Wichita, KS (population: 374,803) has one catering school within a 100-mile radius of its city center. Autry Technology Center has a total student population of 587. It is the 1869th highest ranked school in the USA and the 41st highest in the state of Oklahoma (#1 is Oklahoma City University).
Catering students from Wichita 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 Wichita area alone, there are 50 employed meeting and convention planners earning an average salary of $32,910. Food preparation and serving related employees in this area earn $18,420/yr and there are 24,890 employed.
Wichita lies in Sedgwick county, which is one of the 67 counties in Kansas. Overall, the Wichita area has 295,670 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 2.3% unemployment rate, $18.81/hr average worker wage, and a $39,110 average annual salary. Thus, about 84.170 out of every 1000 jobs in Wichita are held by food preparation and serving related employees, and 0.168/1000 are held by meeting and convention planners.
After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Autry Technology Center ends up costing a student $16,140/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Wichita |
| North Newton | KS | - | 1 | 30.3056 | 44 | 26.4 miles |
| El Dorado | KS | - | 2 | 14.14 | 133 | 27.6 miles |
| Winfield | KS | - | 1 | 53.8865 | 62 | 36.4 miles |
| Arkansas City | KS | - | 1 | 16.4747 | 36 | 46.5 miles |
| Lindsborg | KS | - | 1 | 18.8974 | 70 | 63.8 miles |
| Ponca City | OK | - | 2 | 30.535 | 26 | 69.4 miles |
| Pratt | KS | - | 1 | 19.626 | 18 | 76.6 miles |
| Salina | KS | 46,677 | 4 | 21.0387 | 91 | 79.6 miles |
| Great Bend | KS | - | 1 | 20.0068 | 110 | 90.6 miles |
| Enid | OK | 48,152 | 2 | 30.1217 | 45 | 93.2 miles |