Northeastern Junior College Cosmetology (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
- Public college
- Sterling, CO
- About 15 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Northeastern Junior College cosmetology graduates earn more than graduates of most cosmetology programs nationally, $22,488 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $8,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $9,833. Several Colorado programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Colorado and national columns are the medians across all cosmetology certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Northeastern Junior College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,956 less than the Colorado median. Several Colorado programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Colorado cosmetology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Colorado 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 12% between the first and fifth year. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Colorado earn a median of $37,690 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 $90 a month, or 4.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
93% of graduates (25 of 27) were working in Colorado one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Colorado outside metro areas are about 2% below the national average, so a $22,488 salary here buys what about $23,063 buys in a typical US city.
The median Colorado cosmetologist earns $37,690, compared with a national median of $35,790. After adjusting for Colorado prices, that pay is worth about $36,574, which puts Colorado 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
$37,690Median pay in Colorado. 6,820 people work in this job in Colorado. 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
$37,110Median pay in Colorado. 3,970 people work in this job in Colorado. 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
$54,530Median pay in Colorado. 3,160 people work in this job in Colorado. 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
$54,500Median pay in Colorado. 1,510 people work in this job in Colorado. 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 Northeastern Junior College
Cosmetology is the only certificate program at Northeastern Junior College that reports first-year earnings.
Common questions
The median graduate earns $22,488 one year after graduating and $19,687 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Colorado earn a median of $37,690 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $8,500, which ranks 4th lowest of 14 cosmetology certificate programs in Colorado. That works out to about $90 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 38% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Colorado programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 93% (25 of 27) were working in Colorado 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 Colorado 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