Rhode Island
Best cosmetology programs in Rhode Island 2026
Providence skyline. Photo by Kenneth C. Zirkel, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Ranked on the share of students who finish what they started, within half again the program's normal length, as reported per institution to the US Department of Education. In a clock-hour trade this is the outcome that matters most: the license needs the full hour count, so a student who leaves early has paid for hours that will never qualify them.
There is no such thing as an accredited cosmetology program, in Rhode Island or anywhere else, because the field has no programmatic accreditor. NACCAS, the body most beauty schools advertise, accredits the institution rather than the course, so an accredited school and an unaccredited one can run the same program. What that accreditation buys a student is federal financial aid eligibility. The license from Rhode Island Department of Health, Board of Barbering and Hairdressing (Professional Boards and Licensing Center) is what decides whether your hours count toward the exam.
3
schools reporting federally
3
qualify to be ranked
0
excluded, under 40 enrolled students
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#1
Empire Beauty School-Warwick
Providence, RI
88%
Share of students who finish
- 88% finish
- 126 graduates a year
- $15,000 program cost
What the record shows
Empire Beauty School-Warwick runs its cosmetology program in Providence and reports to the US Department of Education. 88 percent of students see the course through, out of 107 enrolled. Tuition is reported at $15,000 for the full program. Borrowing is pooled across Empire Beauty campuses in the federal file, 838 borrowers at a median of $12,500 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $133 a month. With only 3 schools on this page there is no median worth quoting; 88 percent finishing and a $15,000 price are the two figures to carry to the other 2. It awarded 126 credentials over the year against a fall headcount of 107, 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 state board first: federal reporting is about financial aid, and it is the state license that qualifies your hours.
Where it leads
undefined The tenth percentile and the median are the same $31,200, which means at least four in ten report the floor; the published median is the entry wage here, and everything above it is tips and a following.
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#2
Paul Mitchell the School-Rhode Island
Cranston, RI
79%
Share of students who finish
- 79% finish
- 99 graduates a year
- $14,500 program cost
What the record shows
Paul Mitchell the School-Rhode Island runs its cosmetology program in Cranston and reports to the US Department of Education. The school graduates 79 percent, on a fall headcount of 181. The published cost is $14,500 for the full program. Paul Mitchell campuses share a debt figure in the federal file, $7,232 in federal loans at the median over 70 borrowers, so read it as the chain's number rather than this floor's. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $77 a month. With only 3 schools on this page there is no median worth quoting; 79 percent finishing and a $14,500 price are the two figures to carry to the other 2. The school conferred 99 credentials in the year reported. 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
For cosmetologists around Providence-Warwick, the range runs $31,200 to $65,430 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles, with a median of $31,200. The tenth percentile and the median are the same $31,200, which means at least four in ten report the floor; the published median is the entry wage here, and everything above it is tips and a following. This is a dense market by national standards, 1.5 times the usual concentration around Providence-Warwick.
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#3
COLLECTIV Academy-Cranston
Cranston, RI
78%
Share of students who finish
- 78% finish
- 114 graduates a year
- $16,148 program cost
What the record shows
COLLECTIV Academy-Cranston teaches cosmetology in Cranston, with its results published federally. 78 percent of its students finish, out of 102 enrolled in the fall count. Tuition is reported at $16,148 for the full program. 164 graduates borrowed, at a median of $10,366 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $110 a month. With only 3 schools on this page there is no median worth quoting; 78 percent finishing and a $16,148 price are the two figures to carry to the other 2. 114 credentials in the year from a fall count of 102: 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 state board before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.
Where it leads
Around Providence-Warwick, the median cosmetologist earns $31,200, the bottom tenth $31,200 and the top tenth $65,430. The tenth percentile and the median are the same $31,200, which means at least four in ten report the floor; the published median is the entry wage here, and everything above it is tips and a following. The trade is unusually concentrated around Providence-Warwick, about 1.5 times the national rate, so there are more chairs to compete for and more to be hired into.
- Empire Beauty School-Warwick 88% 88%
- Paul Mitchell the School-Rhode I... 79% 79%
- COLLECTIV Academy-Cranston 78% 78%
Where can you find the licensed cosmetology programs in Rhode Island?
The licensed cosmetology programs in Rhode Island are searched one at a time rather than published as a list, so this page links Rhode Island Department of Health, Board of Barbering and Hairdressing (Professional Boards and Licensing Center)'s own records instead of reprinting a commercial directory. The schools above are drawn from the 3 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island in 2026?
