Which Wisconsin cosmetology program has the lowest debt?

Northwood Technical College reports the lowest median federal debt, $5,500, with first-year pay of $18,294.

How much do cosmetology graduates earn in Wisconsin?

The median across 16 Wisconsin cosmetology certificate programs is $21,726 in the first year after graduating and $28,249 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Wisconsin earn a median of $36,230 across all experience levels.

How many cosmetology certificate programs are in Wisconsin?

16 Wisconsin programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 16 of them also report federal debt.

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

16 programs report first-year pay
16 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 Wisconsin cosmetology certificate program pays its graduates $21,726 in their first year, $4,479 more than the national median. Waukesha County Technical College reports the highest first-year pay ($27,049), and Northwood Technical College the lowest median debt ($5,500).

Median first-year pay$21,726National $17,247

Median pay after 5 years$28,249National $22,164

Median federal debt$10,500National $9,833

Debt-to-earnings44%National 55%

All 16 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	Waukesha County Technical CollegePewaukee · public	$27,049	Not reported	$9,750	36%
2	Institute of Beauty and WellnessMilwaukee · private for-profit	$25,029	$29,826	$10,555	42%
3	Salon Professional Academy-OnalaskaOnalaska · private for-profit	$25,017	$29,896	$12,000	48%
4	Chippewa Valley Technical CollegeEau Claire · public	$23,405	$29,373	$9,395	40%
5	First Class Cosmetology SchoolBeloit · private for-profit	$23,235	$21,506	$8,790	38%
6	Milwaukee Area Technical CollegeMilwaukee · public	$23,198	$27,922	$10,500	45%
7	Madison Area Technical CollegeMadison · public	$22,152	Not reported	$8,875	40%
8	VICI Beauty SchoolGreenfield · private for-profit	$21,773	$30,010	$9,290	43%
9	Salon Professional Academy-KenoshaKenosha · private for-profit	$21,678	$32,155	$13,810	64%
10	Professional Hair Design AcademyEau Claire · private for-profit	$21,659	Not reported	$12,000	55%
11	Advanced College of CosmetologyWaupun · private for-profit	$21,100	Not reported	$11,420	54%
12	Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-JanesvilleJanesville · private for-profit	$20,302	$20,953	$13,478	66%
13	Paul Mitchell the School-MilwaukeeWauwatosa · private for-profit	$19,570	$28,576	$10,667	55%
14	Salon Professional Academy-AppletonAppleton · private for-profit	$18,603	$31,136	$11,679	63%
15	Northwood Technical CollegeRice Lake · public	$18,294	$27,307	$5,500	30%
16	Mid-State Technical CollegeWisconsin Rapids · public	$17,385	Not reported	$6,081	35%

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Wisconsin cosmetology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 16 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Waukesha County Technical College$27,049
Institute of Beauty and Wellness$25,029
Salon Professional Academy-Onalaska$25,017
Chippewa Valley Technical College$23,405
First Class Cosmetology School$23,235

Lowest median debt

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 Wisconsin

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

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

$36,230

Median pay in Wisconsin. 6,260 people work in this job in Wisconsin. 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%: $23,790Top 10%: $58,970

Common questions

Waukesha County Technical College in Pewaukee reports the highest median first-year pay, $27,049. Its median federal debt is $9,750.

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 Wisconsin 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