Cosmetology Schools in Milwaukee, WI, Ranked (2026)

The 6 Cosmetology Schools in and Near Milwaukee, Ranked on Completion

6 cosmetology programs report to the US Department of Education from inside Milwaukee 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 Wisconsin page links the board's own lookup.

1. #1

   The Institute of Beauty and Wellness

   Milwaukee, WI

   90%

   Share of students who finish

   • 201 graduates a year
   • $11,498 program cost

   What the record shows

   The Institute of Beauty and Wellness teaches cosmetology in Milwaukee, with its results published federally. Of 186 enrolled in the fall count, 90 percent finish. The published cost is $11,498 for the full program. The federal file reports borrowing for The Institute of Beauty and Wellness campuses together rather than for this one: a median of $6,333 in federal loans across 295 borrowers. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $67 a month. That puts it in the rare corner of this table: 44 points more of its students finish than the 46 percent median, and it charges 35 percent less than the $17,781 median to do it. 201 credentials in the year from a fall count of 186: 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

   Half of cosmetologists around Milwaukee-Waukesha earn under $38,190, with the tenth percentile at $26,740 and the ninetieth at $59,620. Neither end of this market is extreme: the top tenth earns about 1.6 times the median and the floor sits 30 percent under it, which makes the first year a budget question rather than a survival one. Milwaukee-Waukesha employs the trade at about 1.3 times the national rate, so the local market is thicker than average.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

2. #2

   VICI Beauty School

   Greenfield, WI

   88%

   Share of students who finish

   • 88% finish
   • 113 graduates a year
   • $19,138 program cost

   What the record shows

   VICI Beauty School trains in Greenfield, and because it takes federal financial aid its outcomes are published per program. The school graduates 88 percent, on a fall headcount of 109. Tuition is reported at $19,138 for the full program. Borrowing here runs to a median of $6,216 in federal loans, measured over 117 graduates. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $66 a month. $19,138 is within 8 percent of the $17,781 median, and the completion is not ordinary: 88 percent against 46. That is the better half of the trade. 113 credentials in the year from a fall count of 109: 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

   For cosmetologists around Milwaukee-Waukesha, the range runs $26,740 to $59,620 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles, with a median of $38,190. An ordinary shape: the top tenth at 1.6 times the median and a floor 30 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 work is somewhat more concentrated around Milwaukee-Waukesha than nationally, at roughly 1.3 times the usual rate.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

3. #3

   Empire Beauty School-Milwaukee

   Milwaukee, WI

   47%

   Share of students who finish

   • 47% finish
   • 98 graduates a year
   • $17,407 program cost

   What the record shows

   Empire Beauty School-Milwaukee teaches cosmetology in Milwaukee, with its results published federally. The school graduates 47 percent, on a fall headcount of 111. The published cost is $17,407 for the full program. The federal file reports borrowing for Empire Beauty campuses together rather than for this one: a median of $12,500 in federal loans across 838 borrowers. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $133 a month. Completion and price both sit close to the page median, 47 percent against 46 and $17,407 against $17,781, and that median is low: 53 in a hundred here do not finish, which at $17,407 makes the purchase closer to a coin flip than a sure thing. The school conferred 98 credentials in the year reported. 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

   Half of cosmetologists around Milwaukee-Waukesha earn under $38,190, with the tenth percentile at $26,740 and the ninetieth at $59,620. The upside is capped near 1.6 times the median and the floor is 30 percent under it, a market where the first year is tight rather than dangerous and the ceiling is earned slowly. The work is somewhat more concentrated around Milwaukee-Waukesha than nationally, at roughly 1.3 times the usual rate.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

4. #4

   Waukesha County Technical College

   Pewaukee, WI

   44%

   Share of students who finish

   • Public institution
   • 36 graduates a year

   What the record shows

   Waukesha County Technical College teaches cosmetology in Pewaukee, with its results published federally. Across all 4,955 students at the college, 44 percent finish, which covers cosmetology along with everything else it teaches. That 44 percent is ordinary for this page, and it belongs to the whole campus; ask the cosmetology department for the program's own figure. 27 graduates borrowed, at a median of $8,675 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $92 a month. Its 36 completions a year make cosmetology a small program inside a college of 4,955. The license from the state board 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha earn under $38,190, with the tenth percentile at $26,740 and the ninetieth at $59,620. A 2.2-to-one spread from bottom to top is ordinary for the trade, and here as everywhere the top belongs to a client book. The work is somewhat more concentrated around Milwaukee-Waukesha than nationally, at roughly 1.3 times the usual rate.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

5. #5

   Paul Mitchell the School-Milwaukee

   Wauwatosa, WI

   32%

   Share of students who finish

   • 32% finish
   • 38 graduates a year
   • $18,154 program cost

   What the record shows

   Based in Wauwatosa, Paul Mitchell the School-Milwaukee is one of the cosmetology programs the federal government tracks. The school graduates 32 percent across two years of students, on a fall headcount of 140. Tuition is reported at $18,154 for the full program. Graduates who borrowed took on $10,666 in federal loans at the median, 94 of them. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $113 a month. The price is close to the $17,781 median and the completion is not: 32 percent against 46. In a clock-hour course that is the wrong half of the trade, and the reason to ask hard questions before a deposit. It awarded 38 beauty credentials in the reporting year. From 140 enrolled that is slow throughput for a clock-hour course, and it belongs beside the completion figure above. 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

