Albuquerque, NM (population: 535,923) has three culinary schools within its city limits. De Wolff College Hair Styling and Cosmetology, the highest ranked school in the city with a culinary program, has a total student population of 137. It is the 2780th highest ranked school in the USA and the 9th highest in the state of New Mexico (#1 is New Mexico State University-Main Campus).
Culinary students from Albuquerque 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.
Albuquerque lies in Bernalillo county, which is one of the 23 counties in New Mexico. Overall, the Albuquerque area has 381,870 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0.6% unemployment rate, $19.31/hr average worker wage, and a $40,170 average annual salary.
Of the 3 culinary schools in Albuquerque, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, De Wolff College Hair Styling and Cosmetology comes out as the most expensive ($14,940/yr) for culinary students, with Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute as the lowest, reported at only $4,195/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Albuquerque |
| Albuequerque | NM | - | 1 | 4.18669 | 13 | 3.0 miles |
| Rio Rancho | NM | 85,837 | 1 | 10.6625 | 12 | 10.6 miles |
| Santa Fe | NM | 74,019 | 6 | 20.0822 | 127 | 54.1 miles |
| Grants | NM | - | 1 | 9.85236 | 40 | 69.7 miles |