Which Michigan cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

Nuvo College of Cosmetology reports the lowest median federal debt, $5,911, with first-year pay of $16,575.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in Michigan?

The median across 22 Michigan cosmetology certificate programs is $15,179 in the first year after graduating and $21,691 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Michigan earn a median of $34,820 across all experience levels.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in Michigan?

22 Michigan programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 19 of them also report federal debt.

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

22 programs report first-year pay
19 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 Michigan cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $15,179 in their first year, $2,068 less than the national median. Northern Michigan University reports the highest first-year pay ($21,628), and Nuvo College of Cosmetology the lowest median debt ($5,911).

Median first-year pay$15,179National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$21,691National $22,164

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

Debt-to-earnings59%National 55%

All 22 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	Northern Michigan UniversityMarquette · public	$21,628	Not reported	$9,833	45%
2	Paul Mitchell the School-Great LakesPort Huron · private for-profit	$18,580	$21,172	$9,833	53%
3	Paul Mitchell the School-Grand RapidsKentwood · private for-profit	$18,410	$24,214	$9,833	53%
4	Douglas J Aveda InstituteEast Lansing · private for-profit	$18,082	$24,646	$9,833	54%
5	Twin City Beauty CollegeSaint Joseph · private for-profit	$18,009	$26,306	$9,500	53%
6	Paul Mitchell the School-Farmington HillsFarmington Hills · private for-profit	$17,067	$22,236	$9,833	58%
7	L'esprit AcademyCanton · private for-profit	$16,706	$21,691	$9,833	59%
8	Michigan College of Beauty-TroyTroy · private for-profit	$16,695	$24,122	$9,639	58%
9	Hillsdale Beauty CollegeHillsdale · private for-profit	$16,576	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
10	Nuvo College of CosmetologyNorton Shores · private for-profit	$16,575	$26,461	$5,911	36%
11	Empire Beauty School-MichiganGrand Rapids · private for-profit	$16,062	$22,064	$13,583	85%
12	Elevate Salon InstituteRoyal Oak · private for-profit	$14,296	$18,981	$9,833	69%
13	M J Murphy Beauty College of Mount PleasantMount Pleasant · private for-profit	$14,261	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
14	Michigan College of Beauty-MonroeMonroe · private for-profit	$14,062	$20,434	$8,250	59%
15	P&A Scholars Beauty SchoolDetroit · private for-profit	$13,625	$19,134	$10,085	74%
16	David Pressley School of CosmetologyRoyal Oak · private for-profit	$13,360	$21,659	$10,000	75%
17	Protege AcademyEast Lansing · private for-profit	$13,261	$21,385	$9,833	74%
18	French Academy of CosmetologySpring Lake · private for-profit	$13,181	$21,034	$11,713	89%
19	Mott Community CollegeFlint · public	$12,041	Not reported	$10,250	85%
20	Dorsey CollegeMadison Heights · private for-profit	$10,878	$17,208	$16,500	152%
21	Bayshire Academy of Beauty CraftBay City · private for-profit	$10,412	$22,911	Not reported	Not reported
22	Dorsey School of BeautyTaylor · private for-profit	$8,615	$16,434	$16,500	192%

Hillsdale Beauty College, M J Murphy Beauty College of Mount Pleasant, and Bayshire Academy of Beauty Craft report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan cosmetology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 19 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Northern Michigan University$21,628
Paul Mitchell the School-Great Lakes$18,580
Paul Mitchell the School-Grand Rapids$18,410
Douglas J Aveda Institute$18,082
Twin City Beauty College$18,009

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 Michigan

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

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$34,820

Median pay in Michigan. 8,970 people work in this job in Michigan. 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%: $25,960Top 10%: $95,370

Common questions

Northern Michigan University in Marquette reports the highest median first-year pay, $21,628. Its median federal debt is $9,833.

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 Michigan 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