US College Programs

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

  • 27 programs report first-year pay
  • 26 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 Pennsylvania cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $16,429 in their first year, $818 less than the national median. Metro Beauty Academy reports the highest first-year pay ($21,226), and Lancaster School of Cosmetology & Therapeutic Bodywork the lowest median debt ($7,208).

Median first-year pay$16,429National $17,247
Median pay after 5 years$22,596National $22,164
Median federal debt$12,014National $9,833
Debt-to-earnings74%National 55%

All 27 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.

Lansdale School of Cosmetology reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay. 2 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Pennsylvania cosmetology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 26 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Metro Beauty Academy$21,226
  2. Penn Commercial Business/Technical School$20,871
  3. South Hills Beauty Academy$20,852
  4. Douglas Education Center$20,532
  5. Lancaster School of Cosmetology & Therapeutic Bodywork$19,624

Lowest median debt

  1. Lancaster School of Cosmetology & Therapeutic Bodywork$7,208
  2. Altoona Beauty School$7,544
  3. South Hills Beauty Academy$7,662
  4. Butler Beauty Academy$8,028
  5. Salon Professional Academy-Altoona$9,936

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Lancaster School of Cosmetology & Therapeutic Bodywork37%
  2. South Hills Beauty Academy37%
  3. Altoona Beauty School41%
  4. Salon Professional Academy-Altoona52%
  5. Penn Commercial Business/Technical School54%

"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 Pennsylvania

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

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$36,790

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 19,350 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $23,700Top 10%: $68,750

Common questions

Metro Beauty Academy in Allentown reports the highest median first-year pay, $21,226. Its median federal debt is $13,381.

Related pages

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 Pennsylvania 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

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024