Douglas J Aveda Institute Cosmetology (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
- Private for-profit school
- East Lansing, MI
- About 772 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Douglas J Aveda Institute cosmetology graduates earn about what cosmetology graduates earn nationally, $18,082 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $9,833 in federal loans, close to the national median of $9,833. It is one of the higher-paying cosmetology programs in Michigan.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all cosmetology certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Douglas J Aveda Institute graduates earn more than the national figure and about $2,955 more than the Michigan median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan cosmetology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan 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 rises about 36% between the first and fifth year. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Michigan earn a median of $34,820 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 about the same in their first year as 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 $104 a month, or 6.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
260 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $11,042.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
83% of graduates (778 of 935) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the Lansing area are about 5% below the national average, so a $18,082 salary here buys what about $19,035 buys in a typical US city.
The median Michigan cosmetologist earns $34,820, compared with a national median of $35,790. After adjusting for Michigan prices, that pay is worth about $36,189, which puts Michigan slightly ahead.
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
$34,820Median pay in Michigan. 8,970 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$36,890Median pay in Michigan. 1,020 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$42,740Median pay in Michigan. 2,010 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$45,240Median pay in Michigan. 1,510 people work in this job in Michigan. 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 Douglas J Aveda Institute
Cosmetology is the only certificate program at Douglas J Aveda Institute that reports first-year earnings.
Other cosmetology certificate programs near East Lansing
Common questions
The median graduate earns $18,082 one year after graduating and $24,646 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in the Lansing metro area earn a median of $37,380 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $9,833, which ranks 5th lowest of 19 cosmetology certificate programs in Michigan. That works out to about $104 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 54% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Michigan programs report higher pay.
Most do. 83% (778 of 935) were working in Michigan 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 Michigan 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