Which North Carolina cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

Carolina College of Hair Design reports the lowest median federal debt, $6,000, with first-year pay of $15,026.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in North Carolina?

The median across 22 North Carolina cosmetology certificate programs is $17,459 in the first year after graduating and $23,204 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in North Carolina earn a median of $38,410 across all experience levels.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in North Carolina?

22 North Carolina programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 13 of them also report federal debt.

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

22 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 North Carolina cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $17,459 in their first year, $212 more than the national median. Gaston College reports the highest first-year pay ($27,008), and Carolina College of Hair Design the lowest median debt ($6,000).

Median first-year pay$17,459National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$23,204National $22,164

Median federal debt$13,750National $9,833

Debt-to-earnings73%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	Gaston CollegeDallas · public	$27,008	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
2	Central Carolina Community CollegeSanford · public	$24,101	$25,851	$12,167	50%
3	Wake Technical Community CollegeRaleigh · public	$23,286	$29,405	$7,693	33%
4	Rowan-Cabarrus Community CollegeSalisbury · public	$22,578	$26,704	$16,500	73%
5	Aveda Institute-Chapel HillChapel Hill · private for-profit	$21,826	$29,975	$11,583	53%
6	Alexander Paul Institute of Hair DesignGreenville · private for-profit	$21,443	$25,050	$12,107	56%
7	Paul Mitchell the School-CharlotteCharlotte · private for-profit	$20,877	$25,628	$16,500	79%
8	College of WilmingtonWilmington · private for-profit	$19,962	$23,204	$16,500	83%
9	Davidson-Davie Community CollegeThomasville · public	$19,024	$17,031	Not reported	Not reported
10	Paul Mitchell the School-RaleighRaleigh · private for-profit	$18,849	$28,387	$15,333	81%
11	Beyond Measure Barbering InstituteMebane · private for-profit	$17,671	Not reported	$16,826	95%
12	Leons Beauty SchoolGreensboro · private for-profit	$17,247	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
13	Guilford Technical Community CollegeJamestown · public	$17,193	$19,756	$16,000	93%
14	Catawba Valley Community CollegeHickory · public	$16,506	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
15	Pinnacle Institute of CosmetologyMooresville · private for-profit	$16,486	$24,788	$14,036	85%
16	Carolina College of Hair DesignAsheville · private for-profit	$15,026	Not reported	$6,000	40%
17	Coastal Carolina Community CollegeJacksonville · public	$14,444	$21,212	Not reported	Not reported
18	Southwestern Community College (North Carolina)Sylva · public	$14,354	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
19	Lenoir Community CollegeKinston · public	$14,172	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
20	Cleveland Community CollegeShelby · public	$13,347	$17,944	Not reported	Not reported
21	Winston Salem Barber SchoolWinston-Salem · private for-profit	$9,785	$23,139	$6,936	71%
22	Craven Community CollegeNew Bern · public	$7,388	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported

9 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. 2 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina cosmetology program

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

Gaston College$27,008
Central Carolina Community College$24,101
Wake Technical Community College$23,286
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College$22,578
Aveda Institute-Chapel Hill$21,826

Lowest median debt

Carolina College of Hair Design$6,000
Winston Salem Barber School$6,936
Wake Technical Community College$7,693
Aveda Institute-Chapel Hill$11,583
Alexander Paul Institute of Hair Design$12,107

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 North Carolina

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

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$38,410

Median pay in North Carolina. 8,490 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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%: $26,880Top 10%: $61,530

Common questions

Gaston College in Dallas reports the highest median first-year pay, $27,008.

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 North Carolina 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