Cosmetology Schools in Philadelphia, PA, Ranked (2026)

The 17 Cosmetology Schools in and Near Philadelphia, Ranked on Completion

17 cosmetology programs report to the US Department of Education from inside Philadelphia or within 30 miles of downtown. Every one 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.

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 Pennsylvania page links the board's own lookup.

1. #1

   Rizzieri Aveda School for Beauty and Wellness

   Voorhees, NJ · Cosmetology Private School

   94%

   Share of students who finish

   • $18,550 program cost

   What the record shows

   Based in Marlton, Rizzieri Aveda School for Beauty and Wellness is on the state board register. The board classifies it as a cosmetology private. 94 percent of its students finish, out of 346 enrolled in the fall count. The published cost is $18,550 for the full program. Borrowing here runs to a median of $5,500 in federal loans, measured over 287 graduates. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $58 a month. $18,550 is within 9 percent of the $17,050 median, and the completion is not ordinary: 94 percent against 82. That is the better half of the trade. 296 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. The license from the state board is the thing to verify before you pay, since that is what decides whether these hours count toward your exam.

   Where it leads

   Around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, the median cosmetologist earns $37,320, the bottom tenth $28,600 and the top tenth $64,530. Neither end of this market is extreme: the top tenth earns about 1.7 times the median and the floor sits 23 percent under it, which makes the first year a budget question rather than a survival one. The trade is unusually concentrated around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, about 1.8 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; New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling (Division of Consumer Affairs, Department of Law and Public Safety), read 2026-08-31.

2. #2

   Beauty Culture School, LLC

   Feasterville, PA

   91%

   Share of students who finish

   • 91% finish
   • 121 graduates a year
   • $16,999 program cost

   What the record shows

   Based in Feasterville, Beauty Culture School, LLC is one of the cosmetology programs the federal government tracks. The school graduates 91 percent, on a fall headcount of 82. It charges $16,999 for the full program, which for a clock-hour course is the whole price rather than a yearly one. Borrowing here runs to a median of $8,189 in federal loans, measured over 47 graduates. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $87 a month. 9 points more of its students finish than the 82 percent median, priced within 1 percent of the $17,050 median, so you pay the going rate for better than average odds of getting through. 121 credentials in the year from a fall count of 82: the program cycles more than once a year, so the two figures are different populations rather than a contradiction. The license from the Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology is still the thing to verify before you pay, since that is what decides whether these hours count toward your exam.

   Where it leads

   Half of cosmetologists around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington earn under $37,320, with the tenth percentile at $28,600 and the ninetieth at $64,530. The ninetieth percentile at $64,530 is 1.7 times the median, so the upside is real but bounded, and the floor sits 23 percent under the median, so the first year is lean but not the cliff it is in some states. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington carries roughly 1.8 times the national concentration of this work, among the denser markets in the country.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

3. #3

   The Salon Professional Academy

   Collegeville, PA

   89%

   Share of students who finish

   • 89% finish
   • 97 graduates a year
   • $17,050 program cost

   What the record shows

   Based in Collegeville, The Salon Professional Academy is one of the cosmetology programs the federal government tracks. Of the 80 students in its fall count, 89 percent complete the course they started. Tuition is reported at $17,050 for the full program. 7 points more of its students finish than the 82 percent median, priced exactly at the $17,050 median, so you pay the going rate for better than average odds of getting through. 97 credentials in the year from a fall count of 80: the program cycles more than once a year, so the two figures are different populations rather than a contradiction. Verify the school's standing with the Pennsylvania State 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington earn under $37,320, with the tenth percentile at $28,600 and the ninetieth at $64,530. An ordinary shape: the top tenth at 1.7 times the median and a floor 23 percent below it, so a good first year and a good tenth year here are separated by a client book rather than by a cliff. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington carries roughly 1.8 times the national concentration of this work, among the denser markets in the country.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

