Larry's Barber College Cosmetology (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
- Private for-profit college
- Chicago, IL
- About 69 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Larry's Barber College cosmetology graduates earn less than graduates of most cosmetology programs nationally, $12,461 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $3,726 in federal loans, less than at 98% of cosmetology programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Illinois median of $17,923.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Illinois and national columns are the medians across all cosmetology certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Larry's Barber College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $13,885 less than the Illinois median. Several Illinois programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois cosmetology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois 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 21% between the first and fifth year. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Illinois earn a median of $34,040 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.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $40 a month, or 3.9% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
90% of graduates (55 of 61) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $12,461 salary here buys what about $12,029 buys in a typical US city.
The median Illinois cosmetologist earns $34,040, compared with a national median of $35,790. After adjusting for Illinois prices, that pay is worth about $34,054, which puts Illinois 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
$34,040Median pay in Illinois. 13,190 people work in this job in Illinois. 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
$37,050Median pay in Illinois. 2,470 people work in this job in Illinois. 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
$49,150Median pay in Illinois. 2,670 people work in this job in Illinois. 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
$45,330Median pay in Illinois. 2,960 people work in this job in Illinois. 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 Larry's Barber College
Cosmetology is the only certificate program at Larry's Barber College that reports first-year earnings.
Other cosmetology certificate programs near Chicago
Common questions
The median graduate earns $12,461 one year after graduating and $9,828 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 $3,726, which ranks the lowest of 35 cosmetology certificate programs in Illinois. That works out to about $40 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 30% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20–39%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Illinois programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 90% (55 of 61) were working in Illinois 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 Illinois 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