Find Your Cosmetology School in About a Minute

Our cosmetology school finder asks six quick questions about the license you want and where you live, then compares 836 beauty schools and shows you the ones that fit.

Takes about a minute. No sign-up.

How the Cosmetology School Finder Works

You do not need a school in mind yet. Tell the cosmetology school finder which license you want, what kind of school you like and where you live, and it does the comparing for you.

You Answer Six Questions
The license you want, the kind of school, where you live, the work you picture, what matters most and anything else you would like us to weigh.
We Read 836 Schools
The finder keeps the schools that meet your answers, then reads each one's published facts against what you told us.
You Get Your Matches
Up to five schools, each with a match percentage, the facts behind it and a link to its card on our state ranking page.

Figures in this section: 836 schools across 49 states and Washington, D.C., from the College Scorecard and each state board's school license records.

What Our Cosmetology School Finder Compares

Your License Track

310 schools have a board record that names the licenses they train toward: 77 list barbering, 116 list esthetics and 101 list nail technology. Pick one of those and the finder keeps only schools whose board record lists it.

Public College or Beauty School

219 of the schools are public colleges, usually a community or technical college, and 591 are private beauty schools. The finder uses the federal ownership record to sort them.

How Far You Will Drive

Pick your state, or a big city, and the finder keeps schools within 30 miles of that city. We cover 50 of the largest US cities, measured on each school's federal campus location.

What It Costs

660 schools report program tuition to the Department of Education, from $600 to $45,900, with a middle of $16,550. Pick "Low tuition" and price counts for more in your matches.

Who Finishes

809 schools report the share of students who finish, from 11% to 100%. In a clock-hour trade this matters most, since a license needs every hour.

Exam Results and Support

25 California schools publish first-time exam pass rates, and 517 schools report veteran support services. Pick either one in question five and the finder moves those schools up.

Rather browse on your own? Every school in the finder has a card in our rankings. Start with the best cosmetology schools in every state, the most affordable cosmetology schools, the community college programs or the schools in the 50 largest cities.

Figures in this section: tuition, completion, debt and ownership from the College Scorecard; license types from each state board's published school roster; veteran services from IPEDS.

Why the Finder Starts With the State Board License

No cosmetology program is accredited by anyone. NACCAS accredits the school as an institution, and what that buys a student is federal financial aid. What decides whether your hours count toward the exam is the school's license from its own state board, so that is where the finder starts and where our methodology starts too.

A school can be accredited and aid-eligible and still hold a lapsed state license. We hold a current board license for 450 of the 836 schools in the finder, and the card shows it where we do. Check any school against your NACCAS listing if you need aid, and against your state board before you pay a deposit.

Why the Finder Sometimes Shows Close Matches

Beauty school is local. 9 states have five or fewer schools in the finder, so three firm answers can leave very few.

When fewer than five schools fit every answer, the finder lists those first, then fills the rest with close matches. Each one misses exactly one of your answers, and its card names it. Close matches near you come before any that would mean moving.

Figures in this section: school counts by state from the College Scorecard cosmetology field of study (CIP 12.04).

Cosmetology School Finder FAQ

How Does the Cosmetology School Finder Work?

You answer six questions: the license you want, the kind of school, where you live, the work you picture, what matters most and anything else we should know. The finder keeps the schools among our 836 that meet your answers, reads each one's published facts against what you told us, and shows you up to five.

Does the Finder Check a School’s State Board License?

Where we hold the board's record, yes: the match card shows the board's current license for the school, and the license track you pick is checked against the licenses the board lists. We hold a current board license for 450 of the 836 schools. Always confirm any school with your state board before you enroll, because that license decides whether your clock hours count.

Why Doesn’t the Finder Filter by Accreditation?

Because no cosmetology program is accredited by anyone. NACCAS accredits the school as an institution, which matters for federal financial aid, and says nothing about the course it runs. The school’s license from its own state board is what decides whether your hours count toward the exam, so that is the fact the finder leans on.

Why Did I Get Schools Outside My City or State?

Because beauty school is local and some places have few schools in our data. 9 states have five or fewer. When fewer than five schools fit every answer, the finder adds close matches. Schools near you come first, and any school that would mean moving or a different kind of school says so on its card.

How Is My Match Percentage Worked Out?

Your match percentage shows how closely a school fits what you told us, judged from its published facts (license, tuition, completion, debt, earnings and exam results where they exist). It compares schools for you. It is not a grade of the school, and a school with fewer published facts can score lower for that reason alone.

Do Schools Pay to Appear in My Results?

Not in your matches. The listing at the top of your results is marked AD and comes from schools that pay to appear there. Your matches below it come from our own data, and no school can pay to change them.

Do I Need an Account or to Share My Contact Details?

No. The finder never asks for your name, email or phone number, and you do not need to sign up. Please leave contact details out of the optional text boxes.

Answers draw on the College Scorecard and the school license records each state board publishes.