Which Georgia cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

Athens Technical College reports the lowest median federal debt, $8,000, with first-year pay of $16,178.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in Georgia?

The median across 27 Georgia cosmetology certificate programs is $16,832 in the first year after graduating and $21,746 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Georgia earn a median of $34,560 across all experience levels.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in Georgia?

27 Georgia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 18 of them also report federal debt.

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

27 programs report first-year pay
18 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 Georgia cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $16,832 in their first year, $415 less than the national median. Lanier Technical College reports the highest first-year pay ($22,686), and Athens Technical College the lowest median debt ($8,000).

Median first-year pay$16,832National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$21,746National $22,164

Median federal debt$10,666National $9,833

Debt-to-earnings74%National 55%

All 27 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	Lanier Technical CollegeGainesville · public	$22,686	$27,983	Not reported	Not reported
2	International School of Skin Nailcare & Massage TherapySandy Springs · private for-profit	$20,551	$20,066	$9,398	46%
3	South Georgia Technical CollegeAmericus · public	$20,501	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
4	Wiregrass Georgia Technical CollegeValdosta · public	$19,659	$18,870	Not reported	Not reported
5	Keune Academy by 124Lawrenceville · private for-profit	$19,319	$23,673	$9,833	51%
6	Savannah Technical CollegeSavannah · public	$19,242	$15,846	$19,989	104%
7	Columbus Technical CollegeColumbus · public	$19,094	$31,036	Not reported	Not reported
8	MAK Beauty InstituteCumming · private for-profit	$18,519	Not reported	$8,272	45%
9	Gwinnett Technical CollegeLawrenceville · public	$18,291	$29,716	$16,349	89%
10	Paul Mitchell the School-EsaniRoswell · private for-profit	$17,667	$23,950	$12,541	71%
11	Ogeechee Technical CollegeStatesboro · public	$17,660	$32,510	Not reported	Not reported
12	Atlanta Technical CollegeAtlanta · public	$17,157	$21,834	$16,324	95%
13	Georgia Career InstituteConyers · private for-profit	$17,041	$23,066	$10,222	60%
14	Georgia Institute of CosmetologyAthens · private for-profit	$16,832	$20,835	$14,544	86%
15	Chattahoochee Technical CollegeMarietta · public	$16,767	Not reported	$9,500	57%
16	Dalton Institute of Esthetics and CosmetologyDalton · private for-profit	$16,539	Not reported	$8,375	51%
17	Athens Technical CollegeAthens · public	$16,178	$25,269	$8,000	49%
18	Rivertown School of Beauty Barber Skin Care and NailsColumbus · private for-profit	$15,953	$19,647	$14,700	92%
19	Augusta Technical CollegeAugusta · public	$15,679	$21,657	Not reported	Not reported
20	Elaine Sterling InstituteAtlanta · private for-profit	$15,263	$26,456	$13,256	87%
21	Southern Regional Technical CollegeThomasville · public	$15,168	$26,932	Not reported	Not reported
22	Pro Way Hair SchoolStone Mountain · private for-profit	$15,083	$19,265	$13,753	91%
23	Paul Mitchell the School-AtlantaAtlanta · private for-profit · closed	$14,500	$19,268	$16,500	114%
24	Hogan Institute of Cosmetology and EstheticsLilburn · private for-profit	$13,847	Not reported	$10,666	77%
25	North Georgia Technical CollegeClarkesville · public	$12,867	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
26	Southeastern Technical CollegeVidalia · public	$12,444	$12,687	Not reported	Not reported
27	West Georgia Technical CollegeWaco · public	$11,925	$21,930	$8,500	71%

9 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. One of these schools has since closed. One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia cosmetology program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Georgia medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 18 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lanier Technical College$22,686
International School of Skin Nailcare & Massage Therapy$20,551
South Georgia Technical College$20,501
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College$19,659
Keune Academy by 124$19,319

Lowest median debt

Athens Technical College$8,000
MAK Beauty Institute$8,272
Dalton Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology$8,375
West Georgia Technical College$8,500
International School of Skin Nailcare & Massage Therapy$9,398

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 Georgia

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

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$34,560

Median pay in Georgia. 7,910 people work in this job in Georgia. 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%: $17,310Top 10%: $79,170

Common questions

Lanier Technical College in Gainesville reports the highest median first-year pay, $22,686.

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 Georgia 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