Kansas City, Missouri
Cosmetology Schools in Kansas City, MO, Ranked (2026)
Published
Edited by Zoe MacDougall, BS in Psychology
The cosmetology schools in Kansas City that carry federal completion data number eight, and five of them are across the state line in Kansas. Only one has a Kansas City, Missouri address: House of Heavilin Beauty College-Kansas City, five miles out. Two more nearby schools had cohorts too small to rank.
That state line is the whole point of this page. Missouri's school roster sits behind a browser-driven form rather than a plain file, so the ranking below rests on the federal data, which does not care which side of the river a school sits on. Your license will. A Kansas school trains you toward a Kansas license.
Figures in this section: Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Department of Commerce and Insurance); BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.
The 8 Cosmetology Schools in and Near Kansas City, Ranked on Completion
10 cosmetology programs report to the US Department of Education from inside Kansas City or within 30 miles of downtown. 8 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. The other 2 had too few students to rank, so the list stops at 8.
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 Missouri page links the board's own lookup.
| # | School | Miles | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | House of Heavilin Beauty College-Blue Springs | 18 | 78% |
| 2 | Mitsu Sato Hair Academy | 11 | 76% |
| 3 | Paul Mitchell the School-Overland Park | 12 | 76% |
| 4 | Z Hair Academy | 17 | 74% |
| 5 | Summit Salon Academy Kansas City | 8 | 61% |
| 6 | House of Heavilin Beauty College-Kansas City | 5 | 44% |
| 7 | Kansas City Kansas Community College | 9 | 42% |
| 8 | Johnson County Community College | 15 | 31% |
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#1
House of Heavilin Beauty College-Blue Springs
Blue Springs, MO
78%
Share of students who finish
- 78% finish
- 118 graduates a year
- $14,300 program cost
What the record shows
House of Heavilin Beauty College-Blue Springs trains in Blue Springs, and because it takes federal financial aid its outcomes are published per program. The school graduates 78 percent, on a fall headcount of 109. Tuition is reported at $14,300 for the full program. The median graduate left with $7,917 in federal loans, across 134 borrowers. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $84 a month. More finish here than at the typical school on this page, 78 percent against 67, and the price is 21 percent under the $18,000 median: the two numbers point the same way. It awarded 118 credentials over the year against a fall headcount of 109, which is what a clock-hour course that turns over more than one cohort a year looks like. The Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners holds the record that counts your hours; find this school on it by its legal name and check it is current before a deposit.
Where it leads
Half of cosmetologists around Kansas City earn under $31,520, with the tenth percentile at $28,300 and the ninetieth at $79,350. There is almost no distance between entry pay and the middle, and a great deal between the middle and the top, so the first year is predictable and the tenth is what you make of it. Kansas City employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 2,220 people.
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#2
Mitsu Sato Hair Academy
Overland Park, KS · Licensed school
76%
Share of students who finish
- $17,250 program cost
What the record shows
Mitsu Sato Hair Academy operates in Overland Park under license from the Kansas Board of Cosmetology. 76 percent of its students finish across two years of students, out of 85 enrolled in the fall count. The published cost is $17,250 for the full program. Graduates who borrowed took on $9,500 in federal loans at the median, 46 of them. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $101 a month. 9 points more of its students finish than the 67 percent median, priced within 5 percent of the $18,000 median, so you pay the going rate for better than average odds of getting through. 58 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. Verify the school's standing with the Kansas Board of Cosmetology before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.
Where it leads
Half of cosmetologists around Kansas City earn under $31,520, with the tenth percentile at $28,300 and the ninetieth at $79,350. A flat floor and a long tail: nobody starts far below the median here, and the people well above it got there on repeat clients, not seniority. Kansas City employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 2,220 people.
Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; Kansas Board of Cosmetology, read 2026-08-31.
