Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Reno Cosmetology (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
- Private for-profit school
- Reno, NV
- About 181 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Reno cosmetology graduates earn about what cosmetology graduates earn nationally, $14,943 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $7,917 in federal loans, less than at 77% of cosmetology programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying cosmetology programs in Nevada.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Nevada and national columns are the medians across all cosmetology certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Reno graduates earn less than the national figure and about $3,234 less than the Nevada median. Several Nevada programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Nevada cosmetology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Nevada 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 32% between the first and fifth year. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Nevada earn a median of $33,840 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, but borrowed more: a median of $8,106 against $5,862.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $84 a month, or 6.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
54 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $4,590.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
69% of graduates (400 of 583) were working in Nevada one year after graduating. Prices in the Reno area are about 1% above the national average, so a $14,943 salary here buys what about $14,793 buys in a typical US city.
The median Nevada cosmetologist earns $33,840, compared with a national median of $35,790. After adjusting for Nevada prices, that pay is worth about $33,847, which puts Nevada 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
$33,840Median pay in Nevada. 1,940 people work in this job in Nevada. 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
$41,880Median pay in Nevada. 1,020 people work in this job in Nevada. 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
$44,290Median pay in Nevada. 1,760 people work in this job in Nevada. 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
$38,660Median pay in Nevada. 1,540 people work in this job in Nevada. 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 Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Reno
Cosmetology is the only certificate program at Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Reno that reports first-year earnings.
Other cosmetology certificate programs near Reno
Common questions
The median graduate earns $14,943 one year after graduating and $19,776 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in the Reno metro area earn a median of $36,490 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $7,917, which ranks 2nd lowest of 7 cosmetology certificate programs in Nevada. That works out to about $84 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 53% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Nevada programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 69% (400 of 583) were working in Nevada 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 Nevada 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