Culinary Arts and Related Services at Denmark Technical College
SC · Certificate Degree · CIP 12.05
Executive Summary
Graduates with a Culinary Arts and Related Services degree from Denmark Technical College earn a median salary of $30,087 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in SC, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $31,604. The degree typically pays for itself in over 10 years.
Quick Insights
How this degree looks at a glance
A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.
Salary Ranges
Starting Range
$21,344
Typical Career
$30,087
Top Performers
$41,964
Break-even is not clear from the available earnings data.
Debt-to-Income Check
$201
Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment
Typical monthly pay is approximately $2,507. Most students can comfortably afford about a $201 monthly loan payment with this degree.
Comparison Bench
This degree earns 0.8x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.4x more than the average college graduate.
Purchasing Power Context
A dollar in South Carolina buys what costs $0.95 nationally.
Industry Breadcrumbs
Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Manufacturing, Health Care & Social Assistance, Retail Trade.
Where Certificate Graduates from This School Work
Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.
5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent
$31,604
Nominal: $30,087 in South Carolina (COL 95.2% of national avg) · 5% higher purchasing power
10-Year Earnings Curve
Break-Even Timeline
How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).
Total Investment
$155,168
4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost
HS Graduate Baseline
$38,792/yr
BLS 2023 median, HS diploma
View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
| Timeframe | 25th Pct. | Median (50th) | 75th Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Year After Graduation | $17,445 | $22,255 | $27,777 |
| 5 Years After Graduation | $21,344 | $30,087 | $41,964 |
| 10 Years After Graduation | $22,818 | $27,756 | $37,420 |
Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).
How We Calculate Purchasing Power
The median salary of $30,087 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in SC, which has a cost-of-living index of 95.2% of the national average.
Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $30,087 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9520)
= $31,604 National Average equivalent.
COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →
Career Verdict
In terms of career opportunities, graduates primarily enter the Health Care & Social Assistance industry, which accounts for 46.9% of employment, followed by Manufacturing at 21.0% and another segment of Health Care & Social Assistance at 20.0%. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path exceeds ten years, suggesting that while there are viable job prospects, the return on investment may take considerable time to materialize. This indicates that students should weigh their long-term financial goals against the time required to achieve a favorable ROI in this field.
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Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.