Paul Mitchell the School-St Louis Cosmetology (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
- Private for-profit school
- St. Louis, MO
- About 95 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Paul Mitchell the School-St Louis cosmetology graduates earn more than graduates of most cosmetology programs nationally, $22,147 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $9,833 in federal loans, close to the national median of $9,833. Several Missouri programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Missouri and national columns are the medians across all cosmetology certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Paul Mitchell the School-St Louis graduates earn more than the national figure and about $9,227 more than the Missouri median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Missouri cosmetology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Missouri 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 47% between the first and fifth year. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Missouri earn a median of $30,750 across all experience levels.
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 $13,833 against $9,833.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $104 a month, or 5.6% 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. Separately, 58 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $11,869.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
54% of graduates (96 of 179) were working in Missouri one year after graduating. Prices in the St. Louis area are about 5% below the national average, so a $22,147 salary here buys what about $23,291 buys in a typical US city.
The median Missouri cosmetologist earns $30,750, compared with a national median of $35,790. After adjusting for Missouri prices, that pay is worth about $33,859, which puts Missouri 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
$30,750Median pay in Missouri. 5,430 people work in this job in Missouri. 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
$39,100Median pay in Missouri. 1,630 people work in this job in Missouri. 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
$43,720Median pay in Missouri. 1,600 people work in this job in Missouri. 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
$45,200Median pay in Missouri. 1,390 people work in this job in Missouri. 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 Paul Mitchell the School-St Louis
Cosmetology is the only certificate program at Paul Mitchell the School-St Louis that reports first-year earnings.
Other cosmetology certificate programs near St. Louis
Common questions
The median graduate earns $22,147 one year after graduating and $32,652 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in the St. Louis metro area earn a median of $33,350 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $9,833, which ranks 5th lowest of 14 cosmetology certificate programs in Missouri. That works out to about $104 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 44% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 5% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Missouri programs report higher pay.
Most do. 54% (96 of 179) were working in Missouri 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 Missouri 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