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2023 Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

34 Colleges
$7,848 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$16,507 Avg Salary

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.

2023 Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools

Our analysis found Clover Park Technical College to be the best value school for cosmetology students who want to pursue a associate degree in the United States. Located in the city of Lakewood, CPTC is a public school with a small student population.

CPTC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,740 in tuition and fees each 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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#2

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS

Out of the 34 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Johnson County Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Overland Park, JCCC is a public school with a large student population.

JCCC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,352 in tuition and fees each 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.

Read full report on Cosmetology at Johnson County Community College

#3

Saint Paul College

Saint Paul, MN

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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#4

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Ridgewater College is a great value for cosmetology students working on their associate degree. Ridgewater College is a small public school located in the town of Willmar.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ridgewater College are $5,914 a year.

Ridgewater College 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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The excellent associate degree programs at Waukesha County Technical College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value cosmetology schools in the United States. Located in the large suburb of Pewaukee, WCTC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WCTC are $6,603 a 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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#6

Lee College

Baytown, TX

Lee College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree cosmetology programs. Located in the city of Baytown, Lee College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lee College are $4,302 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Lee College is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools list.

Full Cosmetology at Lee College Report

Houston Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools list. Houston Community College is a very large public school located in the large city of Houston.

Houston Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,460 in tuition and fees each year. Cosmetology majors at Houston Community College take out an average of $27,801 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Cosmetology at Houston Community College

Central New Mexico Community College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree cosmetology programs. Located in the city of Albuquerque, CNM is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CNM are $7,540 per 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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San Jacinto Community 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 #9 on the list. Located in the suburb of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jacinto College are $5,040 per year.

Full Cosmetology at San Jacinto Community College Report

#10

Cerritos College

Norwalk, CA

Cerritos College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Norwalk, Cerritos College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cerritos College are $10,026 per year.

Read More…

Cosmetology 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

One of 4 majors within the area of study, cosmetology has other similar majors worth exploring.

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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