Cosmetology Schools in Albuquerque, NM, Ranked (2026)

The 5 Cosmetology Schools in and Near Albuquerque, Ranked on Completion

7 cosmetology programs report to the US Department of Education from inside Albuquerque or within 30 miles of downtown. 5 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 5.

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 New Mexico page links the board's own lookup.

1. #1

   Avenue Academy, A Cosmetology Institute

   Albuquerque, NM

   94%

   Share of students who finish

   • 94% finish
   • 118 graduates a year
   • $11,250 program cost

   What the record shows

   Avenue Academy, A Cosmetology Institute teaches cosmetology in Albuquerque, with its results published federally. The school graduates 94 percent, on a fall headcount of 96. Tuition is reported at $11,250 for the full program. 37 graduates borrowed, at a median of $6,333 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $67 a month. Finishing well and charging under the median is the combination worth looking for, and this is one of the few schools on the page that does both, 15 points above the 79 percent median and 20 percent under the $14,034 median. 118 credentials in the year from a fall count of 96: the program cycles more than once a year, so the two figures are different populations rather than a contradiction. Confirm the school's current license with the New Mexico Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists first: federal reporting is about financial aid, and it is the state license that qualifies your hours.

   Where it leads

   Around Albuquerque, the median cosmetologist earns $38,330, the bottom tenth $27,600 and the top tenth $50,030. A 1.8-to-one spread from bottom to top is ordinary for the trade, and here as everywhere the top belongs to a client book. Albuquerque employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 850 people.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

2. #2

   Aveda Institute-New Mexico

   Albuquerque, NM

   88%

   Share of students who finish

   • 88% finish
   • 95 graduates a year
   • $16,818 program cost

   What the record shows

   Aveda Institute-New Mexico teaches cosmetology in Albuquerque, with its results published federally. 88 percent of students see the course through, out of 161 enrolled. The published cost is $16,818 for the full program. 135 graduates borrowed, at a median of $8,028 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $85 a month. Paying 20 percent over the $14,034 median buys 9 points of completion over the 79 percent median, and whether that is worth it depends on how sure you are of finishing anywhere. 95 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. That is roughly 15 percent of everything awarded by federally reporting beauty programs in the state, so it is one of the larger training operations here. Confirm the school's current license with the New Mexico Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists first: federal reporting is about financial aid, and it is the state license that qualifies your hours.

   Where it leads

   For cosmetologists around Albuquerque, the range runs $27,600 to $50,030 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles, with a median of $38,330. The ninetieth percentile at $50,030 is 1.3 times the median, so the upside is real but bounded, and the floor sits 28 percent under the median, so the first year is lean but not the cliff it is in some states. On concentration, Albuquerque is unremarkable, tracking the national rate closely.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

3. #3

   A Better U Beauty Barber Academy

   Albuquerque, NM

   79%

   Share of students who finish

   • 79% finish
   • 39 graduates a year
   • $19,500 program cost

   What the record shows

   A Better U Beauty Barber Academy runs its cosmetology program in Albuquerque and reports to the US Department of Education. Of the 46 students in its fall count, 79 percent complete the course they started. It charges $19,500 for the full program, which for a clock-hour course is the whole price rather than a yearly one. $19,500 is 39 percent over the $14,034 median, for a completion rate exactly at the 79 percent median, which is a premium with nothing on this record to justify it. The school conferred 39 credentials in the year reported. The license from the New Mexico Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists is still the thing to verify before you pay, since that is what decides whether these hours count toward your exam.

   Where it leads

   Pay for cosmetologists around Albuquerque runs from $27,600 at the tenth percentile to $50,030 at the ninetieth, with a median of $38,330. A 1.8-to-one spread from bottom to top is ordinary for the trade, and here as everywhere the top belongs to a client book. On concentration, Albuquerque is unremarkable, tracking the national rate closely.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

4. #4

   Paul Mitchell the School-Albuquerque

   Albuquerque, NM

   78%

   Share of students who finish

   • 78% finish
   • 98 graduates a year
   • $9,500 program cost

   What the record shows

   Paul Mitchell the School-Albuquerque trains in Albuquerque, and because it takes federal financial aid its outcomes are published per program. The school graduates 78 percent, on a fall headcount of 119. Tuition is reported at $9,500 for the full program. The median graduate left with $10,556 in federal loans, across 157 borrowers. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $112 a month. That median loan is larger than the $9,500 price, so the typical borrower here finances more than tuition. $9,500 is 32 percent under the $14,034 median, and completion is within 1 points of the 79 percent median, which is the cheap-without-a-catch pairing. The school conferred 98 credentials in the year reported. That is roughly 15 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 New Mexico Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists before enrolling, because that record and not the federal listing is what makes your clock hours count.

