Minneapolis, MN (population: 386,751) has two catering schools within its city limits. The Art Institutes International Minnesota, the highest ranked school in the city with a catering program, has a total student population of 2,008. It is the 2903rd highest ranked school in the USA and the 50th highest in the state of Minnesota (#1 is University of Minnesota-Twin Cities).
Catering students from Minneapolis 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington-WI area alone, there are 870 employed meeting and convention planners earning an average salary of $46,420. Food preparation and serving related employees in this area earn $22,110/yr and there are 136,320 employed.
Minneapolis lies in Hennepin county, which is one of the 61 counties in Minnesota. Overall, the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington-WI area has 1,729,750 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0.4% unemployment rate, $23.40/hr average worker wage, and a $48,670 average annual salary. Thus, about 78.810 out of every 1000 jobs in Minneapolis are held by food preparation and serving related employees, and 0.503/1000 are held by meeting and convention planners.
Of the 2 catering schools in Minneapolis, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, The Art Institutes International Minnesota comes out as the most expensive ($28,338/yr) for catering students, with Minneapolis Community and Technical College as the lowest, reported at only $13,072/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Minneapolis |
| St Louis Park | MN | - | 1 | 8.81324 | 12 | 3.9 miles |
| Saint Louis Park | MN | 46,353 | 2 | 11.1178 | 24 | 4.5 miles |
| Edina | MN | 45,900 | 0 | - | 0 | 6.5 miles |
| Mendota Heights | MN | - | 2 | 22.3643 | 19 | 8.3 miles |
| Saint Paul | MN | 281,501 | 17 | 26.5648 | 744 | 8.4 miles |
| Brooklyn Center | MN | - | 2 | 15.2653 | 32 | 8.6 miles |
| Bloomington | MN | 81,380 | 8 | 29.5654 | 333 | 9.3 miles |
| Plymouth | MN | 72,954 | 4 | 34.6308 | 185 | 10.2 miles |
| Eagan | MN | 64,507 | 4 | 19.0283 | 31 | 11.1 miles |
| Brooklyn Park | MN | 72,758 | 3 | 8.3746 | 127 | 11.1 miles |
| Eden Prairie | MN | 62,379 | 2 | 4.18307 | 19 | 12.0 miles |
| Inver Grove Heights | MN | - | 1 | 10.5306 | 43 | 13.6 miles |
| Burnsville | MN | 59,309 | 1 | 29.2107 | 2 | 13.8 miles |
| Maple Grove | MN | 63,633 | 0 | - | 0 | 13.9 miles |
| Blaine | MN | 56,366 | 2 | 20.1744 | 20 | 14.8 miles |
| White Bear Lake | MN | - | 1 | 10.7099 | 66 | 15.4 miles |
| Woodbury | MN | 58,631 | 2 | 26.3629 | 27 | 17.5 miles |
| Lake Elmo | MN | - | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 19.3 miles |
| Saint Peter | MN | - | 1 | 36.7798 | 76 | 56.1 miles |
| Saint Cloud | MN | 67,771 | 3 | 25.374 | 204 | 59.9 miles |
| Pine City | MN | - | 1 | 14.515 | 24 | 62.2 miles |
| Mankato | MN | - | 3 | 19.0215 | 174 | 65.8 miles |
| North Mankato | MN | - | 1 | 14.452 | 54 | 66.2 miles |
| Willmar | MN | - | 1 | 19.0395 | 78 | 87.7 miles |
| Eau Claire | WI | 66,106 | 3 | 29.3261 | 160 | 87.8 miles |