Which Missouri cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

Skin Institute reports the lowest median federal debt, $7,947, with first-year pay of $19,963.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in Missouri?

The median across 16 Missouri cosmetology certificate programs is $21,231 in the first year after graduating and $23,425 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Missouri earn a median of $30,750 across all experience levels.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in Missouri?

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

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

16 programs report first-year pay
14 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 Missouri cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $21,231 in their first year, $3,984 more than the national median. Summit Salon Academy Kansas City reports the highest first-year pay ($27,878), and Skin Institute the lowest median debt ($7,947).

Median first-year pay$21,231National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$23,425National $22,164

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

Debt-to-earnings49%National 55%

All 16 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	Summit Salon Academy Kansas CityIndependence · private for-profit	$27,878	$18,298	$11,981	43%
2	Warrensburg Area Career CenterWarrensburg · public	$23,749	$18,240	Not reported	Not reported
3	House of Heavilin Beauty College-Blue SpringsBlue Springs · private for-profit	$23,309	$26,924	$8,049	35%
4	Salon Professional Academy-St CharlesSt. Charles · private for-profit	$23,204	$30,002	$9,833	42%
5	Grabber School of Hair DesignSt. Louis · private for-profit	$22,626	$25,724	$12,465	55%
6	Paul Mitchell the School-Missouri ColumbiaColumbia · private for-profit	$22,267	$25,612	$9,833	44%
7	Paul Mitchell the School-St LouisSt. Louis · private for-profit	$22,147	$32,652	$9,833	44%
8	Academy of Hair Design-SpringfieldSpringfield · private for-profit	$21,574	$23,599	$10,667	49%
9	Salem College of HairstylingRolla · private for-profit	$20,888	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
10	Paul Mitchell the School-SpringfieldSpringfield · private for-profit	$20,368	$19,597	$9,833	48%
11	Skin InstituteSaint Louis · private for-profit	$19,963	$32,174	$7,947	40%
12	Missouri College of Cosmetology and EstheticsJefferson City · private for-profit	$19,818	$23,251	$9,793	49%
13	Academy of Beauty ProfessionalsRaymore · private for-profit	$18,729	$25,390	$9,962	53%
14	SPBK EnterprisesWebb City · private for-profit	$18,699	$23,765	$9,701	52%
15	House of Heavilin Beauty College-Kansas CityKansas City · private for-profit	$18,100	$21,148	$16,500	91%
16	Academy of Salon ProfessionalsSedalia · private for-profit	$14,910	$19,047	$9,833	66%

Warrensburg Area Career Center and Salem College of Hairstyling report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Missouri cosmetology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 14 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Summit Salon Academy Kansas City$27,878
Warrensburg Area Career Center$23,749
House of Heavilin Beauty College-Blue Springs$23,309
Salon Professional Academy-St Charles$23,204
Grabber School of Hair Design$22,626

Lowest median debt

Skin Institute$7,947
House of Heavilin Beauty College-Blue Springs$8,049
SPBK Enterprises$9,701
Missouri College of Cosmetology and Esthetics$9,793
Salon Professional Academy-St Charles$9,833

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 Missouri

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

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$30,750

Median pay in Missouri. 5,430 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $28,600Top 10%: $58,530

Common questions

Summit Salon Academy Kansas City in Independence reports the highest median first-year pay, $27,878. Its median federal debt is $11,981.

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 Missouri 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