COSMETOLOGY SCHOOLS IN SOUTH CAROLINA — Federal Data, September 2026
Cosmetology Schools in South Carolina, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
14 accredited institutions in South Carolina 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 South Carolina, the median graduate needs 7.5 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $11,069, against median earnings of $18,956 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 Southeastern Esthetics Institute in Elgin, at 3.9 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on South Carolina institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about cosmetology schools in South Carolina
The Ranking
14 cosmetology schools in South Carolina, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southeastern Esthetics InstituteElgin, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 3.9 | $7,029 | $21,547 | 90% |
| 2 | Academy of Hair TechnologyGreenville, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 4.8 | $7,833 | $19,459 | 100% |
| 3 | Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-Rock HillRock Hill, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 6.7 | $10,429 | $18,693 | 71% |
| 4 | Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-GreenvilleGreenville, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 6.7 | $10,429 | $18,693 | 79% |
| 5 | Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology and Nails-ColumbiaWest Columbia, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 7.0 | $11,069 | $18,956 | 54% |
| 6 | Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-SpartanburgSpartanburg, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 7.0 | $11,069 | $18,956 | 69% |
| 7 | Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-Goose CreekGoose Creek, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 7.0 | $11,069 | $18,956 | 84% |
| 8 | Charleston Cosmetology InstituteCharleston, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 8.0 | $12,052 | $18,084 | 55% |
| 9 | Paul Mitchell the School-ColumbiaWest Columbia, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 8.5 | $13,833 | $19,583 | 69% |
| 10 | Paul Mitchell the School-CharlestonNorth Charleston, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 8.5 | $13,833 | $19,583 | 75% |
| 11 | Paul Mitchell the School-GreenvilleGreenville, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 8.5 | $13,833 | $19,583 | 55% |
| 12 | LeGrand Institute of Cosmetology IncCamden, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 8.7 | $9,000 | $12,478 | 87% |
| 13 | Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-North AugustaNorth Augusta, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 9.1 | $12,274 | $16,226 | 43% |
| 14 | Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-FlorenceFlorence, SC | for-profit | Certificate | 9.1 | $12,274 | $16,226 | 80% |
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 South Carolina, one by one
Southeastern Esthetics Institute
Elgin, SC
Southeastern Esthetics Institute is a private for-profit institution in Elgin. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $7,029 and report median earnings of $21,547 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.9 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 3.6 months faster than the South Carolina state median of 7.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 90% completion rate.
Academy of Hair Technology
Greenville, SC
Academy of Hair Technology is a private for-profit institution in Greenville. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $7,833 and report median earnings of $19,459 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.8 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 2.7 months faster than the South Carolina state median of 7.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 100% completion rate.
Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-Rock Hill
Rock Hill, SC
Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-Rock Hill is a private for-profit institution in Rock Hill. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $10,429 and report median earnings of $18,693 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 6.7 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.8 months faster than the South Carolina state median of 7.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 71% completion rate.
Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-Greenville
Greenville, SC
Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-Greenville is a private for-profit institution in Greenville. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $10,429 and report median earnings of $18,693 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 6.7 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 0.8 months faster than the South Carolina state median of 7.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 79% completion rate.
Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology and Nails-Columbia
West Columbia, SC
Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology and Nails-Columbia is a private for-profit institution in West Columbia. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $11,069 and report median earnings of $18,956 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 7.0 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.5 months faster than the South Carolina state median of 7.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 54% 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 South Carolina
Comparing a different trade in South Carolina
For SOUTH CAROLINA School Operators
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