To become a cosmetologist in Rhode Island you need 1,000 clock hours at a school licensed by Rhode Island Department of Health, Board of Barbering and Hairdressing (Professional Boards and Licensing Center), then a passing score on the state exam. At the pace most clock-hour schools run, that is roughly 7.7 months full time. No state sets a lower bar. Rhode Island sits at the floor of a range that runs to 2,000 hours elsewhere, so the same license costs twice the time in some states.
None of those hours count unless Rhode Island Department of Health, Board of Barbering and Hairdressing (Professional Boards and Licensing Center) licensed the school at the time you sat them.
How much do cosmetologists make in Rhode Island in 2026?
Cosmetologists in Rhode Island earn a median of $31,200 , with the bottom tenth on $31,200 and the top tenth on $38,630 . The related licenses pay differently again, which matters because you pick the license before you start the hours.
- Cosmetologists $31,200 $31,200
- Salon managers $60,680 $60,680
- Estheticians $43,880 $43,880
What is different about cosmetology licensing in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island has the lowest entry requirement of the five states by a wide margin, 1,000 hours against 1,250 in Pennsylvania and 1,500 in Ohio and Oklahoma, and it got there by deliberate deregulation, cutting the requirement from 1,500 to 1,000 effective June 22, 2017. It is also one of the states where cosmetology sits under the public health department rather than a commerce or licensing department, regulated as 'hairdressing/cosmetic therapy' with the license titled hairdresser/cosmetician rather than cosmetologist, terminology that will not match other states' data. Practically, it is the weakest of the five for data collection: no school roster is published in any format, and the state's own verification portal was returning server errors. Read Rhode Island Department of Health, Board of Barbering and Hairdressing (Professional Boards and Licensing Center)'s own rules .
Is it better to be a cosmetologist, esthetician or nail tech in Rhode Island?
In Rhode Island, salon managers are the best paid of the beauty licenses at a $60,680 median. Cosmetologists in Rhode Island sit at $31,200, 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.
| Occupation | Median pay | Employed in state |
|---|---|---|
| Salon managers | $60,680 | 460 |
| Estheticians | $43,880 | 120 |
Can you use a cosmetology license from another state in Rhode Island?
Using a cosmetology license from another state in Rhode Island means satisfying Rhode Island Department of Health, Board of Barbering and Hairdressing (Professional Boards and Licensing Center), which decides case by case, and the number it weighs is hours. Against the other Northeast states, Rhode Island is it asks 206 fewer hours than the regional average of 1,206, and it pays about 21 percent below the regional average.
It is worth knowing before you train if there is any chance you will move, since transferring a license is an application to the receiving board rather than a formality.
| State | Hours required | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island (this state) | 1,000 | $31,200 |
| Vermont | 1,000 | $48,650 |
| Connecticut | 1,500 | $44,620 |
| Maine | 1,500 | $44,000 |
| Massachusetts | 1,000 | $37,290 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,250 | $36,790 |
| New Jersey | 1,200 | $36,150 |
| New York | 1,000 | $35,760 |
| New Hampshire | 1,200 | $34,650 |
What does this Rhode Island cosmetology program ranking not tell you?
This Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island Department of Health, Board of Barbering and Hairdressing (Professional Boards and Licensing Center) for the license itself.
Common questions about cosmetology programs in Rhode Island
What makes the best cosmetology programs in Rhode Island rank highly here?
How many cosmetology schools are there in Rhode Island?
Should you choose a NACCAS-accredited school in Rhode Island?
How much does cosmetology school cost in Rhode Island?
Are the best cosmetology programs in Rhode Island accredited?
Where does this Rhode Island cosmetology program data come from?
This Rhode Island cosmetology program data comes from Rhode Island Department of Health, Board of Barbering and Hairdressing (Professional Boards and Licensing Center), read on 2026-08-31, from the board's own license records rather than from any school directory. The cost and debt figures come from the US Department of Education's College Scorecard , which publishes them per institution for cosmetology programs at every school taking federal financial aid. Rhode Island has the lowest entry requirement of the five states by a wide margin, 1,000 hours against 1,250 in Pennsylvania and 1,500 in Ohio and Oklahoma, and it got there by deliberate deregulation, cutting the requirement from 1,500 to 1,000 effective June 22, 2017. It is also one of the states where cosmetology sits under the public health department rather than a commerce or licensing department, regulated as 'hairdressing/cosmetic therapy' with the license titled hairdresser/cosmetician rather than cosmetologist, terminology that will not match other states' data. Practically, it is the weakest of the five for data collection: no school roster is published in any format, and the state's own verification portal was returning server errors.
Rhode Island Department of Health, Board of Barbering and Hairdressing (Professional Boards and Licensing Center)Read 2026-08-31.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 , metro and state pay, employment and concentration behind every wage figure on this page
- US Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study CIP 12.04 , full program cost, median federal debt and the monthly cost of that debt, per institution