Which Kentucky cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

PJ's College of Cosmetology-Bowling Green reports the lowest median federal debt, $10,667, with first-year pay of $21,439.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in Kentucky?

The median across 13 Kentucky cosmetology certificate programs is $14,110 in the first year after graduating and $18,700 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Kentucky earn a median of $29,840 across all experience levels.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in Kentucky?

13 Kentucky programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 10 of them also report federal debt.

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

13 programs report first-year pay
10 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 Kentucky cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $14,110 in their first year, $3,137 less than the national median. PJ's College of Cosmetology-Bowling Green reports the highest first-year pay ($21,439), and PJ's College of Cosmetology-Bowling Green the lowest median debt ($10,667).

Median first-year pay$14,110National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$18,700National $22,164

Median federal debt$12,765National $9,833

Debt-to-earnings96%National 55%

All 13 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	PJ's College of Cosmetology-Bowling GreenBowling Green · private for-profit	$21,439	$22,938	$10,667	50%
2	Paul Mitchell the School-LouisvilleLouisville · private for-profit	$20,033	$28,111	$12,583	63%
3	Paul Mitchell the School-LexingtonLexington · private for-profit	$18,950	$21,614	$16,500	87%
4	Summit Salon Academy-LexingtonLexington · private for-profit	$16,679	$18,886	$10,667	64%
5	Regina Webb AcademyBowling Green · private for-profit	$15,757	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
6	American College of BarberingLouisville · private for-profit	$15,279	Not reported	$14,115	92%
7	West Kentucky Community and Technical CollegePaducah · public	$14,110	$15,850	Not reported	Not reported
8	Employment Solutions-College for Technical EducationLexington · private nonprofit	$13,117	$14,402	$15,413	118%
9	Lindsey Institute of CosmetologyBowling Green · private for-profit	$12,627	$18,700	$12,679	100%
10	Campbellsville UniversityCampbellsville · private nonprofit	$12,486	Not reported	$12,850	103%
11	Somerset Community CollegeSomerset · public	$11,565	$15,653	$11,832	102%
12	PJ's College of Cosmetology-GlasgowGlasgow · private for-profit	$10,936	$12,749	$16,500	151%
13	Appalachian Beauty SchoolBelfry · private for-profit	$5,973	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported

Regina Webb Academy, West Kentucky Community and Technical College, and Appalachian Beauty School report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Kentucky cosmetology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 10 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

PJ's College of Cosmetology-Bowling Green$21,439
Paul Mitchell the School-Louisville$20,033
Paul Mitchell the School-Lexington$18,950
Summit Salon Academy-Lexington$16,679
Regina Webb Academy$15,757

Lowest median debt

PJ's College of Cosmetology-Bowling Green$10,667
Summit Salon Academy-Lexington$10,667
Somerset Community College$11,832
Paul Mitchell the School-Louisville$12,583
Lindsey Institute of Cosmetology$12,679

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 Kentucky

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

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$29,840

Median pay in Kentucky. 2,350 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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%: $22,580Top 10%: $76,170

Common questions

PJ's College of Cosmetology-Bowling Green in Bowling Green reports the highest median first-year pay, $21,439. Its median federal debt is $10,667.

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 Kentucky 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