Wisconsin·Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations·SOC 35-2019

Best Cook, All Other programs in Wisconsin, ranked by enrollment

All cooks not listed.

12 schools in Wisconsin run programs that feed this job, graduating 267 people a year. The job pays a median of $33,760 in Wisconsin across about 50 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledAssistant CookFalafel Cart CookFraternity House Cook
Graduates / yr
267
in Wisconsin
Median pay · Wisconsin
$33,760
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
50
people employed
Schools
12
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
46%
across those schools
Median net price
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Wisconsin that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in Wisconsin that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Wisconsin (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Wisconsin page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 12.0503In Wisconsin
130
48.7%
11$25,404$13,000
2
CIP 12.0505In Wisconsin
93
34.8%
7$25,404$13,000
3
CIP 12.0500In Wisconsin
44
16.5%
2$25,404$13,000

Top 12 schools in Wisconsin

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 12 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Gateway Technical College
Kenosha, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
53Culinary Arts/Chef Training51%
2Madison Area Technical College
Madison, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
48Cooking and Related Culinary Arts, General29%
3Fox Valley Technical College
Appleton, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
46Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant$34,73665%
4Chippewa Valley Technical College
Eau Claire, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
22Culinary Arts/Chef Training50%
5Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
22Culinary Arts/Chef Training$25,30425%
6Northcentral Technical College
Wausau, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
19Culinary Arts/Chef Training45%
7Moraine Park Technical College
Fond du Lac, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
18Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant58%
8Lakeshore Technical College
Cleveland, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
12Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant50%
9Waukesha County Technical College
Pewaukee, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
11Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant44%
10Blackhawk Technical College
Janesville, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
7Culinary Arts/Chef Training34%
11Mid - State Technical College
Wisconsin Rapids, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
5Culinary Arts/Chef Training52%
12Nicolet Area Technical College
Rhinelander, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
4Culinary Arts/Chef Training44%

All 12 schools in Wisconsin

Every school in Wisconsin with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Wisconsin that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Gateway Technical CollegeKenoshaPublic532
Madison Area Technical CollegeMadisonPublic482
Fox Valley Technical CollegeAppletonPublic462
Chippewa Valley Technical CollegeEau ClairePublic222
Milwaukee Area Technical CollegeMilwaukeePublic222
Northcentral Technical CollegeWausauPublic192
Moraine Park Technical CollegeFond du LacPublic182
Lakeshore Technical CollegeClevelandPublic122
Waukesha County Technical CollegePewaukeePublic111
Blackhawk Technical CollegeJanesvillePublic71
Mid - State Technical CollegeWisconsin RapidsPublic51
Nicolet Area Technical CollegeRhinelanderPublic41

What cooks, all other earn in Wisconsin

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Wisconsin
$33,760
Mean annual
$39,300
Jobs in state
50
What the range looks like
10th pct$30,540Median$33,76090th pct$47,900
Versus the national median
-10.4%

U.S. median $37,690. Wisconsin pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.14×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+5.5%
Faster than average
Openings per year
3,700
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
1,300
24,000 → 25,300
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential
Plus moderate-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Cooks, All Other page.

How to become a Cook, All Other

Typical entry education
No formal educational credential
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Wisconsin

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 4 majors mapped to Cooks, All Other4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 12.0500Cooking and Related Culinary Arts, General
  • 12.0503Culinary Arts/Chef Training
  • 12.0505Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant
  • 12.0509Culinary Science/Culinology

Common questions

Answers for people weighing cooks, all other programs in Wisconsin.

What degree do you need to become a Cook, All Other?+

No formal educational credential is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Culinary Arts/Chef Training, which awarded 130 degrees in Wisconsin in 2024-25, 48.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Cook, All Other?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Culinary Arts and Related Services. Together they graduate about 267 people a year in Wisconsin.

How much do cooks, all other earn in Wisconsin?+

The median is $33,760 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 10.4% below the U.S. median of $37,690. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for cooks, all other growing?+

BLS projects a +5.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 3,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Wisconsin?+

12 institutions in Wisconsin reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+

BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'Moderate-term on-the-job training' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.

Programs in WisconsinCulinary Arts/Chef Training

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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