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Culinary & pastry schools in Wisconsin
Wisconsin has 14 accredited campuses awarding culinary credentials. If you finish and work as a chef in Wisconsin, expect to start around $41,990–$49,200 and reach a median of $61,300 with experience; the top quarter earn $74,080 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Wisconsin). Graduates of these Wisconsin programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $28,490 in their first year, against $24,208 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What chefs and head cooks earn in Wisconsin
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 1,860 employed in Wisconsin. National median: $62,470.
Campuses in Wisconsin, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: AppletonClevelandEau ClaireFond du LacGreen BayJanesvilleKenoshaLa CrosseMadisonMilwaukeePewaukeeRhinelanderUnion GroveWausau
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waukesha County Technical College | Pewaukee | Public | 26 | $30,651 | not reported | 44% | not reported |
| Madison Area Technical College | Madison | Public | 66 | $29,703 | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Milwaukee Area Technical College | Milwaukee | Public | 51 | $27,277 | $14,125 | 25% | not reported |
| Fox Valley Technical College | Appleton | Public | 58 | $24,945 | $11,500 | 65% | not reported |
| Chippewa Valley Technical College | Eau Claire | Public | 27 | not reported | not reported | 50% | not reported |
| Gateway Technical College | Kenosha | Public | 24 | not reported | not reported | 51% | not reported |
| Lakeshore Technical College | Cleveland | Public | 18 | not reported | not reported | 50% | not reported |
| Northeast Wisconsin Technical College | Green Bay | Public | 14 | not reported | not reported | 51% | not reported |
| Moraine Park Technical College | Fond du Lac | Public | 9 | not reported | not reported | 58% | not reported |
| Blackhawk Technical College | Janesville | Public | 8 | not reported | not reported | 34% | not reported |
| Nicolet Area Technical College | Rhinelander | Public | 8 | not reported | not reported | 44% | not reported |
| Northcentral Technical College | Wausau | Public | 7 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Shepherds College | Union Grove | non-profit | 7 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Western Technical College | La Crosse | Public | 6 | not reported | $7,000 | 34% | not reported |
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.