2023 Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Cosmetology Associate Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 107,895 people earned a degree or certificate in cosmetology, making the major the #229 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 34 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for cosmetology students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Clover Park Technical College the best value school in the United States for cosmetology students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Lakewood, CPTC is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CPTC are $5,740 a year. The average amount in student loans that cosmetology majors at CPTC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $16,538.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Johnson County Community College is a great value for cosmetology students working on their associate degree. Located in the midsize city of Overland Park, JCCC is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at JCCC are $5,352 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, JCCC also is in the top 5% of our Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools ranking.
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Out of the 34 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Saint Paul College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Saint Paul College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Saint Paul.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Saint Paul College are $6,041 a year.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Ridgewater College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value cosmetology schools in the United States. Ridgewater College is a small public school located in the town of Willmar.
Ridgewater College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,914 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Ridgewater College is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools list.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Waukesha County Technical College is a great value for cosmetology students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Pewaukee, WCTC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
WCTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,603 in tuition and fees each year.
WCTC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools list.
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With a ranking of #6, Lee College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for cosmetology students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Baytown, Lee College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Lee College are $4,302 a year.
Lee College also claimed a spot on our Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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Houston Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools ranking. Houston Community College is a very large public school located in the city of Houston.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Houston Community College are $5,460 a year. Cosmetology majors at Houston Community College take out an average of $27,801 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Central New Mexico Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Albuquerque, CNM is a public college with a fairly large student population.
CNM undergraduate students pay an average of $7,540 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that cosmetology majors at CNM take out while working on their Associate Degree is $15,146.
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With a ranking of #9, San Jacinto Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for cosmetology students working on their associate degree. Located in the large suburb of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
San Jacinto College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,040 in tuition and fees each year.
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Cerritos College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for cosmetology students to get a associate degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the suburb of Norwalk, Cerritos College is a public college with a large student population.
Cerritos College undergraduate students pay an average of $10,026 in tuition and fees each year.
Request InformationCosmetology by Region
View the Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Cosmetology Rankings
Majors Related to Cosmetology
One of 4 majors within the area of study, cosmetology has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to Cosmetology
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Culinary Arts | 19,806 |
| Funeral & Mortuary Science | 2,354 |
| Casino Operations and Services | 192 |
| Other Personal & Culinary Services | 81 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Tiffany Bumgardner.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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