   Where it leads

   Pay for cosmetologists around Albuquerque runs from $27,600 at the tenth percentile to $50,030 at the ninetieth, with a median of $38,330. Neither end of this market is extreme: the top tenth earns about 1.3 times the median and the floor sits 28 percent under it, which makes the first year a budget question rather than a survival one. On concentration, Albuquerque is unremarkable, tracking the national rate closely.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

5. #5

   Central New Mexico Community College

   Albuquerque, NM

   31%

   Share of students who finish

   • Associate degree
   • Public institution
   • 29 graduates a year

   What the record shows

   Based in Albuquerque, Central New Mexico Community College is one of the cosmetology programs the federal government tracks. Across all 15,203 students at the college, 31 percent finish, which covers cosmetology along with everything else it teaches. 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. Its 29 completions a year make cosmetology a small program inside a college of 15,203. The award here is an associate degree rather than the certificate most cosmetology programs issue, so the hours come with transferable college credit attached. 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 New Mexico Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.

   Where it leads

   Around Albuquerque, the median cosmetologist earns $38,330, the bottom tenth $27,600 and the top tenth $50,030. The upside is capped near 1.3 times the median and the floor is 28 percent under it, a market where the first year is tight rather than dangerous and the ceiling is earned slowly. Local concentration around Albuquerque sits near the national average.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

What New Mexico Asks Before You Can Sit the Cosmetology Exam

The rule reads 1,600 course hours or equivalent credit, and the school has to hold a license from the New Mexico Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists. Hours banked at a school the board had not licensed are hours the state will not count toward the exam, whatever the enrollment paperwork said at the time.

New Mexico wrote its distance rule in 2004, long before most boards touched the question, and it is unusually specific. A practitioner program can run at most 25% at a distance. Instructor training is the exception and can be done entirely at a distance. Either way the board has to approve the course first.

The school stays responsible for the quality of that teaching even when it contracts delivery out to a third party or a consortium, which is the part worth asking about. Our state-by-state guide to online hours puts the 25% cap next to what other boards allow.

Figures in this section: New Mexico Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists (New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Boards and Commissions Division); College Scorecard, June 2026.

What the Albuquerque Ranked List Shows

Avenue Academy, A Cosmetology Institute is first, seven miles out, finishing 94% of 96 students at $11,250 for the program with $6,333 in median debt. That is the highest completion figure and the second lowest price on a five-school list.

Aveda Institute-New Mexico is second, a mile from the center, at 88% on 161 students and $16,818, with graduates reporting $20,438 five years out. A Better U Beauty Barber Academy is third at 79% on 46 students, the smallest cohort here and the most expensive program at $19,500.

Paul Mitchell the School-Albuquerque is the odd entry: the cheapest program at $9,500 and the heaviest median debt at $10,556, which is more than the tuition. Living costs get borrowed too, and that gap is worth raising with a financial aid office before you sign.

Central New Mexico Community College is fifth at 31%, and that figure covers all 15,203 students at the college rather than the cosmetology department. It is the only associate degree on this list, which the state's credit wording makes possible. Our methodology sets out what a completion figure can and cannot tell you.

Figures in this section: New Mexico Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists (New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Boards and Commissions Division); BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.

What Hair and Skin Work Pays in the Albuquerque Metro

The metro employs 850 hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists at a $38,330 median, and that is most of the 1,230 counted anywhere in New Mexico. The metro pays $580 more at the middle than the state does, though the state reaches higher at the top, $52,560 against $50,030 at the 90th percentile.

Skin work is where the spread opens. Skincare specialists here earn a $41,070 median on 230 employed, but the 90th percentile is $93,630, more than double the middle. That is the widest gap on this page, and esthetician pay is the number to read if the ceiling matters to you.

Barbering barely registers in the federal count. BLS reports 50 barbers in all of New Mexico, at a $39,100 median inside a narrow $36,440 to $41,180 band, which is a thin sample rather than a picture of the trade. None of these figures include booth renters. The New Mexico ranking covers the rest of the state.

Figures in this section: BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.

What Cosmetology Careers Pay in Albuquerque

Median annual pay in the Albuquerque, NM metro area, from the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. A cosmetologist here earns a median of $38,330 against $37,750 across New Mexico, with 850 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.

Common Questions About Cosmetology School in Albuquerque

Answers draw on New Mexico Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists (New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Boards and Commissions Division), the College Scorecard and the May 2025 BLS wage release.