Cosmetology Schools in San Jose, CA, Ranked (2026)

The 4 Cosmetology Schools in and Near San Jose, Ranked on Completion

4 cosmetology programs report to the US Department of Education from inside San Jose or within 30 miles of downtown. Every one of them had at least 40 students and a published completion figure, and they are ordered on the share of students who finish within half again the program's normal length.

Where a school's board record was matched, the card carries it. A school that appears here without one is not unlicensed; it means the board's file and the federal file did not agree on its name, and the California page links the board's own lookup.

1. #1

   The Salon Professional Academy-San Jose

   San Jose, CA · Board-approved school

   95%

   Share of students who finish

   • Cosmetology
   • Esthetics
   • 42 exam candidates
   • $14,950 program cost

   What the record shows

   The Salon Professional Academy-San Jose is licensed by the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology and trains in San Jose. Of 42 first-time candidates sitting the state written exam, 28 passed, giving 67 percent. The bulk of its testing is cosmetology, 25 of 42 candidates, though it is licensed more widely than that. There, 17 of 25 passed, so the headline rate is mostly that program. That sits close to the 69 percent statewide first-time rate. With 10 licensed schools in San Jose, this one is competing for students rather than the only option. 95 percent of students see the course through, out of 196 enrolled. The published cost is $14,950 for the full program. 153 graduates borrowed, at a median of $6,333 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $67 a month. 48 points more of its students finish than the 47 percent median, priced within 7 percent of the $14,078 median, so you pay the going rate for better than average odds of getting through. 176 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. Verify the school's standing with the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.

   Where it leads

   Half of cosmetologists around San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara earn under $43,410, with the tenth percentile at $37,990 and the ninetieth at $60,280. Against the state as a whole, the metro runs roughly 12 percent higher on median pay. The bottom and the middle sit close together here, which means early pay is predictable and the upside has to be built rather than waited for. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 2,030 people.

   Exam results by license

   cosmetology	17 of 25	68%
   esthetics	11 of 17	65%

   Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, read 2026-08-28.

2. #2

   College of San Mateo

   San Mateo, CA · Board-approved school

   61%

   Share of students who finish

   • Cosmetology
   • Esthetics
   • 18 exam candidates

   What the record shows

   College of San Mateo operates in San Mateo under license from the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. 12 of its 18 first-time candidates passed the state written exam, a rate of 67 percent. Most of its candidates, 16 of 18, tested in cosmetology, so that is what it mainly trains people to do. The statewide first-time rate is 69 percent, so it is about average on this measure. 61 percent of students across the college finish, out of 7,977 enrolled, and cosmetology is one of the programs inside that figure. That completion rate is 14 points above the 47 percent median, but it is every program on campus, so treat it as a fact about the college and not about the cosmetology floor. Its 23 completions a year make cosmetology a small program inside a college of 7,977. It is a public college, so the cosmetology course is priced at in-district tuition rather than at an academy price. Verify the school's standing with the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.

   Where it leads

   Half of cosmetologists around San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont earn under $42,400, with the tenth percentile at $35,540 and the ninetieth at $54,940. Against the state as a whole, the metro runs roughly 10 percent higher on median pay. The upside is capped near 1.3 times the median and the floor is 16 percent under it, a market where the first year is tight rather than dangerous and the ceiling is earned slowly. Around San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, the gap between esthetics and nail technology is real: a $52,350 median against one 21 percent lower. Local concentration around San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont sits near the national average.

   Exam results by license

   cosmetology	12 of 16	75%
   esthetics	0 of 2	0%

   Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, read 2026-08-28.

3. #3

   San Jose City College

   San Jose, CA · Board-approved school

   34%

   Share of students who finish

   • Esthetics
   • Cosmetology
   • 48 exam candidates

   What the record shows

   Based in San Jose, San Jose City College is on the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology register. 40 of its 48 first-time candidates passed the state written exam, a rate of 83 percent. That runs above the 67 percent median across the schools ranked here. Esthetics is its largest cohort at 33 of 48 candidates, which makes it the school's center of gravity. Its esthetics candidates passed at 82 percent, 27 of 33, which is where most of the school's result comes from. Against the 69 percent statewide rate it sits 14 points above, though a single school's cohort moves more than a state's does. With 10 licensed schools in San Jose, this one is competing for students rather than the only option. 34 percent of students across the college finish, out of 7,105 enrolled, and cosmetology is one of the programs inside that figure. Most of the students behind that 34 percent are in other programs, so ask the cosmetology department for its own figure rather than reading this one as the program's. It awarded 102 beauty credentials in the reporting year. It is a public college, so the cosmetology course is priced at in-district tuition rather than at an academy price. Verify the school's standing with the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.

   Where it leads

   Pay for cosmetologists around San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara runs from $37,990 at the tenth percentile to $60,280 at the ninetieth, with a median of $43,410. The metro median is about 12 percent above the California figure. A narrow bottom-to-middle gap means the pay you start on is close to the pay most people stay on, unless they build a following. On concentration, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara is unremarkable, tracking the national rate closely.

