Which Kansas cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

Johnson County Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $5,424, with first-year pay of $21,250.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in Kansas?

The median across 14 Kansas cosmetology certificate programs is $20,578 in the first year after graduating and $24,608 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Kansas earn a median of $29,710 across all experience levels.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in Kansas?

14 Kansas programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 13 of them also report federal debt.

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

14 programs report first-year pay
13 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 Kansas cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $20,578 in their first year, $3,331 more than the national median. Washburn University reports the highest first-year pay ($22,547), and Johnson County Community College the lowest median debt ($5,424).

Median first-year pay$20,578National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$24,608National $22,164

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

Debt-to-earnings51%National 55%

All 14 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	Washburn UniversityTopeka · public	$22,547	Not reported	$9,000	40%
2	Paul Mitchell the School-Overland ParkOverland Park · private for-profit	$22,440	$28,065	$13,341	59%
3	Z Hair AcademyOverland Park · private for-profit	$21,750	$20,933	$15,333	70%
4	Johnson County Community CollegeOverland Park · public	$21,250	$31,476	$5,424	26%
5	Kansas City Kansas Community CollegeKansas City · public	$21,091	Not reported	$8,235	39%
6	Crave Beauty AcademyWichita · private for-profit	$21,067	$25,693	$10,667	51%
7	Fort Scott Community CollegeFort Scott · public	$20,691	$13,723	$5,500	27%
8	Eric Fisher AcademyWichita · private for-profit	$20,465	$25,094	$9,339	46%
9	Garden City Community CollegeGarden City · public	$18,724	Not reported	$5,500	29%
10	Hays Academy of Hair DesignHays · private for-profit	$17,620	$24,121	$9,833	56%
11	Hutchinson Community CollegeHutchinson · public	$17,437	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
12	Mitsu Sato Hair AcademyOverland Park · private for-profit	$17,143	$29,029	$9,500	55%
13	Paul Mitchell the School-WichitaWichita · private for-profit	$17,049	$22,213	$12,583	74%
14	Old Town Barber CollegeWichita · private for-profit	$10,703	$13,515	$14,125	132%

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

Debt and first-year pay at every Kansas cosmetology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 13 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Washburn University$22,547
Paul Mitchell the School-Overland Park$22,440
Z Hair Academy$21,750
Johnson County Community College$21,250
Kansas City Kansas Community College$21,091

Lowest median debt

Johnson County Community College$5,424
Fort Scott Community College$5,500
Garden City Community College$5,500
Kansas City Kansas Community College$8,235
Washburn University$9,000

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 Kansas

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

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$29,710

Median pay in Kansas. 2,190 people work in this job in Kansas. 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%: $21,910Top 10%: $77,790

Common questions

Washburn University in Topeka reports the highest median first-year pay, $22,547. Its median federal debt is $9,000.

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 Kansas 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