Denmark College Cosmetology (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
- Private for-profit college
- Merrillville, IN
- About 65 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Denmark College cosmetology graduates earn about what cosmetology graduates earn nationally, $18,762 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $12,685 in federal loans, more than at 79% of cosmetology programs in the country. Several Indiana programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Indiana and national columns are the medians across all cosmetology certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Denmark College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,857 less than the Indiana median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Indiana cosmetology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Indiana medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay falls about 2% between the first and fifth year. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Indiana earn a median of $32,830 across all experience levels, which shows how much room there is to grow after the first few years.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate. BLS figures cover hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists at every experience level.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $134 a month, or 8.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 21 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $8,060.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
87% of graduates (80 of 92) were working in Indiana one year after graduating. Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $18,762 salary here buys what about $18,111 buys in a typical US city.
The median Indiana cosmetologist earns $32,830, compared with a national median of $35,790. After adjusting for Indiana prices, that pay is worth about $35,177, which puts Indiana slightly behind.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to cosmetology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
$32,830Median pay in Indiana. 5,920 people work in this job in Indiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 73,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Manicurists and Pedicurists
$36,140Median pay in Indiana. 510 people work in this job in Indiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 21,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers
$48,590Median pay in Indiana. 1,950 people work in this job in Indiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Skincare Specialists
$44,450Median pay in Indiana. 1,120 people work in this job in Indiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
About Denmark College
Cosmetology is the only certificate program at Denmark College that reports first-year earnings.
Other cosmetology certificate programs near Merrillville
Common questions
The median graduate earns $18,762 one year after graduating and $18,334 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in the Chicago metro area earn a median of $34,260 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $12,685, which ranks 14th lowest of 19 cosmetology certificate programs in Indiana. That works out to about $134 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 68% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. Compare the cost with other Indiana programs before deciding.
Most do. 87% (80 of 92) were working in Indiana one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Indiana comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the cosmetology program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024