Which Tennessee cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers reports the lowest median federal debt, $5,499, with first-year pay of $20,488.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in Tennessee?

The median across 31 Tennessee cosmetology certificate programs is $17,506 in the first year after graduating and $20,489 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Tennessee earn a median of $31,310 across all experience levels.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in Tennessee?

31 Tennessee programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 20 of them also report federal debt.

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

31 programs report first-year pay
20 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 Tennessee cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $17,506 in their first year, $259 more than the national median. Salon Professional Academy-Nashville reports the highest first-year pay ($25,878), and Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers the lowest median debt ($5,499).

Median first-year pay$17,506National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$20,489National $22,164

Median federal debt$9,667National $9,833

Debt-to-earnings56%National 55%

All 31 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	Salon Professional Academy-NashvilleNashville · private for-profit	$25,878	$35,780	$9,833	38%
2	Tennessee College of Applied Technology-MurfreesboroMurfreesboro · public	$22,176	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
3	Image Maker Beauty InstituteHendersonville · private for-profit	$21,451	Not reported	$11,580	54%
4	Austin's Beauty CollegeClarksville · private for-profit	$20,977	Not reported	$9,833	47%
5	Brillare Beauty InstituteCleveland · private nonprofit	$20,885	Not reported	$7,917	38%
6	Tennessee College of Applied Technology NashvilleNashville · public	$20,870	$27,984	$9,300	45%
7	Paul Mitchell the School-MurfreesboroMurfreesboro · private for-profit	$20,606	$24,201	$12,087	59%
8	Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical CareersChattanooga · private for-profit	$20,488	Not reported	$5,499	27%
9	Gould's AcademyMemphis · private for-profit	$20,194	$25,367	$10,149	50%
10	Tennessee College of Applied Technology-HarrimanHarriman · public	$19,479	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
11	Tennessee College of Applied Technology-DicksonDickson · public	$18,956	$20,216	Not reported	Not reported
12	Chattanooga State Community CollegeChattanooga · public	$18,593	$20,120	$8,250	44%
13	Tennessee College of Applied Technology-MemphisMemphis · public	$18,312	$16,294	Not reported	Not reported
14	Genesis Career College-LebanonLebanon · private for-profit	$18,043	$21,509	$9,500	53%
15	Tennessee College of Applied Technology-HohenwaldHohenwald · public	$17,987	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
16	Tennessee School of Beauty of KnoxvilleKnoxville · private for-profit	$17,506	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
17	Tennessee College of Applied Technology-KnoxvilleKnoxville · public	$17,458	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
18	Paul Mitchell the School-MemphisMemphis · private for-profit	$17,239	$20,489	$14,557	84%
19	Genesis Career College-CookevilleCookeville · private for-profit	$16,552	$22,777	$9,500	57%
20	Tennessee College of Applied Technology-MorristownMorristown · public	$16,068	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
21	Vibe Barber CollegeMemphis · private for-profit	$15,646	$18,589	$9,500	61%
22	Tennessee College of Applied Technology-JacksboroJacksboro · public	$15,454	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
23	Miller-Motte College-ChattanoogaChattanooga · private for-profit	$15,003	$19,935	$12,831	86%
24	Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Henry/CarrollParis · public	$14,797	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
25	TC BeautyJohnson City · private for-profit	$14,598	$21,590	$9,833	67%
26	Arnolds Beauty SchoolMilan · private for-profit	$14,553	Not reported	$11,000	76%
27	Elite College of CosmetologyLexington · private for-profit	$13,568	$20,021	$6,500	48%
28	Tennessee College of Applied Technology NorthwestNewbern · public	$12,140	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
29	Love Beauty SchoolManchester · private for-profit	$11,442	Not reported	$9,500	83%
30	Sandra Academy of Salon ServicesNew Tazewell · private for-profit	$10,380	$12,912	$14,831	143%
31	The Hair Academy LLCFayetteville · private for-profit	$9,605	$22,806	$7,583	79%

11 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Tennessee cosmetology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 20 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Salon Professional Academy-Nashville$25,878
Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Murfreesboro$22,176
Image Maker Beauty Institute$21,451
Austin's Beauty College$20,977
Brillare Beauty Institute$20,885

Lowest median debt

Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers$5,499
Elite College of Cosmetology$6,500
The Hair Academy LLC$7,583
Brillare Beauty Institute$7,917
Chattanooga State Community College$8,250

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 Tennessee

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

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$31,310

Median pay in Tennessee. 6,080 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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%: $25,700Top 10%: $58,000

Common questions

Salon Professional Academy-Nashville in Nashville reports the highest median first-year pay, $25,878. 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 Tennessee 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