COSMETOLOGY SCHOOLS IN KANSAS — Federal Data, September 2026
Cosmetology Schools in Kansas, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
16 accredited institutions in Kansas 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 16 ranked programs in Kansas, the median graduate needs 6.3 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $9,666, against median earnings of $20,578 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 cosmetology schools ranking. The best performer in the state is Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, at 3.1 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Kansas institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about cosmetology schools in Kansas
The Ranking
16 cosmetology schools in Kansas, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnson County Community CollegeOverland Park, KS | Public | Certificate | 3.1 | $5,424 | $21,250 | 31% |
| 2 | Fort Scott Community CollegeFort Scott, KS | Public | Certificate | 3.2 | $5,500 | $20,691 | 35% |
| 3 | Garden City Community CollegeGarden City, KS | Public | Certificate | 3.5 | $5,500 | $18,724 | 50% |
| 4 | Kansas City Kansas Community CollegeKansas City, KS | Public | Certificate | 4.7 | $8,235 | $21,091 | 42% |
| 5 | Washburn Institute of TechnologyTopeka, KS | Public | Certificate | 4.8 | $9,000 | $22,547 | 68% |
| 6 | Washburn UniversityTopeka, KS | Public | Certificate | 4.8 | $9,000 | $22,547 | 53% |
| 7 | Eric Fisher AcademyWichita, KS | for-profit | Certificate | 5.5 | $9,339 | $20,465 | 85% |
| 8 | Crave Beauty AcademyWichita, KS | for-profit | Certificate | 6.1 | $10,667 | $21,067 | 73% |
| 9 | Mitsu Sato Hair AcademyOverland Park, KS | for-profit | Certificate | 6.6 | $9,500 | $17,143 | 60% |
| 10 | Bellus AcademyManhattan, KS | for-profit | Certificate | 6.6 | $9,833 | $17,745 | 74% |
| 11 | Hays Academy of Hair DesignHays, KS | for-profit | Certificate | 6.7 | $9,833 | $17,620 | 77% |
| 12 | Hays Academy of Hair DesignSalina, KS | for-profit | Certificate | 6.7 | $9,833 | $17,620 | 86% |
| 13 | Paul Mitchell the School-Overland ParkOverland Park, KS | for-profit | Certificate | 7.1 | $13,341 | $22,440 | 76% |
| 14 | Z Hair AcademyOverland Park, KS | for-profit | Certificate | 8.5 | $15,333 | $21,750 | 74% |
| 15 | Paul Mitchell the School-WichitaWichita, KS | for-profit | Certificate | 8.9 | $12,583 | $17,049 | 76% |
| 16 | Old Town Barber CollegeWichita, KS | for-profit | Certificate | 15.8 | $14,125 | $10,703 | 46% |
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 Kansas, one by one
Johnson County Community College
Overland Park, KS
Johnson County Community College is a public institution in Overland Park. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $5,424 and report median earnings of $21,250 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.1 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 3.2 months faster than the Kansas state median of 6.3. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 31% completion rate.
Fort Scott Community College
Fort Scott, KS
Fort Scott Community College is a public institution in Fort Scott. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $5,500 and report median earnings of $20,691 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.2 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 3.1 months faster than the Kansas state median of 6.3. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 35% completion rate.
Garden City Community College
Garden City, KS
Garden City Community College is a public institution in Garden City. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $5,500 and report median earnings of $18,724 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.5 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 2.8 months faster than the Kansas state median of 6.3. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 50% completion rate.
Kansas City Kansas Community College
Kansas City, KS
Kansas City Kansas Community College is a public institution in Kansas City. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,235 and report median earnings of $21,091 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.7 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 1.6 months faster than the Kansas state median of 6.3. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 42% completion rate.
Washburn Institute of Technology
Topeka, KS
Washburn Institute of Technology is a public institution in Topeka. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,000 and report median earnings of $22,547 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.8 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 1.5 months faster than the Kansas state median of 6.3. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 68% 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 Kansas
Comparing a different trade in Kansas
For KANSAS School Operators
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