Elaine Sterling Institute Cosmetology (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
- Private for-profit school
- Atlanta, GA
- About 477 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Elaine Sterling Institute cosmetology graduates earn about what cosmetology graduates earn nationally, $15,263 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $13,256 in federal loans, more than at 83% of cosmetology programs in the country. Several Georgia programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Georgia and national columns are the medians across all cosmetology certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Elaine Sterling Institute graduates earn more than the national figure and about $4,711 more than the Georgia median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia cosmetology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Georgia 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 73% between the first and fifth year. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Georgia earn a median of $34,560 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 $11,066 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $141 a month, or 11.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
67 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $9,411.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
92% of graduates (249 of 272) were working in Georgia one year after graduating. Prices in the Atlanta area are about the same as the national average.
The median Georgia cosmetologist earns $34,560, compared with a national median of $35,790. After adjusting for Georgia prices, that pay is worth about $35,890, which puts Georgia 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
$34,560Median pay in Georgia. 7,910 people work in this job in Georgia. 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
$26,910Median pay in Georgia. 1,710 people work in this job in Georgia. 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
$46,080Median pay in Georgia. 2,790 people work in this job in Georgia. 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
$48,660Median pay in Georgia. 2,230 people work in this job in Georgia. 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 Elaine Sterling Institute
Cosmetology is the only certificate program at Elaine Sterling Institute that reports first-year earnings.
Other cosmetology certificate programs near Atlanta
Common questions
The median graduate earns $15,263 one year after graduating and $26,456 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in the Atlanta metro area earn a median of $34,640 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $13,256, which ranks 11th lowest of 18 cosmetology certificate programs in Georgia. That works out to about $141 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 87% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. Compare the cost with other Georgia programs before deciding.
Most do. 92% (249 of 272) were working in Georgia 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 Georgia 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