Denver, CO (population: 609,651) has five culinary schools within its city limits. Emily Griffith Opportunity School, the highest ranked school in the city with a culinary program, has a total student population of 2,230. It is the 2063rd highest ranked school in the USA and the 22nd highest in the state of Colorado (#1 is Colorado College).
Culinary students from Denver schools who go on to become culinary artists, bakers, chefs, cooks, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 140,510 people working as bakers alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $25,350. Also, Cooks, private household make on average $27,720 per year and there are about 770 of them employed in the US today.
Denver lies in Denver county, which is one of the 55 counties in Colorado. Overall, the Denver-Aurora area has 1,218,790 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $23/hr average worker wage, and a $48,560 average annual salary.
After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Emily Griffith Opportunity School comes out as the most expensive ($/yr) for culinary students, with Cuttin' Up Beauty Academy as the lowest, reported at only $11,556/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Denver |
| Commerce City | CO | 46,807 | 0 | - | 0 | 6.9 miles |
| Aurora | CO | 334,924 | 11 | 27.59 | 204 | 8.5 miles |
| Thornton | CO | 120,487 | 4 | 21.9949 | 44 | 9.6 miles |
| Greenwood Village | CO | - | 2 | 15.5036 | 87 | 11.4 miles |
| Westminster | CO | 109,334 | 7 | 21.6728 | 184 | 12.2 miles |
| Lakewood | CO | 142,294 | 13 | 20.2254 | 326 | 13.7 miles |
| Highlands Ranch | CO | 129,817 | 0 | - | 0 | 16.1 miles |
| Lone Tree | CO | - | 1 | 9.20591 | 39 | 16.2 miles |
| Parker | CO | 47,600 | 0 | - | 0 | 18.9 miles |
| Castle Rock | CO | 49,815 | 0 | - | 0 | 27.0 miles |
| Boulder | CO | 95,721 | 5 | 25.2105 | 131 | 27.0 miles |
| Longmont | CO | 88,962 | 0 | - | 0 | 30.5 miles |
| Greeley | CO | 94,780 | 4 | 31.0251 | 125 | 45.5 miles |
| Loveland | CO | 68,614 | 0 | - | 0 | 46.2 miles |
| Fort Collins | CO | 141,921 | 5 | 27.6422 | 154 | 55.7 miles |
| Colorado Springs | CO | 388,306 | 17 | 23.417 | 343 | 63.2 miles |
| Cheyenne | WY | 58,067 | 4 | 11.724 | 116 | 95.5 miles |