COSMETOLOGY SCHOOLS IN IDAHO — Federal Data, September 2026
Cosmetology Schools in Idaho, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
12 accredited institutions in Idaho 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 12 ranked programs in Idaho, the median graduate needs 6.8 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $10,556, against median earnings of $18,555 one year after completion.
That is exactly in line with 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 Oliver Finley Academy of Cosmetology in Boise, at 5.4 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Idaho institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about cosmetology schools in Idaho
The Ranking
12 cosmetology schools in Idaho, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oliver Finley Academy of CosmetologyBoise, ID | for-profit | Certificate | 5.4 | $9,166 | $20,258 | 88% |
| 2 | Idaho State UniversityPocatello, ID | Public | Certificate | 5.9 | $9,000 | $18,420 | 39% |
| 3 | Aveda Institute-Twin FallsTwin Falls, ID | for-profit | Certificate | 5.9 | $9,400 | $19,015 | 73% |
| 4 | Paul Mitchell the School-BoiseBoise, ID | for-profit | Certificate | 5.9 | $10,556 | $21,620 | 73% |
| 5 | Boise Barber CollegeBoise, ID | for-profit | Certificate | 5.9 | $9,500 | $19,417 | 51% |
| 6 | Paul Mitchell the School-NampaNampa, ID | for-profit | Certificate | 5.9 | $10,556 | $21,620 | 67% |
| 7 | Headmasters School of Hair DesignLewiston, ID | for-profit | Certificate | 7.7 | $12,000 | $18,690 | 68% |
| 8 | Evans Hairstyling College-RexburgRexburg, ID | for-profit | Certificate | 7.7 | $10,000 | $15,508 | 87% |
| 9 | Paul Mitchell the School-RexburgRexburg, ID | for-profit | Certificate | 8.0 | $11,583 | $17,385 | 85% |
| 10 | Aveda Institute-BoiseBoise, ID | for-profit | Certificate | 8.0 | $11,906 | $17,824 | 89% |
| 11 | The Salon Professional Academy-NampaNampa, ID | for-profit | Certificate | 8.1 | $12,000 | $17,796 | 90% |
| 12 | Paul Mitchell the School-Twin FallsTWIN FALLS, ID | for-profit | Certificate | 10.8 | $10,556 | $11,717 | 64% |
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 Idaho, one by one
Oliver Finley Academy of Cosmetology
Boise, ID
Oliver Finley Academy of Cosmetology is a private for-profit institution in Boise. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,166 and report median earnings of $20,258 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.4 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.4 months faster than the Idaho state median of 6.8. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 88% completion rate.
Idaho State University
Pocatello, ID
Idaho State University is a public institution in Pocatello. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,000 and report median earnings of $18,420 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.9 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 0.9 months faster than the Idaho state median of 6.8. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 39% completion rate.
Aveda Institute-Twin Falls
Twin Falls, ID
Aveda Institute-Twin Falls is a private for-profit institution in Twin Falls. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,400 and report median earnings of $19,015 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.9 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.9 months faster than the Idaho state median of 6.8. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 73% completion rate.
Paul Mitchell the School-Boise
Boise, ID
Paul Mitchell the School-Boise is a private for-profit institution in Boise. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $10,556 and report median earnings of $21,620 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.9 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 0.9 months faster than the Idaho state median of 6.8. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 73% completion rate.
Boise Barber College
Boise, ID
Boise Barber College is a private for-profit institution in Boise. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,500 and report median earnings of $19,417 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.9 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.9 months faster than the Idaho state median of 6.8. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 51% 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 Idaho
Comparing a different trade in Idaho
For IDAHO School Operators
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