Which Colorado cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

Stacey James Institute reports the lowest median federal debt, $6,500, with first-year pay of $19,659.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in Colorado?

The median across 15 Colorado cosmetology certificate programs is $20,417 in the first year after graduating and $24,643 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Colorado earn a median of $37,690 across all experience levels.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in Colorado?

15 Colorado programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 14 of them also report federal debt.

Cosmetology (Certificate) Programs in Colorado, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

15 programs report first-year pay
14 also report federal debt
Certificate in Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Colorado cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $20,417 in their first year, $3,170 more than the national median. Aveda Institute-Denver reports the highest first-year pay ($26,636), and Stacey James Institute the lowest median debt ($6,500).

Median first-year pay$20,417National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$24,643National $22,164

Median federal debt$9,500National $9,833

Debt-to-earnings45%National 55%

All 15 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Aveda Institute-DenverDenver · private for-profit	$26,636	$33,463	$12,000	45%
2	Paul Mitchell the School-DenverLakewood · private for-profit	$24,952	$29,387	$11,833	47%
3	Pickens Technical CollegeAurora · public	$22,997	$21,697	$9,500	41%
4	IBMC CollegeFort Collins · private for-profit	$22,822	$28,738	$9,832	43%
5	Northeastern Junior CollegeSterling · public	$22,488	$19,687	$8,500	38%
6	TIGI Hairdressing Academy LegacyColorado Springs · private for-profit	$21,501	$24,576	$13,516	63%
7	Salon Professional Academy-Colorado SpringsColorado Springs · private for-profit	$21,340	Not reported	$9,500	45%
8	Paul Mitchell the School-Colorado SpringsColorado Springs · private for-profit	$20,417	$23,941	$12,822	63%
9	Emily Griffith Technical CollegeDenver · public	$20,014	Not reported	$9,500	47%
10	Avalon Institute-AuroraAurora · private for-profit	$19,903	$31,422	$8,885	45%
11	Stacey James InstituteParker · private for-profit	$19,659	Not reported	$6,500	33%
12	Intellitec College-Grand JunctionGrand Junction · private for-profit	$18,804	$20,514	$13,541	72%
13	Technical College of the RockiesDelta · public	$17,125	$24,709	$6,850	40%
14	International Salon and Spa AcademyColorado Springs · private for-profit	$16,847	$24,405	$8,244	49%
15	Pueblo Community CollegePueblo · public	$12,890	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported

Pueblo Community College reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

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 the 14 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Stacey James Institute$6,500
Technical College of the Rockies$6,850
International Salon and Spa Academy$8,244
Northeastern Junior College$8,500
Avalon Institute-Aurora$8,885

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

What hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists earn in Colorado

Pay for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Colorado, across all experience levels, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$37,690

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $31,520Top 10%: $98,860

Common questions

Aveda Institute-Denver in Denver reports the highest median first-year pay, $26,636. Its median federal debt is $12,000.

Cosmetology (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked961 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the cosmetology certificate programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024