4. #4

   P B Cosmetology Education Center

   Gloucester, NJ

   86%

   Share of students who finish

   • 86% finish
   • 106 graduates a year
   • $19,200 program cost

   What the record shows

   P B Cosmetology Education Center runs its cosmetology program in Gloucester and reports to the US Department of Education. Of the 120 students in its fall count, 86 percent complete the course they started. Tuition is reported at $19,200 for the full program. Borrowing here runs to a median of $7,667 in federal loans, measured over 142 graduates. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $81 a month. It charges 13 percent over the $17,050 median and finishes about as many of its students as the typical school here, so the extra price is not buying a better completion rate. It awarded 106 beauty credentials in the reporting year. Its hours count only under a current entry with the state board, so search that register by the school's legal name before any deposit.

   Where it leads

   Half of cosmetologists around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington earn under $37,320, with the tenth percentile at $28,600 and the ninetieth at $64,530. An ordinary shape: the top tenth at 1.7 times the median and a floor 23 percent below it, so a good first year and a good tenth year here are separated by a client book rather than by a cliff. The trade is unusually concentrated around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, about 1.8 times the national rate, so there are more chairs to compete for and more to be hired into.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

5. #5

   Venus Beauty Academy

   Aston, PA

   85%

   Share of students who finish

   • 85% finish
   • 73 graduates a year
   • $18,750 program cost

   What the record shows

   Venus Beauty Academy trains in Aston, and because it takes federal financial aid its outcomes are published per program. 85 percent of its students finish, out of 56 enrolled in the fall count. The published cost is $18,750 for the full program. Graduates who borrowed took on $8,027 in federal loans at the median, 55 of them. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $85 a month. Completion and price both sit close to the page median, 85 percent against 82 and $18,750 against $17,050, so the number that separates it is debt: 43 percent of the price arrives as federal loans, less than at the typical school here. It awarded 73 credentials over the year against a fall headcount of 56, which is what a clock-hour course that turns over more than one cohort a year looks like. Confirm the school's current license with the Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology first: federal reporting is about financial aid, and it is the state license that qualifies your hours.

   Where it leads

   Half of cosmetologists around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington earn under $37,320, with the tenth percentile at $28,600 and the ninetieth at $64,530. The upside is capped near 1.7 times the median and the floor is 23 percent under it, a market where the first year is tight rather than dangerous and the ceiling is earned slowly. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington carries roughly 1.8 times the national concentration of this work, among the denser markets in the country.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

6. #6

   Burlington County Institute of Technology-Adult Education

   Westampton, NJ

   84%

   Share of students who finish

   • Public institution
   • 16 graduates a year
   • $5,574 program cost

   What the record shows

   Burlington County Institute of Technology-Adult Education teaches cosmetology in Westampton, with its results published federally. Across all 96 students at the school, 84 percent finish, which covers cosmetology along with everything else it teaches. That 84 percent is ordinary for this page, and it belongs to the whole campus; ask the cosmetology department for the program's own figure. The published tuition is $5,574. That price is 67 percent under the $17,050 median, which is what public pricing looks like and the reason it is a fraction of the academies here. The school conferred 16 credentials in the year reported. Licensing is the business of the state board rather than the federal file's, so its register is where to confirm this school by its legal name first.

   Where it leads

   Around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, the median cosmetologist earns $37,320, the bottom tenth $28,600 and the top tenth $64,530. A 2.3-to-one spread from bottom to top is ordinary for the trade, and here as everywhere the top belongs to a client book. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington carries roughly 1.8 times the national concentration of this work, among the denser markets in the country.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

7. #7

   Cortiva Institute

   King of Prussia, PA

   84%

   Share of students who finish

   • 119 graduates a year
   • $13,044 program cost

   What the record shows

   Based in King of Prussia, Cortiva Institute is one of the cosmetology programs the federal government tracks. Of 125 enrolled in the fall count, 84 percent finish. The published cost is $13,044 for the full program. Completion at 84 percent against 82, and 23 percent less to get it: the price is the argument for this one. The school conferred 119 credentials in the year reported. From 125 enrolled, that is one of the higher-throughput floors on this page. Check its license with the Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology before enrolling, because that record and not the federal listing is what makes your clock hours count.

