Cosmetology Schools in Portland, OR, Ranked (2026)

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

9 cosmetology programs report to the US Department of Education from inside Portland 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 4 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 Oregon page links the board's own lookup.

1. #1

   Aveda Institute Portland-Vancouver Campus

   Vancouver, WA

   89%

   Share of students who finish

   • 89% finish
   • 81 graduates a year
   • $7,800 program cost

   What the record shows

   Aveda Institute Portland-Vancouver Campus runs its cosmetology program in Vancouver and reports to the US Department of Education. The school graduates 89 percent, on a fall headcount of 122. It charges $7,800 for the full program, which for a clock-hour course is the whole price rather than a yearly one. Graduates who borrowed took on $7,917 in federal loans at the median, 274 of them. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $84 a month. That median loan is larger than the $7,800 price, so the typical borrower here finances more than tuition. More finish here than at the typical school on this page, 89 percent against 77, and the price is 59 percent under the $19,173 median: the two numbers point the same way. It awarded 81 beauty credentials in the reporting year. Confirm the school's current license with the Washington State Department of Licensing first: federal reporting is about financial aid, and it is the state license that qualifies your hours.

   Where it leads

   For cosmetologists around Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, the range runs $35,350 to $77,620 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles, with a median of $59,610. Early pay locally runs well under the median, so budget for a slow first year rather than the headline figure. This is a comparatively thin market: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro runs at roughly 0.6 times the national concentration, about 1,500 people in the occupation.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

2. #2

   Phagans School of Hair Design

   Happy Valley, OR · Licensed school

   80%

   Share of students who finish

   • Barbering
   • Cosmetology
   • Esthetics
   • Instructor training
   • Nail technology
   • $20,000 program cost

   What the record shows

   Phagans School of Hair Design operates in Happy Valley under license from the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission. 80 percent of its students finish, out of 212 enrolled in the fall count. Tuition is reported at $20,000 for the full program. 63 graduates borrowed, at a median of $8,382 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $89 a month. Completion and price both sit close to the page median, 80 percent against 77 and $20,000 against $19,173, so the number that separates it is debt: 42 percent of the price arrives as federal loans, less than at the typical school here. 145 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. Check its license with the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission before enrolling, because that record and not this card is what makes your clock hours count.

   Where it leads

   For cosmetologists around Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, the range runs $35,350 to $77,620 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles, with a median of $59,610. There is a real gap between entry pay and the median here, which is the part of the trade that surprises people who costed only the tuition. Around Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, barbering pays a $64,310 median, about 36 percent above nail technology. This is a comparatively thin market: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro runs at roughly 0.6 times the national concentration, about 1,500 people in the occupation.

   Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), Private Career Schools Licensing Unit, read 2026-08-31.

3. #3

   Beau Monde Academy of Barbering and Cosmetology

   Portland, OR · Licensed school

   77%

   Share of students who finish

   • Barbering
   • Cosmetology
   • Esthetics
   • Instructor training
   • Nail technology
   • $19,173 program cost

   What the record shows

   Based in Portland, Beau Monde Academy of Barbering and Cosmetology is on the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission register. Portland has 8 licensed schools, so there is a real choice locally. Of the 92 students in its fall count, 77 percent complete the course they started. Tuition is reported at $19,173 for the full program. Borrowing here runs to a median of $8,973 in federal loans, measured over 64 graduates. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $95 a month. Completion and price both sit close to the page median, 77 percent, exactly the median and $19,173, exactly the median, so the number that separates it is debt: 47 percent of the price arrives as federal loans, less than at the typical school here. It awarded 52 beauty credentials in the reporting year. Confirm the school's current license with the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission first: that entry is what qualifies your hours, whatever the federal figures say.

   Where it leads

   Half of cosmetologists around Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro earn under $59,610, with the tenth percentile at $35,350 and the ninetieth at $77,620. There is a real gap between entry pay and the median here, which is the part of the trade that surprises people who costed only the tuition. Barbering and nail technology do not pay alike around Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro: barbering carries a $64,310 median, roughly 36 percent above nail technology. Local demand is below the national norm, 0.6 times the usual concentration around Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, which is worth knowing before committing the hours.

   Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), Private Career Schools Licensing Unit, read 2026-08-31.

4. #4

   Aveda Institute-Portland

   Portland, OR · Licensed school

   77%

   Share of students who finish

   • Barbering
   • Cosmetology
   • Esthetics
   • Instructor training
   • Nail technology
   • $6,000 program cost

   What the record shows

   Based in Portland, Aveda Institute-Portland is on the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission register. Portland has 8 licensed schools, so there is a real choice locally. The school graduates 77 percent, on a fall headcount of 238. Tuition is reported at $6,000 for the full program. Graduates who borrowed took on $7,917 in federal loans at the median, 274 of them. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $84 a month. That median loan is larger than the $6,000 price, so the typical borrower here finances more than tuition. It charges 69 percent less than the $19,173 median and finishes about as many of its students as the typical school here, so the saving is real rather than a discount for worse odds. 102 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 Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission before enrolling, because that record and not this card is what makes your clock hours count.

   Where it leads

   Pay for cosmetologists around Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro runs from $35,350 at the tenth percentile to $77,620 at the ninetieth, with a median of $59,610. The bottom of this market sits well below its middle, so the first year is likely to be lean and worth planning for. Around Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, barbering pays a $64,310 median, about 36 percent above nail technology. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro employs the trade at only about 0.6 times the national rate, so graduates enter a thinner local market than average.

   Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), Private Career Schools Licensing Unit, read 2026-08-31.

5. #5

   Summit Salon Academy-Portland

   Tigard, OR · Licensed school

   72%

   Share of students who finish

   • Cosmetology
   • Esthetics
   • Instructor training
   • Nail technology
   • $20,550 program cost

   What the record shows

   Summit Salon Academy-Portland trains in Tigard, licensed by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission. Its license covers cosmetology, esthetics, instructor training and nail technology. Of the 66 students in its fall count, 72 percent complete the course they started. Tuition is reported at $20,550 for the full program. Borrowing here runs to a median of $13,079 in federal loans, measured over 40 graduates. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $139 a month. 5 points fewer of its students finish than the 77 percent median, priced within 8 percent of the $19,173 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. 39 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. The license from the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission is the thing to verify before you pay, since that is what decides whether these hours count toward your exam.

   Where it leads

   For cosmetologists around Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, the range runs $35,350 to $77,620 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles, with a median of $59,610. There is a real gap between entry pay and the median here, which is the part of the trade that surprises people who costed only the tuition. Nail technology pays a $47,280 median around Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, 21 percent under cosmetology. This is a comparatively thin market: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro runs at roughly 0.6 times the national concentration, about 1,500 people in the occupation.

   Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), Private Career Schools Licensing Unit, read 2026-08-31.

Other Licensed Cosmetology Schools in Portland

Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), Private Career Schools Licensing Unit lists 8 currently licensed schools in Portland. These 6 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.

Why Oregon Has No Cosmetologist License, and What It Certifies Instead

The Oregon Health Authority's Health Licensing Office certifies practitioners, and it says plainly that Oregon has no umbrella cosmetology certification. What it certifies are fields of practice: hair design, barbering, esthetics, nail technology and natural hair care. You pick one to start and add the others later if you want the range a cosmetologist has elsewhere.

Hour counts follow the field rather than one license. Board-approved hair design is 1,110 hours with 455 practical operations, the closest thing Oregon has to a cosmetologist. Esthetics is 444 hours with 220 practical operations. On top of your field, every certificate adds 20 hours of Oregon laws and rules and 20 hours of career development.

Schools are a separate matter. The Higher Education Coordinating Commission's Private Career Schools Licensing Unit licenses the school, not the cosmetology board, which is why the only official Portland school list is published by an education agency. Oregon also recognizes competency-based schools, where you are credited on demonstrated proficiency instead of seat time.

Figures in this section: Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), Private Career Schools Licensing Unit.

What the Portland Ranking Shows, Including the Campus Across the River

Aveda Institute Portland-Vancouver Campus tops the list at 89% completion on 122 enrolled, at $7,800 for the program. It is ten miles out and it is in Vancouver, Washington, so it trains to Washington's hour rule and its graduates sit for a Washington credential. That is a real difference, not a technicality about the address.

Phagans School of Hair Design in Happy Valley is second at 80% on 212 enrolled, at $20,000. Beau Monde Academy of Barbering and Cosmetology, two miles from the center, is third at 77% on 92 enrolled, and its graduates report the highest five-year earnings on this list at $31,169.

The cheapest program here is also the closest. Aveda Institute-Portland, a mile from the center, charges $6,000 and finished 77% of 238 enrolled, the same rounded figure as Beau Monde at under a third of the tuition. Summit Salon Academy-Portland in Tigard closes the list at 72% on 66 enrolled, at $20,550 and $13,079 in median debt.

One thing the state directory tells you that the ranking cannot. Three of the four Oregon schools here are listed for barbering as well as cosmetology, esthetics and nails. Summit Salon Academy-Portland is not. The methodology covers how the order is built, and the Oregon ranking puts these five in state context.

Figures in this section: Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), Private Career Schools Licensing Unit; BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.

What Hair, Nails and Barbering Pay in the Portland Metro

Portland is a nail town before it is a hair town. The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro reports 2,190 manicurists and pedicurists against 1,500 hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists. Nail work here runs at 1.84 times the national concentration, at a median of $47,280 against $46,080 across Oregon.

Hairdressers in the metro report a median of $59,610, about $2,000 above the Oregon median of $57,580, with the bottom tenth at $35,350 and the top tenth at $77,620. That is a narrow spread by this trade's standards, and it cuts both ways: a higher floor and a lower ceiling than most metros this size.

Barbers are the small, well-paid category here. The metro reports 180 of them at 1.54 times the national concentration, at a median of $64,310 with a 10th percentile of $56,030, which sits above the hairdresser median. Skincare specialists report $57,930 on 800 employed, with a 90th percentile of $106,190.

All of these are employer-reported wages. Booth renters and chair renters file as self-employed and sit outside the survey, which matters more in this trade than in most. Nail technician pay, the barber career guide and esthetician pay carry the national percentiles.

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

What Cosmetology Careers Pay in Portland

Median annual pay in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro area, from the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. A cosmetologist here earns a median of $59,610 against $57,580 across Oregon, with 1,500 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 Portland

Answers draw on Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), Private Career Schools Licensing Unit, the College Scorecard and the May 2025 BLS wage release.