Which South Carolina cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

Southeastern Esthetics Institute reports the lowest median federal debt, $7,029, with first-year pay of $21,547.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in South Carolina?

The median across 9 South Carolina cosmetology certificate programs is $18,693 in the first year after graduating and $22,364 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in South Carolina earn a median of $33,700 across all experience levels.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in South Carolina?

9 South Carolina programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

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

9 programs report first-year pay
8 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 South Carolina cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $18,693 in their first year, $1,446 more than the national median. Southeastern Esthetics Institute reports the highest first-year pay ($21,547), and Southeastern Esthetics Institute the lowest median debt ($7,029).

Median first-year pay$18,693National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$22,364National $22,164

Median federal debt$10,749National $9,833

Debt-to-earnings63%National 55%

All 9 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	Southeastern Esthetics InstituteElgin · private for-profit	$21,547	Not reported	$7,029	33%
2	Paul Mitchell the School-CharlestonNorth Charleston · private for-profit	$19,583	$23,322	$13,833	71%
3	Academy of Hair TechnologyGreenville · private for-profit	$19,459	$20,601	$7,833	40%
4	Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology and Nails-ColumbiaWest Columbia · private for-profit	$18,956	$24,328	$11,069	58%
5	Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-Rock HillRock Hill · private for-profit	$18,693	$21,821	$10,429	56%
6	Charleston Cosmetology InstituteCharleston · private for-profit	$18,084	$19,805	$12,052	67%
7	Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-North AugustaNorth Augusta · private for-profit	$16,226	$16,587	$12,274	76%
8	Greenville Technical CollegeGreenville · public	$15,778	$25,889	Not reported	Not reported
9	LeGrand Institute of CosmetologyCamden · private for-profit	$12,478	$22,906	$9,000	72%

Greenville Technical College reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Southeastern Esthetics Institute$21,547
Paul Mitchell the School-Charleston$19,583
Academy of Hair Technology$19,459
Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology and Nails-Columbia$18,956
Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-Rock Hill$18,693

Lowest median debt

Southeastern Esthetics Institute$7,029
Academy of Hair Technology$7,833
LeGrand Institute of Cosmetology$9,000
Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-Rock Hill$10,429
Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology and Nails-Columbia$11,069

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 South Carolina

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

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$33,700

Median pay in South Carolina. 3,570 people work in this job in South 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%: $21,340Top 10%: $77,430

Common questions

Southeastern Esthetics Institute in Elgin reports the highest median first-year pay, $21,547. Its median federal debt is $7,029.

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 South 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