Colorado Springs, CO (population: 388,306) has one catering school within its city limits. Pikes Peak Community College has a total student population of 13,572. It is the 5175th highest ranked school in the USA and the 86th highest in the state of Colorado (#1 is Colorado College).
Catering students from Colorado Springs schools who go on to become caterers, professional caterers, food service managers, food service directors, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 11,218,260 people working as food preparation and serving related employees alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $20,880. Also, Meeting and convention planners make on average $48,060 per year and there are about 51,530 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Colorado Springs area alone, there are 170 employed meeting and convention planners earning an average salary of $43,770. Food preparation and serving related employees in this area earn $20,440/yr and there are 23,860 employed.
Colorado Springs lies in El Paso county, which is one of the 55 counties in Colorado. Overall, the Colorado Springs area has 246,560 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $21/hr average worker wage, and a $43,790 average annual salary. Thus, about 97 out of every 1000 jobs in Colorado Springs are held by food preparation and serving related employees, and 1/1000 are held by meeting and convention planners.
After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Pikes Peak Community College ends up costing a student $9,506/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Colorado Springs |
| Castle Rock | CO | 49,815 | 0 | - | 0 | 36.3 miles |
| Pueblo | CO | 107,496 | 2 | 15.7548 | 107 | 41.5 miles |
| Parker | CO | 47,600 | 0 | - | 0 | 45.0 miles |
| Lone Tree | CO | - | 1 | 9.20591 | 39 | 47.3 miles |
| Highlands Ranch | CO | 129,817 | 0 | - | 0 | 49.0 miles |
| Greenwood Village | CO | - | 2 | 15.5036 | 87 | 53.4 miles |
| Aurora | CO | 334,924 | 11 | 27.59 | 204 | 58.8 miles |
| Lakewood | CO | 142,294 | 13 | 20.2254 | 326 | 61.1 miles |
| Denver | CO | 609,651 | 24 | 21.7296 | 554 | 63.2 miles |
| Commerce City | CO | 46,807 | 0 | - | 0 | 70.1 miles |
| Thornton | CO | 120,487 | 4 | 21.9949 | 44 | 72.0 miles |
| Westminster | CO | 109,334 | 7 | 21.6728 | 184 | 72.2 miles |
| Boulder | CO | 95,721 | 5 | 25.2105 | 131 | 85.1 miles |
| Longmont | CO | 88,962 | 0 | - | 0 | 92.5 miles |