Southwest Institute of Healing Arts Cosmetology (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
- Private for-profit school
- Tempe, AZ
- About 165 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts cosmetology graduates earn more than graduates of most cosmetology programs nationally, $26,795 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $9,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $9,833. It is one of the higher-paying cosmetology programs in Arizona.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Arizona and national columns are the medians across all cosmetology certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Southwest Institute of Healing Arts graduates earn more than the national figure but about $1,481 less than the Arizona median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Arizona cosmetology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Arizona 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 is about the same in the first and fifth year. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Arizona earn a median of $36,810 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 $6,487 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 $101 a month, or 4.5% 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
91% of graduates (143 of 157) were working in Arizona one year after graduating. Prices in the Phoenix area are about 3% above the national average, so a $26,795 salary here buys what about $25,935 buys in a typical US city.
The median Arizona cosmetologist earns $36,810, compared with a national median of $35,790. After adjusting for Arizona prices, that pay is worth about $36,562, which puts Arizona 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
$36,810Median pay in Arizona. 7,840 people work in this job in Arizona. 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
$35,290Median pay in Arizona. 2,440 people work in this job in Arizona. 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
$47,690Median pay in Arizona. 1,620 people work in this job in Arizona. 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
$50,470Median pay in Arizona. 1,710 people work in this job in Arizona. 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 Southwest Institute of Healing Arts
Cosmetology ranks 3rd of 5 certificate programs at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts by first-year earnings. The top three are Foods and Nutrition ($28,738), Alternative Medicine ($27,262), and Cosmetology ($26,795).
Other cosmetology certificate programs near Tempe
Common questions
The median graduate earns $26,795 one year after graduating and $26,798 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in the Phoenix metro area earn a median of $36,810 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $9,500, which ranks 8th lowest of 11 cosmetology certificate programs in Arizona. That works out to about $101 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 35% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less.
Most do. 91% (143 of 157) were working in Arizona 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 Arizona 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