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#3
Paul Mitchell the School-Overland Park
Overland Park, KS · Licensed school
76%
Share of students who finish
- $20,026 program cost
What the record shows
Paul Mitchell the School-Overland Park trains in Overland Park, licensed by the Kansas Board of Cosmetology. The school graduates 76 percent, on a fall headcount of 179. Tuition is reported at $20,026 for the full program. The median graduate left with $9,833 in federal loans, across 134 borrowers. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $104 a month. 9 points more of its students finish than the 67 percent median, priced within 12 percent of the $18,000 median, so you pay the going rate for better than average odds of getting through. 141 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. That is roughly 10 percent of everything awarded by federally reporting beauty programs in the state, so it is one of the larger training operations here. Check its license with the Kansas Board of Cosmetology before enrolling, because that record and not this card is what makes your clock hours count.
Where it leads
Pay for cosmetologists around Kansas City runs from $28,300 at the tenth percentile to $79,350 at the ninetieth, with a median of $31,520. Entry pay and typical pay nearly meet, and everything past the median is a following: the upside is real and it is all earned above the middle. On concentration, Kansas City is unremarkable, tracking the national rate closely.
Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; Kansas Board of Cosmetology, read 2026-08-31.
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#4
Z Hair Academy
Overland Park, KS · Licensed school
74%
Share of students who finish
- $18,750 program cost
What the record shows
Based in Overland Park, Z Hair Academy is on the Kansas Board of Cosmetology register. 74 percent of its students finish, out of 235 enrolled in the fall count. Tuition is reported at $18,750 for the full program. The median graduate left with $10,670 in federal loans, across 156 borrowers. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $113 a month. 7 points more of its students finish than the 67 percent median, priced within 5 percent of the $18,000 median, so you pay the going rate for better than average odds of getting through. 130 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. That is roughly 9 percent of everything awarded by federally reporting beauty programs in the state, so it is one of the larger training operations here. The license from the Kansas Board of Cosmetology is the thing to verify before you pay, since that is what decides whether these hours count toward your exam.
Where it leads
Around Kansas City, the median cosmetologist earns $31,520, the bottom tenth $28,300 and the top tenth $79,350. A flat floor and a long tail: nobody starts far below the median here, and the people well above it got there on repeat clients, not seniority. Kansas City employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 2,220 people.
Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; Kansas Board of Cosmetology, read 2026-08-31.
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#5
Summit Salon Academy Kansas City
Independence, MO · School of Cosmetology & Barbering
61%
Share of students who finish
- Barbering
- Cosmetology
- Renews 2027-09
- $10,030 program cost
What the record shows
Summit Salon Academy Kansas City is licensed by the Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners and trains in Independence. Its license covers barbering and cosmetology. 61 percent of students see the course through, out of 157 enrolled. Tuition is reported at $10,030 for the full program. The median graduate left with $11,400 in federal loans, across 43 borrowers. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $121 a month. That median loan is larger than the $10,030 price, so the typical borrower here finances more than tuition. $10,030 is 44 percent under the $18,000 median, and 6 points fewer finish than the 67 percent median. The saving only counts if you are one of the ones who gets through. 84 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. Its board record is license 2024018731, and that entry is the one that counts your hours.
Where it leads
Half of cosmetologists in Missouri earn under $30,750, with the tenth percentile at $28,600 and the ninetieth at $58,530. Starting pay and typical pay are close together in this state, which cuts both ways: less of a lean first year, and less immediate reward for getting quicker. Barbering and cosmetology do not pay alike in Missouri: barbering carries a $47,880 median, roughly 56 percent above cosmetology. Missouri employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 5,430 people.
Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Department of Commerce and Insurance), read 2026-08-31.
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#6
House of Heavilin Beauty College-Kansas City
Kansas City, MO
44%
Share of students who finish
- 44% finish
- 29 graduates a year
- $22,100 program cost
What the record shows
House of Heavilin Beauty College-Kansas City teaches cosmetology in Kansas City, with its results published federally. The school graduates 44 percent, on a fall headcount of 55. Tuition is reported at $22,100 for the full program. Graduates who borrowed took on $16,500 in federal loans at the median, 20 of them. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $175 a month. That is the pairing to be wary of: 23 points fewer of its students finish than the 67 percent median, at a price 23 percent over the $18,000 median. Ask the school directly why students leave before you commit. It awarded 29 beauty credentials in the reporting year. Licensing is the business of the Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners rather than the federal file's, so its register is where to confirm this school by its legal name first.