   Pay for cosmetologists around Milwaukee-Waukesha runs from $26,740 at the tenth percentile to $59,620 at the ninetieth, with a median of $38,190. The upside is capped near 1.6 times the median and the floor is 30 percent under it, a market where the first year is tight rather than dangerous and the ceiling is earned slowly. Concentration around Milwaukee-Waukesha runs modestly above the national rate, about 1.3 times, or 2,070 people in the occupation.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

6. #6

   Milwaukee Area Technical College

   Milwaukee, WI

   25%

   Share of students who finish

   • Public institution
   • 114 graduates a year

   What the record shows

   Milwaukee Area Technical College runs its cosmetology program in Milwaukee and reports to the US Department of Education. Across all 12,024 students at the college, 25 percent finish, which covers cosmetology along with everything else it teaches. Most of the students behind that 25 percent are in other programs, so ask the cosmetology department for its own figure rather than reading this one as the program's. 52 graduates borrowed, at a median of $9,500 in federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $101 a month. 114 students completed a credential here in the reporting year. Check its license with the state board before enrolling, because that record and not the federal listing is what makes your clock hours count.

   Where it leads

   Around Milwaukee-Waukesha, the median cosmetologist earns $38,190, the bottom tenth $26,740 and the top tenth $59,620. The ninetieth percentile at $59,620 is 1.6 times the median, so the upside is real but bounded, and the floor sits 30 percent under the median, so the first year is lean but not the cliff it is in some states. Milwaukee-Waukesha employs the trade at about 1.3 times the national rate, so the local market is thicker than average.

   Source: US Department of Education, College Scorecard.

What Wisconsin Requires Before You Can Sit the Exam

Wisconsin statute asks for at least 1,550 training hours in not less than 10 months, and the second half of that sentence is the part students miss. You can't compress the program by piling on hours a week. A Milwaukee school offering a finish faster than 10 months is offering something the statute doesn't allow.

Two bodies split this work and get conflated constantly. The Department of Safety and Professional Services issues the license a school needs to operate, and it makes each location post a surety bond of at least $25,000. The Cosmetology Examining Board is separate, and it sets the curriculum and approves remote courses.

On remote study Wisconsin is among the loosest states in the country. There is no percentage ceiling at all. The board hands the decision to the school and then approves it, so how much of your theory happens at home is a question for the school. Our guide to online hours by state shows how rare that is.

Figures in this section: Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services; BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.

What the Milwaukee Ranked List Shows

The Institute of Beauty and Wellness is first, and it is the only school with a Milwaukee address that finishes more than half of who it enrolls: 90% of 186 students, $11,498 for the program, $6,333 in median debt. Its graduates report $29,826 five years out, on a cohort of 191.

Vici Beauty School in Greenfield is second at 88% on 109 students, nine miles out, and it charges $19,138 against the Institute's $11,498 for a license Wisconsin defines identically either way. Empire Beauty School-Milwaukee is third at 47% on 111 students, carrying $12,500 in median debt, the highest on this list.

Paul Mitchell the School-Milwaukee is fifth at 32% completion on 140 students, eight miles out in Wauwatosa, at $18,154. The two technical colleges, fourth and sixth, report across enrollments of thousands, 4,955 at Waukesha County and 12,024 at Milwaukee Area, so those percentages describe a whole college rather than a beauty cohort. The methodology explains which figures the ranking reads.

Figures in this section: Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services; BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.

What Hair, Skin and Nail Work Pays in the Milwaukee Metro

The metro employs 2,070 hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists at a $38,190 median, which is about a third of everyone counted in the trade in Wisconsin. That median runs $1,960 above the state's $36,230, and the spread goes from $26,740 at the 10th percentile to $59,620 at the 90th.

Barbering is the strange number here. The metro employs 200 barbers, but that is about 2.5 times the national concentration, and their $35,370 median sits below stylists while their 10th percentile of $31,470 sits well above. Barber pay is worth reading next to that.

Skincare specialists earn a $44,270 median on 360 employed, roughly $6,080 above stylists, and manicurists a $36,170 median on 1,140. Every figure here is an employee wage. BLS does not count booth renters, and a large share of this workforce rents a chair or works on commission. The Wisconsin ranking shows the rest of the state.

Figures in this section: Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services; BLS OEWS, May 2025; College Scorecard, June 2026.

What Cosmetology Careers Pay in Milwaukee

Median annual pay in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area, from the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. A cosmetologist here earns a median of $38,190 against $36,230 across Wisconsin, with 2,070 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 Milwaukee

Answers draw on Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, the College Scorecard and the May 2025 BLS wage release.