Bachelor's · Hyde Park, New York

Is Culinary Arts and Related Services at Culinary Institute of America worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 7.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $51,697; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $66,535; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $22,875; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $147k (likely $147k – $178k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $29k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NY; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 7.6 years (likely 6.0–10.0); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$71k (likely −$164k – $13k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $281k (likely $97k – $474k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 50%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26