Which Louisiana cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

Omega Institute of Cosmetology reports the lowest median federal debt, $5,250, with first-year pay of $12,524.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in Louisiana?

The median across 23 Louisiana cosmetology certificate programs is $15,278 in the first year after graduating and $19,662 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Louisiana earn a median of $26,030 across all experience levels.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in Louisiana?

23 Louisiana programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 21 of them also report federal debt.

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

23 programs report first-year pay
21 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 Louisiana cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $15,278 in their first year, $1,969 less than the national median. VH Barber & Styling Academy reports the highest first-year pay ($19,545), and Omega Institute of Cosmetology the lowest median debt ($5,250).

Median first-year pay$15,278National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$19,662National $22,164

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

Debt-to-earnings74%National 55%

All 23 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	VH Barber & Styling AcademyBossier City · private for-profit	$19,545	Not reported	$16,500	84%
2	Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute-CovingtonCovington · private for-profit	$18,605	$25,748	$9,833	53%
3	Pineville Beauty SchoolPineville · private for-profit	$18,093	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
4	My Le's Beauty College (Louisiana)Gretna · private for-profit	$17,980	$15,487	$9,000	50%
5	Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute-Baton RougeBaton Rouge · private for-profit	$17,929	$21,762	$13,272	74%
6	John Jay Beauty CollegeKenner · private for-profit	$17,493	$25,737	$8,093	46%
7	Stage One-The Hair SchoolLake Charles · private for-profit	$17,395	$19,432	$9,833	57%
8	Belbo Beauty InstituteShreveport · private for-profit	$16,842	$22,027	$12,500	74%
9	Paul Mitchell the School-New OrleansMetairie · private for-profit	$16,701	$21,798	$16,375	98%
10	Blue Cliff College-MetairieMetairie · private for-profit	$15,719	$19,662	$16,535	105%
11	LaSalle TechHouma · private for-profit	$15,617	Not reported	$7,720	49%
12	Delgado Community CollegeNew Orleans · public	$15,278	$18,493	$15,000	98%
13	Cloyd's Beauty School 3Monroe · private for-profit	$15,184	$21,665	Not reported	Not reported
14	Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute-LafayetteLafayette · private for-profit	$14,397	$20,649	$9,557	66%
15	Celebrity Stylist Beauty SchoolMonroe · private for-profit	$14,178	$15,947	$13,833	98%
16	Cosmetology Training CenterLafayette · private for-profit	$14,052	Not reported	$7,402	53%
17	Park Place Premier Barber SchoolNew Orleans · private for-profit	$13,807	Not reported	$16,500	120%
18	J's Barber CollegeNew Iberia · private for-profit	$13,041	Not reported	$15,625	120%
19	Opelousas School of CosmetologyOpelousas · private for-profit	$12,711	Not reported	$5,797	46%
20	Omega Institute of CosmetologyHouma · private for-profit	$12,524	$17,526	$5,250	42%
21	Compass Career CollegeHammond · private for-profit	$12,318	$14,886	$12,458	101%
22	Delta College WestLake Charles · private for-profit	$11,718	Not reported	$7,712	66%
23	Denham Springs Beauty SchoolDenham Springs · private for-profit	$11,471	$17,978	$9,833	86%

Pineville Beauty School and Cloyd's Beauty School 3 report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Louisiana cosmetology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 21 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

VH Barber & Styling Academy$19,545
Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute-Covington$18,605
Pineville Beauty School$18,093
My Le's Beauty College (Louisiana)$17,980
Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute-Baton Rouge$17,929

Lowest median debt

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 Louisiana

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

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$26,030

Median pay in Louisiana. 2,720 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $21,590Top 10%: $33,900

Common questions

VH Barber & Styling Academy in Bossier City reports the highest median first-year pay, $19,545. Its median federal debt is $16,500.

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 Louisiana 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