   Where it leads

   Around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, the median cosmetologist earns $37,320, the bottom tenth $28,600 and the top tenth $64,530. The ninetieth percentile at $64,530 is 1.7 times the median, so the upside is real but bounded, and the floor sits 23 percent under the median, so the first year is lean but not the cliff it is in some states. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington carries roughly 1.8 times the national concentration of this work, among the denser markets in the country.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

8. #8

   Innovate Salon Academy

   Ewing, NJ · Cosmetology Private School

   82%

   Share of students who finish

   • $12,726 program cost

   What the record shows

   Innovate Salon Academy is licensed by the state board and trains in Ewing. The board classifies it as a cosmetology private. 82 percent of students see the course through, out of 174 enrolled. The published cost is $12,726 for the full program. The federal file reports borrowing for Innovate Salon campuses together rather than for this one: a median of $6,333 in federal loans across 251 borrowers. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $67 a month. It charges 25 percent less than the $17,050 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. 133 students completed a credential here 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

   Half of cosmetologists around Trenton-Princeton earn under $39,990, with the tenth percentile at $32,220 and the ninetieth at $101,350. Most of that range is a following, which is why two graduates of the same program can end up far apart. Against the state as a whole, the metro runs roughly 11 percent higher on median pay. Concentration around Trenton-Princeton runs modestly above the national rate, about 1.5 times, or 690 people in the occupation.

   Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling (Division of Consumer Affairs, Department of Law and Public Safety), read 2026-08-31.

9. #9

   Empire Beauty School-NE Philadelphia

   Philadelphia, PA

   82%

   Share of students who finish

   • 82% finish
   • 60 graduates a year
   • $17,000 program cost

   What the record shows

   Empire Beauty School-NE Philadelphia teaches cosmetology in Philadelphia, with its results published federally. 82 percent of students see the course through, out of 110 enrolled. The published cost is $17,000 for the full program. Borrowing is pooled across Empire Beauty campuses in the federal file, 802 borrowers at a median of $13,583 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $144 a month. Completion and price both sit near the page's middle, 82 percent, exactly the median and $17,000 against $17,050. Nothing federal separates it, so the clinic floor and the board file will. It awarded 60 beauty credentials in the reporting year. Verify the school's standing with the Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.

   Where it leads

   For cosmetologists around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, the range runs $28,600 to $64,530 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles, with a median of $37,320. The ninetieth percentile at $64,530 is 1.7 times the median, so the upside is real but bounded, and the floor sits 23 percent under the median, so the first year is lean but not the cliff it is in some states. This is a dense market by national standards, 1.8 times the usual concentration around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

10. #10

    Jean Madeline Aveda Institute

    Philadelphia, PA

    80%

    Share of students who finish

    • 80% finish
    • 304 graduates a year
    • $20,255 program cost

    What the record shows

    Jean Madeline Aveda Institute runs its cosmetology program in Philadelphia and reports to the US Department of Education. The school graduates 80 percent, on a fall headcount of 244. The published cost is $20,255 for the full program. Graduates who borrowed took on $9,588 in federal loans at the median, 244 of them. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $102 a month. $20,255 is 19 percent over the $17,050 median, for a completion rate within 2 points of the 82 percent median, which is a premium with nothing on this record to justify it. 304 credentials in the year from a fall count of 244: 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 Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology first: federal reporting is about financial aid, and it is the state license that qualifies your hours.

    Where it leads

    Around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, the median cosmetologist earns $37,320, the bottom tenth $28,600 and the top tenth $64,530. The ninetieth percentile at $64,530 is 1.7 times the median, so the upside is real but bounded, and the floor sits 23 percent under the median, so the first year is lean but not the cliff it is in some states. The trade is unusually concentrated around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, about 1.8 times the national rate, so there are more chairs to compete for and more to be hired into.

    Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

11. #11

    Lansdale School of Cosmetology Inc

    Lansdale, PA

    71%

    Share of students who finish

    • 71% finish
    • 49 graduates a year
    • $17,812 program cost

    What the record shows

    Based in Lansdale, Lansdale School of Cosmetology Inc is one of the cosmetology programs the federal government tracks. 71 percent of its students finish, out of 42 enrolled in the fall count. It charges $17,812 for the full program, which for a clock-hour course is the whole price rather than a yearly one. 11 points fewer of its students finish than the 82 percent median, priced within 5 percent of the $17,050 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. 49 credentials in the year from a fall count of 42: the program cycles more than once a year, so the two figures are different populations rather than a contradiction. Verify the school's standing with the Pennsylvania State 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington earn under $37,320, with the tenth percentile at $28,600 and the ninetieth at $64,530. The ninetieth percentile at $64,530 is 1.7 times the median, so the upside is real but bounded, and the floor sits 23 percent under the median, so the first year is lean but not the cliff it is in some states. The trade is unusually concentrated around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, about 1.8 times the national rate, so there are more chairs to compete for and more to be hired into.

    Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

12. #12

    Premier Barber Institute

    Norristown, PA

    70%

    Share of students who finish

    • 70% finish
    • 39 graduates a year
    • $18,380 program cost

    What the record shows

    Premier Barber Institute runs its barbering program in Norristown and reports to the US Department of Education. This is a specialist: a barber license, not cosmetology. The work is men's cutting, shaving and beard work, the course is a similar hour count to cosmetology, and it does not license color, chemical services or the full cosmetology scope, so it is a different decision from the full-service schools on this page. Of the 50 students in its fall count, 70 percent complete the course they started. It charges $18,380 for the full program, which for a clock-hour course is the whole price rather than a yearly one. Borrowing here runs to a median of $13,583 in federal loans, measured over 56 graduates. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $144 a month. Completion is the one figure that compares across trades, and 70 percent, 12 points under the 82 percent median, is the first thing to ask about. $18,380 is within 8 percent of the $17,050 median for a similar hour count, which is the going rate. 39 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. The license from the Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology 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 barbers around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington runs from $31,950 at the tenth percentile to $54,850 at the ninetieth, with a median of $37,530. A narrow bottom-to-middle gap means the pay you start on is close to the pay most people stay on, unless they build a following. The work is somewhat more concentrated around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington than nationally, at roughly 1.2 times the usual rate.

    Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

13. #13

    The Beauty Institute-Ambler

    Ambler, PA

    68%

    Share of students who finish

    • 68% finish
    • 200 graduates a year
    • $19,550 program cost

    What the record shows

    Based in Ambler, The Beauty Institute-Ambler is one of the cosmetology programs the federal government tracks. Of the 160 students in its fall count, 68 percent complete the course they started. The published cost is $19,550 for the full program. 184 graduates borrowed, at a median of $10,556 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $112 a month. 14 points fewer finish than the 82 percent median and it costs 15 percent over the $17,050 median, so before enrolling ask what happens to the students who do not get through. 200 credentials in the year from a fall count of 160: the program cycles more than once a year, so the two figures are different populations rather than a contradiction. Verify the school's standing with the Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.

    Where it leads

    Around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, the median cosmetologist earns $37,320, the bottom tenth $28,600 and the top tenth $64,530. The upside is capped near 1.7 times the median and the floor is 23 percent under it, a market where the first year is tight rather than dangerous and the ceiling is earned slowly. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington carries roughly 1.8 times the national concentration of this work, among the denser markets in the country.

    Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

14. #14

    Empire Beauty School-Springfield

    Springfield, PA

    63%

    Share of students who finish

    • 63% finish
    • 93 graduates a year
    • $17,000 program cost

    What the record shows

    Empire Beauty School-Springfield teaches cosmetology in Springfield, with its results published federally. Of the 188 students in its fall count, 63 percent complete the course they started. Tuition is reported at $17,000 for the full program. Borrowing is pooled across Empire Beauty campuses in the federal file, 817 borrowers at a median of $13,000 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $138 a month. 19 points fewer of its students finish than the 82 percent median, priced within 1 percent of the $17,050 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. It awarded 93 beauty credentials in the reporting year. Verify the school's standing with the Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.

