Best cosmetology programs in Nebraska 2026

• #1

  Joseph's College Cosmetology

  Lincoln, NE

  88%

  Share of students who finish

  • 88% finish
  • 53 graduates a year
  • $18,800 program cost

  What the record shows

  Joseph's College Cosmetology teaches cosmetology in Lincoln, with its results published federally. Of the 92 students in its fall count, 88 percent complete the course they started. The published cost is $18,800 for the full program. Borrowing here runs to a median of $12,000 in federal loans, measured over 127 graduates. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $127 a month. $18,800 is exactly at the $18,800 median, and the completion is not ordinary: 88 percent against 83. That is the better half of the trade. It awarded 53 beauty credentials in the reporting year. The license from the state board is still the thing to verify before you pay, since that is what decides whether these hours count toward your exam.

  Where it leads

  Around Lincoln, the median cosmetologist earns $30,440, the bottom tenth $28,080 and the top tenth $60,900. The metro median runs about 11 percent below the Nebraska figure. The floor is almost the median here, so the whole spread is above it, and it belongs to people with a book. Lincoln employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 340 people.

  Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

• #2

  Capitol Beauty School

  Omaha, NE

  87%

  Share of students who finish

  • 130 graduates a year
  • $18,100 program cost

  What the record shows

  Capitol Beauty School runs its cosmetology program in Omaha and reports to the US Department of Education. 87 percent of the 161 students it enrolls finish. Tuition is reported at $18,100 for the full program. Borrowing here runs to a median of $6,901 in federal loans, measured over 157 graduates. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $73 a month. Completion and price both sit close to the page median, 87 percent against 83 and $18,100 against $18,800, so the number that separates it is debt: 38 percent of the price arrives as federal loans, less than at the typical school here. It awarded 130 beauty credentials in the reporting year. Verify the school's standing with the state board before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.

  Where it leads

  Around Omaha, the median cosmetologist earns $36,390, the bottom tenth $28,080 and the top tenth $75,130. The spread above the median is wide enough that averages mislead here. What separates the top is a client list built over years. Omaha employs the trade at about 1.2 times the national rate, so the local market is thicker than average.

  Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

• #3

  College of Hair Design-Downtown

  Lincoln, NE

  83%

  Share of students who finish

  • 83% finish
  • 41 graduates a year
  • $19,980 program cost

  What the record shows

  College of Hair Design-Downtown teaches cosmetology in Lincoln, with its results published federally. 83 percent of its students finish, out of 53 enrolled in the fall count. It charges $19,980 for the full program, which for a clock-hour course is the whole price rather than a yearly one. The median graduate left with $12,000 in federal loans, across 151 borrowers. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $127 a month. On every federal measure it is an ordinary school for this page, 83 percent, exactly the median and $19,980 against $18,800, 60 percent of the price borrowed against 60 for the page, and ordinary is not a warning: it means the deciding facts are the ones you gather on a visit. It awarded 41 beauty credentials in the reporting year. Verify the school's standing with the state board before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.

  Where it leads

  undefined The metro median runs about 11 percent below the Nebraska figure. The floor is almost the median here, so the whole spread is above it, and it belongs to people with a book.

  Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

• #4

  Xenon A Stephanie Moss Academy

  Omaha, NE

  82%

  Share of students who finish

  • 82% finish
  • 127 graduates a year
  • $18,750 program cost

  What the record shows

  Xenon A Stephanie Moss Academy teaches cosmetology in Omaha, with its results published federally. Of the 241 students in its fall count, 82 percent complete the course they started. The published cost is $18,750 for the full program. Borrowing here runs to a median of $9,500 in federal loans, measured over 216 graduates. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $101 a month. Completion and price both sit close to the page median, 82 percent against 83 and $18,750 against $18,800, so the number that separates it is debt: 51 percent of the price arrives as federal loans, less than at the typical school here. It awarded 127 beauty credentials in the reporting year. Ask the state board directly whether the license is in good standing, because a lapse while you are enrolled costs you the hours rather than the school.

  Where it leads

  Around Omaha, the median cosmetologist earns $36,390, the bottom tenth $28,080 and the top tenth $75,130. This is a market with a long tail: the ninetieth percentile runs past double the median, and that gap is clientele rather than credentials. Concentration around Omaha runs modestly above the national rate, about 1.2 times, or 1,220 people in the occupation.

  Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

• #5

  Entourage Institute of Beauty and Esthetics

  Lincoln, NE

  60%

  Share of students who finish

  • 60% finish
  • 18 graduates a year
  • $19,900 program cost

  What the record shows

  Entourage Institute of Beauty and Esthetics trains in Lincoln, and because it takes federal financial aid its outcomes are published per program. Of the 99 students in its fall count, 60 percent complete the course they started. It charges $19,900 for the full program, which for a clock-hour course is the whole price rather than a yearly one. The price is close to the $18,800 median and the completion is not: 60 percent against 83. In a clock-hour course that is the wrong half of the trade, and the reason to ask hard questions before a deposit. 18 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. From 99 enrolled that is slow throughput for a clock-hour course, and it belongs beside the completion figure above. Verify the school's standing with the state board before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.

  Where it leads

  Around Lincoln, the median cosmetologist earns $30,440, the bottom tenth $28,080 and the top tenth $60,900. The metro median runs about 11 percent below the Nebraska figure. 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. Lincoln employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 340 people.

  Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

Where can you find the licensed cosmetology programs in Nebraska?

The licensed cosmetology programs in Nebraska are searched one at a time rather than published as a list, so this page links Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Licensure Unit's own records instead of reprinting a commercial directory. The schools above are drawn from the 5 Nebraska cosmetology programs that take federal financial aid and therefore report their results to the Department of Education. That is a large share of the field and not all of it, so a school missing here is one that takes no federal aid rather than one that is unlicensed. Look up the school you are considering in the board's records and confirm the license is current before you pay anything.

How do you become a cosmetologist in Nebraska in 2026?

To become a cosmetologist in Nebraska you need 1,800 clock hours at a school licensed by Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Licensure Unit, then a passing score on the state exam. At the pace most clock-hour schools run, that is roughly 13.9 months full time. That is above what 46 other states require, putting Nebraska among the longer programs in the country.

Those hours only count if the school held a license from Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Licensure Unit while you were enrolled, so check the license before the brochure when comparing cosmetology programs.

How much do cosmetologists make in Nebraska in 2026?

Cosmetologists in Nebraska earn a median of $34,320 , with the bottom tenth on $28,080 and the top tenth on $73,740 . The related licenses pay differently again, which matters because you pick the license before you start the hours.

What is different about cosmetology licensing in Nebraska?

Nebraska is one of the few states where cosmetology schools are licensed by a health department rather than a cosmetology board: 172 NAC 37 governs school licensure and Neb. Rev. Stat. 38-1097 says a school is 'licensed as a school of cosmetology by the department', with the Board of Cosmetology, Electrology, Esthetics, Nail Technology and Body Art advising under the Uniform Credentialing Act. The statutory entry conditions for a school are also unusually concrete: at least ten contracted full- or part-time students, at least 3,500 square feet of floor space, and no shared entrance with or direct access to a salon. At 1,800 hours the cosmetologist requirement is among the highest in the country. Read Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Licensure Unit's own rules .

Where do cosmetologists make the most money in Nebraska?

Cosmetologists make the most money in Nebraska around Omaha, where the median is $36,390, and the least around Sioux City at $30,330. At 20 percent, the spread across Nebraska is narrow, and location will not decide your income the way it does in some states.

Against a statewide median of $34,320, roughly half these metros pay above and half below.

Is it better to be a cosmetologist, esthetician or nail tech in Nebraska?

In Nebraska, estheticians are the best paid of the beauty licenses at a $58,420 median. That is above the $34,320 cosmetologist median, so the longer general license is not automatically the better-paid route here.

The shorter licenses also take fewer hours, so the comparison is not only what the work pays but how long you spend unpaid getting there.

Can you use a cosmetology license from another state in Nebraska?

Using a cosmetology license from another state in Nebraska means satisfying Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Licensure Unit, which decides case by case, and the number it weighs is hours. Against the other Midwest states, Nebraska is it asks 286 more hours than the regional average of 1,514, and pay tracks the regional average closely.

That matters if you might move, because a license does not travel automatically: the receiving state decides what your hours are worth, and a shorter program can be the harder one to carry across a line.

What does this Nebraska cosmetology program ranking not tell you?

This Nebraska cosmetology program ranking does not tell you everything you need. This is a completion rate, not a teaching inspection, and a school can lift it by enrolling only students likely to finish just as easily as by teaching well. It is reported for the institution rather than for the cosmetology course alone, which is exact at the beauty schools that teach nothing else and broader at a community college, where cosmetology is one program among many; each card says which kind it is describing. Schools enrolling fewer than 40 students are left out, because a completion rate over a handful of people moves too far on one person's decision to be worth ordering on. It covers only schools that take federal financial aid, a large share of the field but not all of it, so a school missing here takes no federal aid rather than performing badly. Finishing also says nothing about whether a school's hours will count toward your license, which is what the board record on this page is for.

Check a school against the NACCAS accredited school search if federal financial aid matters to you, and against Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Licensure Unit for the license itself.

Common questions about cosmetology programs in Nebraska