   Exam results by license

   esthetics	27 of 33	82%
   cosmetology	13 of 15	87%

   Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, read 2026-08-28.

4. #4

   Paul Mitchell the School-San Jose

   San Jose, CA · Board-approved school

   28%

   Share of students who finish

   • Cosmetology
   • Barbering
   • Esthetics
   • Nail technology
   • $13,205 program cost

   What the record shows

   Paul Mitchell the School-San Jose trains in San Jose, licensed by the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. Its license covers cosmetology, barbering, esthetics and nail technology. With 10 licensed schools in San Jose, this one is competing for students rather than the only option. 28 percent of students see the course through, out of 91 enrolled. Tuition is reported at $13,205 for the full program. The price is close to the $14,078 median and the completion is not: 28 percent against 47. In a clock-hour course that is the wrong half of the trade, and the reason to ask hard questions before a deposit. 62 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. Verify the school's standing with the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.

   Where it leads

   Around San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, the median cosmetologist earns $43,410, the bottom tenth $37,990 and the top tenth $60,280. The metro median is about 12 percent above the California figure. Starting pay and typical pay are close together in this market, which cuts both ways: less of a lean first year, and less immediate reward for getting quicker. Local concentration around San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara sits near the national average.

   Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, read 2026-08-28.

Other Licensed Cosmetology Schools in San Jose

California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology lists 10 currently licensed schools in San Jose. These 7 appear above, either because the school takes no federal aid and so reports no completion figure, or because its cohort was too small to rank. Being on this list means the board licenses the school, which is the thing that makes your hours count.

What California Requires From San Jose Students

The California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology sets 1,000 hours for a cosmetologist license and approves the schools where you can earn them. Board approval is what makes your hours count. It is separate from the approval a private school needs from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, and neither one substitutes for the other.

The board's Approved School List is a PDF, currently the June to July 2026 edition, and it carries no license numbers, no status column and no expiry date. Presence on it is the board's statement that a school is approved right now. To check one school in particular, use the board's own lookup rather than the list.

California also publishes written exam pass and fail rates for each school, broken out by discipline. That is the strongest objective comparison available in this field, and it comes from the board rather than from a school's own materials. Pull it before you choose between two San Jose schools, because none of the numbers below measure what happens on exam day.

Figures in this section: California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology; BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.

What Four Ranked Schools in San Jose Tell You

The approved list carries no figures at all, so the ordering below is the federal completion figure. The Salon Professional Academy-San Jose finishes 95 percent of its 196 students, charges $14,950, and its graduates carry $6,333 in median debt. Nothing else on the page is close on completion.

Two of the four are colleges, so their completion figures describe the whole institution, not the cosmetology department. San Jose City College enrolls 7,105 students and finishes 34 percent, and it conferred 102 cosmetology credentials in the reporting year. College of San Mateo, 28 miles out, enrolls 7,977, finishes 61 percent and conferred 23. Both are public, which is usually why a student is looking at them.

Paul Mitchell the School-San Jose is fourth at 28 percent completion on 91 students, and at $13,205 it is the cheaper of the two private schools here. Those two facts belong in the same sentence: you are comparing $1,745 in tuition against a completion figure more than sixty points apart from The Salon Professional Academy's.

With four schools, the honest move is to look wider before you decide. San Francisco is a different list, Oakland another, and community college programs gathers the public option across the state.

Figures in this section: California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology; BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.

What Beauty Work Pays in the San Jose Metro

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara is its own BLS metro, and it pays hairdressers a median of $43,410 against $38,660 across California. The floor is higher too. The bottom tenth here earn $37,990, where California's bottom tenth earn $35,360, so a first job in this metro starts from a better place.

The ceiling runs the other way. The top tenth of San Jose hairdressers earn $60,280 while the top tenth statewide earn $68,640. This metro pays a better starting wage and a worse top wage, which is a genuine trade-off if you plan to build a book and stay in it for twenty years.

Nails are the trade to watch here. The metro employs 2,180 manicurists and pedicurists against 2,030 hairdressers, at nearly twice the national concentration, on a median of $43,070. Nail technician pay sets that against the rest of the country. BLS counts employees, so booth renters sit outside every figure on this page.

Figures in this section: BLS OEWS, May 2025.

What Cosmetology Careers Pay in San Jose

Median annual pay in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, from the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. A cosmetologist here earns a median of $43,410 against $38,660 across California, with 2,030 employed in the metro. Booth renters and salon owners are self-employed and outside the survey, so these figures describe stylists on a payroll.

Each occupation has its own salary page with the range and every state, and a career page on the work and the license it needs.

Cosmetology Schools in Nearby Cities

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Common Questions About Cosmetology School in San Jose

Answers draw on California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, the College Scorecard and the May 2025 BLS wage release.