Where it leads
Half of cosmetologists around Kansas City earn under $31,520, with the tenth percentile at $28,300 and the ninetieth at $79,350. The floor is almost the median here, so the whole spread is above it, and it belongs to people with a book. Kansas City employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 2,220 people.
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#7
Kansas City Kansas Community College
Kansas City, KS · Licensed school
42%
Share of students who finish
What the record shows
Kansas City Kansas Community College is licensed by the Kansas Board of Cosmetology and trains in Kansas City. The board lists no other licensed school in Kansas City. Across all 3,319 students at the college, 42 percent finish, which covers cosmetology along with everything else it teaches. That 42 percent is low for this page, but it is the college's rate and the cosmetology program is a small part of it; the cosmetology department's own completions are the check. Its 67 completions a year make cosmetology a small program inside a college of 3,319. It is a public college, so the cosmetology course is priced at in-district tuition rather than at an academy price. Check its license with the Kansas Board of Cosmetology before enrolling, because that record and not this card is what makes your clock hours count.
Where it leads
For cosmetologists around Kansas City, the range runs $28,300 to $79,350 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles, with a median of $31,520. A flat floor and a long tail: nobody starts far below the median here, and the people well above it got there on repeat clients, not seniority. The occupation is about as common around Kansas City as it is nationally.
Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; Kansas Board of Cosmetology, read 2026-08-31.
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#8
Johnson County Community College
Overland Park, KS · Licensed school
31%
Share of students who finish
What the record shows
Johnson County Community College trains in Overland Park, licensed by the Kansas Board of Cosmetology. 31 percent of students across the college finish, out of 11,332 enrolled, and cosmetology is one of the programs inside that figure. Most of the students behind that 31 percent are in other programs, so ask the cosmetology department for its own figure rather than reading this one as the program's. The median graduate left with $5,299 in federal loans, across 22 borrowers. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $56 a month. Its 43 completions a year make cosmetology a small program inside a college of 11,332. It is a public college, so the cosmetology course is priced at in-district tuition rather than at an academy price. Check its license with the Kansas Board of Cosmetology before enrolling, because that record and not this card is what makes your clock hours count.
Where it leads
Around Kansas City, the median cosmetologist earns $31,520, the bottom tenth $28,300 and the top tenth $79,350. Entry pay and typical pay nearly meet, and everything past the median is a following: the upside is real and it is all earned above the middle. Kansas City employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 2,220 people.
Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; Kansas Board of Cosmetology, read 2026-08-31.
Why Missouri's Hour Requirement Depends on Who Owns the School
Missouri ties the required clock hours to who owns the school. At a private licensed cosmetology school you need 1,500 hours. At a licensed public vocational-technical school the same license takes 1,220. That is 280 fewer hours for identical practice rights, and it is a rule almost no other state writes.
The Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners sits inside the Division of Professional Registration at the Department of Commerce and Insurance, and it licenses barber schools, cosmetology schools and combined schools alike. Manicuring takes 400 hours in Missouri and esthetics 750. A 3,000-hour registered apprenticeship is a third route to the cosmetology license.
The online rule was rewritten effective October 30, 2024, and it is narrower than it first sounds. The 50 percent ceiling applies to theory hours, not to the program total, and experience hours cannot be earned virtually at all. Our state-by-state guide to online hours shows how differently states draw that line.
Missouri also registers hair braiders separately, by certificate of registration rather than school hours, so braiding work does not run through the 1,500-hour route.
Figures in this section: Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Department of Commerce and Insurance); BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.
What the Kansas City Ranked List Shows on Both Sides of the Line
House of Heavilin Beauty College-Blue Springs leads at 78 percent completion on 109 enrolled, in Missouri, 18 miles out, at $14,300. Then come three Kansas schools: Mitsu Sato Hair Academy at 76 percent on 85 enrolled and $17,250, Paul Mitchell the School-Overland Park at 76 percent on 179 enrolled and $20,026, and Z Hair Academy at 74 percent on 235.
The same operator runs both House of Heavilin campuses, and in the numbers they are not the same school. Blue Springs finished 78 percent and charges $14,300. The Kansas City campus finished 44 percent, charges $22,100, and leaves a median debt of $16,500 against Blue Springs's $7,917. It is the only ranked school inside Kansas City, Missouri.
Summit Salon Academy Kansas City in Independence is the cheapest at $10,030, and it holds a Missouri license covering both cosmetology and barbering. It finished 61 percent of 157 enrolled. Its graduates report $18,298 five years after entry, the lowest figure on this list, against $11,400 in median debt, which is more borrowing than the tuition.
The two community colleges sit at the bottom on completion and near the top on outcomes. Johnson County Community College reports 31 percent, but that is institution-wide across 11,332 students, and its beauty graduates report $31,476 five years out on $5,299 of median debt, the best pair of numbers here. See the methodology for how the order works.
Figures in this section: Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Department of Commerce and Insurance); BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.
What the Trades Pay in the Kansas City Metro
The Kansas City metro reports 2,220 hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists at a $31,520 median in the BLS May 2025 release, about $770 above the $30,750 Missouri median. The metro figure covers both states, because BLS treats Kansas City, MO-KS as one area, the same way this ranking does.
The top end is where the metro pulls away. The 90th percentile here is $79,350 against $58,530 for Missouri as a whole, a gap of $20,820, while the 10th percentile is $28,300. Most stylists in this metro earn near the median, and a small number earn a great deal more.
Barbering is the outlier in Missouri. The state reports 580 barbers at a $47,880 median, $17,130 above the hairdresser median, and barbering is twice as concentrated in Missouri as nationally. The metro's 120 barbers report $42,210. Barbering is a separate license with its own school hours, not a branch of cosmetology.
Nail work is unusually common here. The metro reports 1,570 manicurists and pedicurists, about 1.45 times the national concentration, at a $36,180 median, above the stylist median. Nail technician pay has the national spread. Skincare specialists report $46,920 on 490 employed. All of these count wage and salary workers, so booth renters fall outside them.
Figures in this section: Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Department of Commerce and Insurance); BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.
What Cosmetology Careers Pay in Kansas City
Median annual pay in the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area, from the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. A cosmetologist here earns a median of $31,520 against $30,750 across Missouri, with 2,220 employed in the metro. Booth renters and salon owners are self-employed and outside the survey, so these figures describe stylists on a payroll.
- Estheticians $46,920 $46,920
- Barbers $42,210 $42,210
- Nail technicians $36,180 $36,180
- Cosmetologists $31,520 $31,520
| Occupation | Metro median | Missouri median |
|---|---|---|
| Estheticians | $46,920 | $45,200 |
| Barbers | $42,210 | $47,880 |
| Nail technicians | $36,180 | $39,100 |
| Cosmetologists | $31,520 | $30,750 |
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.
Common Questions About Cosmetology School in Kansas City
Answers draw on Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Department of Commerce and Insurance), the College Scorecard and the May 2025 BLS wage release.
How many hours of cosmetology school do you need in Kansas City?
Does it matter if a Kansas City beauty school is on the Kansas side?
Which Kansas City area cosmetology school has the best completion rate?
What is the cheapest cosmetology school near Kansas City?
How much do hairdressers make in Kansas City?
Are there beauty schools in Kansas City the ranking misses?
Sources
- Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Department of Commerce and Insurance), school license records, read 2026-08-31. Hour requirement for a cosmetologist license: 1,500 clock hours, cited to the rule.
- US Department of Education, College Scorecard, June 2026 release. Completion, enrollment, cost and location for every cosmetology program (CIP 12.04) within 30 miles of downtown Kansas City. Each card links its institution's Scorecard page.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Metro-area wages and employment for the Kansas City, MO-KS area.