memphis | non-profit | 25 | not reported | $9,500 | 38% | not reported |
| Pellissippi State Community College | Knoxville | Public | 16 | not reported | not reported | 32% | not reported |
| Walters State Community College | Morristown | Public | 9 | not reported | not reported | 33% | not reported |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Oneida-Huntsville | Huntsville | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 74% | $20,130 |
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
Ranked by median earnings of this program's graduates one year after completion (College Scorecard field-of-study, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026); campuses without a reported figure follow, by credentials awarded. "Program debt" is the median federal loan debt for graduates of this program at this campus. Completion is the campus-wide 150%-of-time rate. "Not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy.