Which Virginia cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

Avi Career Training reports the lowest median federal debt, $6,333, with first-year pay of $15,607.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in Virginia?

The median across 14 Virginia cosmetology certificate programs is $19,820 in the first year after graduating and $24,631 five years after.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in Virginia?

14 Virginia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 12 of them also report federal debt.

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

14 programs report first-year pay
12 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 Virginia cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $19,820 in their first year, $2,573 more than the national median. Esthetic Institute reports the highest first-year pay ($29,301), and Avi Career Training the lowest median debt ($6,333).

Median first-year pay$19,820National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$24,631National $22,164

Median federal debt$10,983National $9,833

Debt-to-earnings51%National 55%

All 14 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	Esthetic InstituteVienna · private for-profit	$29,301	Not reported	$11,208	38%
2	Institute of Advanced Medical EstheticsAshland · private for-profit	$27,490	Not reported	$6,944	25%
3	Chrysm Institute of EstheticsVirginia Beach · private for-profit	$23,974	$25,231	$7,333	31%
4	Dermal Science International Aesthetics and Nail AcademyReston · private for-profit · closed	$22,763	$38,226	$8,517	37%
5	Culpeper Cosmetology Training CenterCulpeper · public	$21,937	Not reported	$13,666	62%
6	Paul Mitchell the School-RoanokeRoanoke · private for-profit	$20,761	Not reported	$13,833	67%
7	Rudy & Kelly Academy A Paul Mitchell Partner SchoolVirginia Beach · private for-profit	$20,028	$27,641	$16,184	81%
8	Eastern Virginia Career CollegeFredericksburg · private for-profit	$19,612	$21,099	$7,917	40%
9	Staunton School of CosmetologyStaunton · private for-profit	$19,581	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
10	Southside Virginia Community CollegeAlberta · public	$16,944	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
11	Sylvain Melloul International Hair AcademyLynchburg · private for-profit	$15,812	$22,519	$10,757	68%
12	Avi Career Trainingvienna · private for-profit	$15,607	$24,030	$6,333	41%
13	Tomorrow's Image Barber And Beauty Academy of VirginiaNewport News · private for-profit	$11,572	Not reported	$13,000	112%
14	Another Level Barbering and Cosmetology SchoolPetersburg · private for-profit	$11,506	Not reported	$16,500	143%

Staunton School of Cosmetology and Southside Virginia Community College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. One of these schools has since closed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia cosmetology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 12 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to cosmetology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$35,790

Median pay nationwide. 10,200 people work in this job in Virginia. 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.

Manicurists and Pedicurists

$36,630

Median pay in Virginia. 4,230 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 21,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $29,370Top 10%: $59,430

First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers

$48,990

Median pay in Virginia. 2,950 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $35,920Top 10%: $79,770

Skincare Specialists

$39,350

Median pay in Virginia. 1,970 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $31,530Top 10%: $67,520

Common questions

Esthetic Institute in Vienna reports the highest median first-year pay, $29,301. Its median federal debt is $11,208.

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 Virginia 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