COSMETOLOGY SCHOOLS IN GEORGIA — Federal Data, September 2026
Cosmetology Schools in Georgia, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
23 accredited institutions in Georgia report enough federal data on this program to be compared. They are ranked here on a single measure: how many months of gross pay it takes a graduate to cover the median debt.
See The RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 23 ranked programs in Georgia, the median graduate needs 8.9 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $13,256, against median earnings of $16,832 one year after completion.
That is slower than the national median of 6.8 months for this field, measured across the 987 institutions in our national cosmetology schools ranking. The best performer in the state is MAK Beauty Institute in Cumming, at 5.4 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Georgia institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about cosmetology schools in Georgia
The Ranking
23 cosmetology schools in Georgia, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MAK Beauty InstituteCumming, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.4 | $8,272 | $18,519 | 74% |
| 2 | International School of Skin Nailcare & Massage TherapySandy Springs, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.5 | $9,398 | $20,551 | 100% |
| 3 | Athens Technical CollegeAthens, GA | Public | Certificate | 5.9 | $8,000 | $16,178 | 51% |
| 4 | Keune Academy by 124Lawrenceville, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 6.1 | $9,833 | $19,319 | 85% |
| 5 | Dalton Institute of Esthetics and CosmetologyDalton, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 6.1 | $8,375 | $16,539 | 81% |
| 6 | Chattahoochee Technical CollegeMarietta, GA | Public | Certificate | 6.8 | $9,500 | $16,767 | 38% |
| 7 | Georgia Career InstituteConyers, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 7.2 | $10,222 | $17,041 | 69% |
| 8 | Empire Beauty School-SavannahSavannah, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 8.4 | $10,667 | $15,322 | 40% |
| 9 | Paul Mitchell the School-EsaniRoswell, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 8.5 | $12,541 | $17,667 | 77% |
| 10 | West Georgia Technical CollegeWaco, GA | Public | Certificate | 8.6 | $8,500 | $11,925 | 35% |
| 11 | Empire Beauty School-GwinnettLawrenceville, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 8.9 | $13,849 | $18,639 | 50% |
| 12 | Empire Beauty School-KennesawKennesaw, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 8.9 | $13,849 | $18,639 | 75% |
| 13 | Hogan Institute of Cosmetology and EstheticsLilburn, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 9.2 | $10,666 | $13,847 | 83% |
| 14 | Georgia Institute of CosmetologyAthens, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 10.4 | $14,544 | $16,832 | 54% |
| 15 | Elaine Sterling InstituteAtlanta, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 10.4 | $13,256 | $15,263 | 67% |
| 16 | Empire Beauty School-AugustaAugusta, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 10.4 | $13,583 | $15,679 | 30% |
| 17 | Gwinnett Technical CollegeLawrenceville, GA | Public | Certificate | 10.7 | $16,349 | $18,291 | 32% |
| 18 | Empire Beauty School-MorrowMorrow, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 10.7 | $14,492 | $16,251 | 29% |
| 19 | Pro Way Hair SchoolStone Mountain, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 10.9 | $13,753 | $15,083 | 60% |
| 20 | Rivertown School of Beauty Barber Skin Care and NailsColumbus, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 11.1 | $14,700 | $15,953 | 40% |
| 21 | Atlanta Technical CollegeAtlanta, GA | Public | Certificate | 11.4 | $16,324 | $17,157 | 49% |
| 22 | Empire Beauty School-NorthlakeAtlanta, GA | for-profit | Certificate | 11.6 | $16,500 | $17,113 | 22% |
| 23 | Savannah Technical CollegeSavannah, GA | Public | Certificate | 12.5 | $19,989 | $19,242 | 42% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026). Debt is the median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of completers in this program; earnings are median earnings one year after completion. Where a school offers the program at both certificate and associate level, the shorter payback is shown. Completion is the institution’s published rate, not the program’s.
The Top Five, In Detail
The five fastest payback programs in Georgia, one by one
MAK Beauty Institute
Cumming, GA
MAK Beauty Institute is a private for-profit institution in Cumming. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,272 and report median earnings of $18,519 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.4 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 3.5 months faster than the Georgia state median of 8.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 74% completion rate.
International School of Skin Nailcare & Massage Therapy
Sandy Springs, GA
International School of Skin Nailcare & Massage Therapy is a private for-profit institution in Sandy Springs. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,398 and report median earnings of $20,551 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.5 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 3.4 months faster than the Georgia state median of 8.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 100% completion rate.
Athens Technical College
Athens, GA
Athens Technical College is a public institution in Athens. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,000 and report median earnings of $16,178 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.9 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 3.0 months faster than the Georgia state median of 8.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 51% completion rate.
Keune Academy by 124
Lawrenceville, GA
Keune Academy by 124 is a private for-profit institution in Lawrenceville. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,833 and report median earnings of $19,319 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 6.1 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 2.8 months faster than the Georgia state median of 8.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 85% completion rate.
Dalton Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology
Dalton, GA
Dalton Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology is a private for-profit institution in Dalton. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,375 and report median earnings of $16,539 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 6.1 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 2.8 months faster than the Georgia state median of 8.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 81% completion rate.
Read It Carefully
What this ranking does not measure
Absence from this page is not a verdict. The Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, so a small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all. Schools that enroll no students on federal aid are outside this dataset entirely.
The measure is a ratio, not a repayment plan, and it counts federal loan debt only. Cash payments, private loans and employer sponsorship are invisible here. Local wages shape earnings as much as the school does, which is exactly why comparing inside one state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.
Other States
The same program, another state
Other Programs in Georgia
Comparing a different trade in Georgia
For GEORGIA School Operators
Want to know how your program ranks against these?
We run this analysis for individual schools against their own federal data and show them where they sit against both the Georgia median and the national one. Where the answer is good, it is the strongest recruitment argument a school owns.
Book Your Free Enrollment AuditBy application only — reserved for trade and vocational school operators enrolling 50+ students a year.