Culinary Arts at Erie Community College

Erie Community College's Culinary Arts program reports earnings far below what most graduates in this field achieve. At $15,793 one year after graduation, graduates earn roughly $11,000 less than the typical New York culinary graduate and rank in just the 10th percentile statewide. Even comparing to nearby Niagara County Community College—another Western New York institution—there's a $10,000+ earnings gap. The program does keep debt remarkably low at $6,439, but when graduates are earning barely above minimum wage full-time equivalent, even modest debt becomes a burden.

The small sample size here (under 30 graduates) means these numbers might not tell the full story, but the gap is too large to ignore. While earnings do grow 13% by year four, that still leaves graduates at just $17,788—less than what most earn in their first year out of similar programs. For context, the Culinary Institute of America and SUNY Alfred both place graduates around $28,000 initially.

If your child is committed to culinary arts in Western New York, the data suggests exploring alternatives. The low debt is genuine, but graduating into $16,000 annual earnings makes it difficult to build financial stability, even without heavy loans. At minimum, investigate what accounts for this program's significantly lower outcomes compared to peer institutions across the state.