BEAUTY SCHOOLS IN IOWA — Federal Data, September 2026
Beauty Schools in Iowa, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
14 accredited institutions in Iowa 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 14 ranked programs in Iowa, the median graduate needs 6.2 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $11,010, against median earnings of $20,226 one year after completion.
That is faster than the national median of 6.8 months for this field, measured across the 987 institutions in our national beauty schools ranking. The best performer in the state is La James College of Hairstyling and Cosmetology in Mason City, at 4.4 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Iowa institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about beauty schools in Iowa
The Ranking
14 beauty schools in Iowa, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La James College of Hairstyling and CosmetologyMason City, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 4.4 | $8,582 | $23,313 | 76% |
| 2 | PCI Academy-AmesAmes, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.2 | $10,570 | $24,178 | 77% |
| 3 | PCI Academy-Iowa CityIowa City, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.2 | $10,570 | $24,178 | 71% |
| 4 | Aveda Institute-Des MoinesWest Des Moines, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.3 | $12,000 | $27,081 | 88% |
| 5 | Iowa School of Beauty-Des MoinesDes Moines, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.4 | $9,130 | $20,355 | 81% |
| 6 | Capri College-Cedar RapidsCedar Rapids, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.9 | $11,681 | $23,586 | 65% |
| 7 | Capri College-DavenportDavenport, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 6.0 | $11,019 | $22,161 | 82% |
| 8 | La James International College-JohnstonJohnston, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 6.3 | $9,116 | $17,464 | 88% |
| 9 | Capri College-DubuqueDubuque, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 6.7 | $11,000 | $19,651 | 74% |
| 10 | Faust Institute of Cosmetology-Spirit LakeSpirit Lake, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 7.2 | $12,000 | $20,098 | 92% |
| 11 | SOHO Hair AcademyCouncil Bluffs, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 7.6 | $10,294 | $16,234 | 76% |
| 12 | La James International College-DavenportDavenport, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 8.4 | $12,751 | $18,120 | 91% |
| 13 | Iowa School of Beauty-Sioux CitySioux City, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 10.1 | $16,811 | $20,000 | 72% |
| 14 | American Hair AcademyMt. Pleasant, IA | for-profit | Certificate | 15.7 | $14,205 | $10,853 | 44% |
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 Iowa, one by one
La James College of Hairstyling and Cosmetology
Mason City, IA
La James College of Hairstyling and Cosmetology is a private for-profit institution in Mason City. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,582 and report median earnings of $23,313 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.4 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.8 months faster than the Iowa state median of 6.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 76% completion rate.
PCI Academy-Ames
Ames, IA
PCI Academy-Ames is a private for-profit institution in Ames. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $10,570 and report median earnings of $24,178 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.2 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 1.0 months faster than the Iowa state median of 6.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 77% completion rate.
PCI Academy-Iowa City
Iowa City, IA
PCI Academy-Iowa City is a private for-profit institution in Iowa City. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $10,570 and report median earnings of $24,178 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.2 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 1.0 months faster than the Iowa state median of 6.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 71% completion rate.
Aveda Institute-Des Moines
West Des Moines, IA
Aveda Institute-Des Moines is a private for-profit institution in West Des Moines. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,000 and report median earnings of $27,081 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.3 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 0.9 months faster than the Iowa state median of 6.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 88% completion rate.
Iowa School of Beauty-Des Moines
Des Moines, IA
Iowa School of Beauty-Des Moines is a private for-profit institution in Des Moines. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,130 and report median earnings of $20,355 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.4 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.8 months faster than the Iowa state median of 6.2. 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 Iowa
Comparing a different trade in Iowa
For IOWA School Operators
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