Best cosmetology programs in North Dakota 2026

• #1

  The Hair Academy

  Bismarck, ND · Licensed school

  95%

  Share of students who finish

  • $14,120 program cost

  What the record shows

  The Hair Academy operates in Bismarck under license from the North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology. The board lists no other licensed school in Bismarck. Of the 65 students in its fall count, 95 percent complete the course they started. The published cost is $14,120 for the full program. 37 graduates borrowed, at a median of $11,344 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $120 a month. That is most of the $14,120 price arriving as debt, so the published cost and what a student actually finances are close to the same number here. That puts it in the rare corner of this table: 17 points more of its students finish than the 78 percent median, and it charges 27 percent less than the $19,285 median to do it. 32 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. Confirm the school's current license with the North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology first: that entry is what qualifies your hours, whatever the federal figures say.

  Where it leads

  undefined undefined The trade is unusually concentrated around Bismarck, about 1.9 times the national rate, so there are more chairs to compete for and more to be hired into.

  Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology, read 2026-08-31.

• #2

  Josef's School of Hair, Skin & Body-Grand Forks

  Grand Forks, ND · Licensed school

  83%

  Share of students who finish

  • $19,420 program cost

  What the record shows

  Josef's School of Hair, Skin & Body-Grand Forks operates in Grand Forks under license from the North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology. The license here is an esthetics license, which means skincare, facials and hair removal rather than hair. It takes a fraction of the hours a cosmetology license takes and is a narrower ticket, and for someone who already knows they want that end of the trade, the narrowness is the point. The board lists no other licensed school in Grand Forks. Of 61 enrolled in the fall count, 83 percent finish. The published cost is $19,420 for the full program. Borrowing is pooled across Josef's School of Hair, Skin & Body campuses in the federal file, 135 borrowers at a median of $8,700 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $92 a month. Completion is the one figure that compares across trades, and 83 percent, 5 points over the 78 percent median, is a good sign. $19,420 is within 1 percent of the $19,285 median for a course shorter than cosmetology, which is dear for esthetics and worth asking about. 32 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. The license from the North Dakota State 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

  Half of skincare specialists in North Dakota earn under $58,160, with the tenth percentile at $35,710 and the ninetieth at $89,270. The local occupation is small in absolute terms, which tends to mean hiring runs through personal contacts. Local concentration in North Dakota sits near the national average.

  Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology, read 2026-08-31.

• #3

  Josef's School of Hair, Skin & Body-Fargo

  Fargo, ND · Licensed school

  73%

  Share of students who finish

  • $19,420 program cost

  What the record shows

  Based in Fargo, Josef's School of Hair, Skin & Body-Fargo is on the North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology register. On the beauty side it trains toward an esthetics license only, which is a fraction of the hours a cosmetology license takes, leads to skincare, facials and hair removal rather than hair, and does not license you to cut or color hair. That makes it a different decision from the full cosmetology schools on this page rather than a smaller version of one. The board lists no other licensed school in Fargo. Of 72 enrolled in the fall count, 73 percent finish. Tuition is reported at $19,420 for the full program. Borrowing is pooled across Josef's School of Hair, Skin & Body campuses in the federal file, 135 borrowers at a median of $8,700 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $92 a month. Completion is the one figure that compares across trades, and 73 percent, 5 points under the 78 percent median, is about what this page does. $19,420 is within 1 percent of the $19,285 median for a course shorter than cosmetology, which is dear for esthetics and worth asking about. It awarded 43 beauty credentials in the reporting year. Ask the North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology 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

  undefined The bottom of this market sits well below its middle, so the first year is likely to be lean and worth planning for. Fargo is a small market, about 90 in the trade, but a dense one for its size at 1.3 times the national rate.

  Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology, read 2026-08-31.