    Where it leads

    Pay for cosmetologists around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington runs from $28,600 at the tenth percentile to $64,530 at the ninetieth, with a median of $37,320. The ninetieth percentile at $64,530 is 1.7 times the median, so the upside is real but bounded, and the floor sits 23 percent under the median, so the first year is lean but not the cliff it is in some states. Few places employ this trade as heavily: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington runs at about 1.8 times the national rate, some 9,960 people.

    Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

15. #15

    Empire Beauty School-Cherry Hill

    Cherry Hill, NJ · Cosmetology Private School

    57%

    Share of students who finish

    • $17,520 program cost

    What the record shows

    Based in Cherry Hill, Empire Beauty School-Cherry Hill is on the state board register. Its record is filed under cosmetology private. 57 percent of its students finish, out of 139 enrolled in the fall count. The published cost is $17,520 for the full program. Only 57 in a hundred finish here, 25 points under the 82 percent median. Treat that as the headline, not a footnote, and hold the $17,520 price against it. 43 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. Confirm the school's current license with the state board first: that entry is what qualifies your hours, whatever the federal figures say.

    Where it leads

    For cosmetologists around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, the range runs $28,600 to $64,530 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles, with a median of $37,320. An ordinary shape: the top tenth at 1.7 times the median and a floor 23 percent below it, so a good first year and a good tenth year here are separated by a client book rather than by a cliff. This is a dense market by national standards, 1.8 times the usual concentration around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington.

    Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling (Division of Consumer Affairs, Department of Law and Public Safety), read 2026-08-31.

16. #16

    Empire Beauty School-Cheltenham

    Wyncote, PA

    51%

    Share of students who finish

    • 51% finish
    • 74 graduates a year
    • $17,000 program cost

    What the record shows

    Empire Beauty School-Cheltenham teaches cosmetology in Wyncote, with its results published federally. 51 percent of students see the course through, out of 152 enrolled. Tuition is reported at $17,000 for the full program. Empire Beauty campuses share a debt figure in the federal file, $12,090 in federal loans at the median over 987 borrowers, so read it as the chain's number rather than this floor's. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $128 a month. Only 51 in a hundred finish here, 31 points under the 82 percent median. Treat that as the headline, not a footnote, and hold the $17,000 price against it. It awarded 74 beauty credentials in the reporting year. Ask the Pennsylvania 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

    Half of cosmetologists around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington earn under $37,320, with the tenth percentile at $28,600 and the ninetieth at $64,530. The upside is capped near 1.7 times the median and the floor is 23 percent under it, a market where the first year is tight rather than dangerous and the ceiling is earned slowly. The trade is unusually concentrated around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, about 1.8 times the national rate, so there are more chairs to compete for and more to be hired into.

    Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

17. #17

    Empire Beauty School-Center City Philadelphia

    Philadelphia, PA

    36%

    Share of students who finish

    • 36% finish
    • 73 graduates a year
    • $17,000 program cost

    What the record shows

    Empire Beauty School-Center City Philadelphia teaches cosmetology in Philadelphia, with its results published federally. Of the 279 students in its fall count, 36 percent complete the course they started. It charges $17,000 for the full program, which for a clock-hour course is the whole price rather than a yearly one. Borrowing is pooled across Empire Beauty campuses in the federal file, 886 borrowers at a median of $11,743 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $124 a month. Only 36 in a hundred finish here, 46 points under the 82 percent median. Treat that as the headline, not a footnote, and hold the $17,000 price against it. The school conferred 73 credentials in the year reported. From 279 enrolled that is slow throughput for a clock-hour course, and it belongs beside the completion figure above. Check its license with the Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology before enrolling, because that record and not the federal listing is what makes your clock hours count.