• #4

  The Salon Professional Academy-Fargo

  Fargo, ND

  60%

  Share of students who finish

  • 110 graduates a year
  • $19,150 program cost

  What the record shows

  The Salon Professional Academy-Fargo teaches cosmetology in Fargo, with its results published federally. 60 percent of the 95 students it enrolls finish. Tuition is reported at $19,150 for the full program. 80 graduates borrowed, at a median of $12,000 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $127 a month. 18 points fewer of its students finish than the 78 percent median, priced within 1 percent of the $19,285 median, so you would be paying the going rate for worse odds of getting through. Ask the school what happens to the ones who leave. 110 credentials in the year from a fall count of 95: the program cycles more than once a year, so the two figures are different populations rather than a contradiction. Its hours count only under a current entry with the North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology, so search that register by the school's legal name before any deposit.

  Where it leads

  Half of cosmetologists around Fargo earn under $34,910, with the tenth percentile at $26,560 and the ninetieth at $76,910. The spread above the median is wide enough that averages mislead here. What separates the top is a client list built over years. The work is somewhat more concentrated around Fargo than nationally, at roughly 1.2 times the usual rate.

  Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

Which other cosmetology schools in North Dakota are state licensed?

These North Dakota cosmetology schools hold a current license from North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology but have no published earnings figure, because the ranking above reads federal data that covers only schools taking federal financial aid. Their hours count toward the North Dakota exam exactly as the ranked schools' hours do. They are listed by city rather than ordered, since nothing published about them supports an ordering.

How do you become a cosmetologist in North Dakota in 2026?

To become a cosmetologist in North Dakota you need 1,500 clock hours at a school licensed by North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology, then a passing score on the state exam. At the pace most clock-hour schools run, that is roughly 11.5 months full time. Only 13 states ask less, so this is at the shorter end of a range that reaches 2,000 hours.

None of those hours count unless North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology licensed the school at the time you sat them.

How much do cosmetologists make in North Dakota in 2026?

Cosmetologists in North Dakota earn a median of $34,850 , with the bottom tenth on $24,130 and the top tenth on $77,800 . 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 North Dakota?

North Dakota rewrote its entire administrative code effective 1 January 2026, and the new rules build in a 'flexible hours' category most states do not have, 32-04-01-18(3) sets aside enrichment hours for advanced concepts, emerging topics, guest speakers and field trips, with field trips capped at fifteen hours per program. The board also publishes disciplinary status inline on its public school list rather than burying it in a separate orders page, and it bars any student from clinical services until they have completed twenty percent of required hours. Read North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology's own rules .

Where do cosmetologists make the most money in North Dakota?

Cosmetologists make the most money in North Dakota around Fargo, where the median is $34,910, and the least around Grand Forks at $31,620. The 10 percent gap between them is modest by national standards, so pay is fairly even across North Dakota.

The statewide median sits at $34,850, so the metros above it are carrying the average up.

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

In North Dakota, estheticians are the best paid of the beauty licenses at a $58,160 median. Cosmetologists in North Dakota sit at $34,850, below that, which is worth weighing before committing to the longest of the licenses.

Adding a second license later is common, so the question is less which career to pick than which of these programs to start with.

Can you use a cosmetology license from another state in North Dakota?

Using a cosmetology license from another state in North Dakota means satisfying North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology, which decides case by case, and the number it weighs is hours. Against the other Midwest states, North Dakota is its 1,500 hour requirement is about the regional norm, and pay tracks the regional average closely.

Reciprocity is decided case by case, and the state you trained in is only the starting point for that conversation.

Which North Dakota cosmetology schools have lapsed or lost their license?

1 North Dakota cosmetology school appears in North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology's file with a license that is no longer current. Some closed, some let the license lapse, and some had it taken away. They are here because they still appear in commercial school directories, and because a reader holding a brochure from one of them deserves to know.

What does this North Dakota cosmetology program ranking not tell you?

This North Dakota 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 North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology for the license itself.

Common questions about cosmetology programs in North Dakota