    Where it leads

    Around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, the median cosmetologist earns $37,320, the bottom tenth $28,600 and the top tenth $64,530. An ordinary shape: the top tenth at 1.7 times the median and a floor 23 percent below it, so a good first year and a good tenth year here are separated by a client book rather than by a cliff. The trade is unusually concentrated around Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, about 1.8 times the national rate, so there are more chairs to compete for and more to be hired into.

    Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

What Pennsylvania Requires Before a Philadelphia Student Can Sit the Exam

The Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology sets the number at 1,250 hours for a cosmetologist license. That is below the 1,500 hours Ohio and Oklahoma ask for, which makes training here shorter and cheaper. It also means your hours were built to Pennsylvania's rule, and moving them to another state is an application rather than a transfer.

Pennsylvania regulates the calendar as well as the clock, which almost no other state does. A day student's 1,250 hours cannot be completed in fewer than 8 consecutive months, and a night student's in fewer than 15. No Philadelphia school can run the program faster than that floor, however it schedules you.

There is a second route to the same exam. The board keeps a 2,000-hour apprenticeship program that stands in for the 1,250 school hours completely, 750 hours longer and the one path here that does not run through a school. If your schedule depends on studying at home, the online hours rules by state are the thing to read first.

The board licenses schools and it licenses people, and those are two separate documents. The Pennsylvania ranking covers the rest of the state's schools on the same evidence.

Figures in this section: Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology (Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, Pennsylvania Department of State); College Scorecard, June 2026.

What the Ranked List Shows in Philadelphia

Rizzieri Aveda School for Beauty and Wellness leads at 94% of 346 students, at $18,550 tuition and a median debt of $5,500, eleven miles out in Voorhees, New Jersey. Beauty Culture School, LLC in Feasterville follows at 91% of 82 students for $16,999. The Salon Professional Academy in Collegeville is third at 89% of 80, twenty-three miles out.

The most useful comparison on this list is inside one chain. Empire Beauty School has five campuses here, all priced between $17,000 and $17,520. Its Northeast Philadelphia campus finished 82% of 110 students. Its Center City campus, at the middle of the city, finished 36% of 279. Same name, same price, forty-six points apart.

Jean Madeline Aveda Institute, a mile from the center, finished 80% of 244 students and charges $20,255, the highest tuition here. At the other end, Burlington County Institute of Technology-Adult Education charges $5,574 and finished 84% of 96, though it is nineteen miles out and in another state.

None of this is a teaching inspection. Completion measures who finished what they started, which matters in a clock-hour trade because a license needs the whole hour count. The methodology sets out what the figure covers and where it goes quiet.

Figures in this section: Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology (Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, Pennsylvania Department of State); BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.

What Beauty Work Pays in the Philadelphia Metro

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro employs 9,960 hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists, at 1.75 times the national concentration, for a median of $37,320. Pennsylvania's statewide median is $36,790, so the metro adds about $530 to the middle of the trade.

The spread tells you more than the middle does. In the metro the bottom tenth earns $28,600 and the top tenth $64,530. Statewide the floor drops to $23,700 and the ceiling rises to $68,750. Philadelphia lifts what a bad year looks like and trims what a very good one does.

Nail work is the metro's real concentration. It holds 7,320 of Pennsylvania's 9,610 manicurists and pedicurists, at 2.57 times the national rate, for a median of $31,200 against $27,990 statewide. Nail technician pay and cosmetologist pay carry the national percentiles.

One caveat sits under all of it. BLS builds these figures from payroll, so a stylist who rents her chair and bills her own clients contributes nothing to them, and plenty of Philadelphia stylists work exactly that way.

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

What Cosmetology Careers Pay in Philadelphia

Median annual pay in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area, from the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. A cosmetologist here earns a median of $37,320 against $36,790 across Pennsylvania, with 9,960 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 Philadelphia

Answers draw on Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology (Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, Pennsylvania Department of State), the College Scorecard and the May 2025 BLS wage release.