BEAUTY SCHOOLS IN TENNESSEE — Federal Data, September 2026
Beauty Schools in Tennessee, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
25 accredited institutions in Tennessee 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 25 ranked programs in Tennessee, the median graduate needs 7.0 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $9,833, against median earnings of $17,239 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 beauty schools ranking. The best performer in the state is Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers in Chattanooga, at 3.2 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Tennessee institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about beauty schools in Tennessee
The Ranking
25 beauty schools in Tennessee, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical CareersChattanooga, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 3.2 | $5,499 | $20,488 | 12% |
| 2 | Brillare Beauty InstituteCleveland, TN | nonprofit | Certificate | 4.5 | $7,917 | $20,885 | 84% |
| 3 | The Salon Professional Academy-NashvilleNashville, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 4.6 | $9,833 | $25,878 | 97% |
| 4 | Chattanooga State Community CollegeChattanooga, TN | Public | Certificate | 5.3 | $8,250 | $18,593 | 26% |
| 5 | Tennessee College of Applied Technology NashvilleNashville, TN | Public | Certificate | 5.3 | $9,300 | $20,870 | 70% |
| 6 | Austin’s Beauty College IncClarksville, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 5.6 | $9,833 | $20,977 | 68% |
| 7 | Elite College of CosmetologyLexington, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 5.7 | $6,500 | $13,568 | 79% |
| 8 | Gould’s AcademyMemphis, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 6.0 | $10,149 | $20,194 | 80% |
| 9 | Gould’s AcademyBartlett, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 6.0 | $10,149 | $20,194 | 84% |
| 10 | Genesis Career College-LebanonLebanon, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 6.3 | $9,500 | $18,043 | 59% |
| 11 | Image Maker Beauty InstituteHendersonville, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 6.5 | $11,580 | $21,451 | 77% |
| 12 | Genesis Career College-CookevilleCookeville, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 6.9 | $9,500 | $16,552 | 54% |
| 13 | Paul Mitchell the School-MurfreesboroMurfreesboro, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 7.0 | $12,087 | $20,606 | 75% |
| 14 | Paul Mitchell the School-Murfreesboro-NashvilleHendersonville, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 7.0 | $12,087 | $20,606 | 74% |
| 15 | Vibe Barber CollegeMemphis, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 7.3 | $9,500 | $15,646 | 89% |
| 16 | TC BeautyJohnson City, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 8.1 | $9,833 | $14,598 | 88% |
| 17 | Arnolds Beauty SchoolMilan, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 9.1 | $11,000 | $14,553 | 77% |
| 18 | The Hair Academy LLCFayetteville, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 9.5 | $7,583 | $9,605 | 85% |
| 19 | Love Beauty School IncManchester, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 10.0 | $9,500 | $11,442 | 74% |
| 20 | Paul Mitchell the School-MemphisMemphis, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 10.1 | $14,557 | $17,239 | 59% |
| 21 | Empire Beauty School-E MemphisMemphis, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 10.1 | $13,583 | $16,062 | 67% |
| 22 | Miller-Motte College-ChattanoogaChattanooga, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 10.3 | $12,831 | $15,003 | 60% |
| 23 | Empire Beauty School-NashvilleBrentwood, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 10.4 | $13,583 | $15,679 | 72% |
| 24 | Empire Beauty School-JacksonJackson, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 10.7 | $14,492 | $16,251 | 41% |
| 25 | Sandra Academy of Salon ServicesNew Tazewell, TN | for-profit | Certificate | 17.1 | $14,831 | $10,380 | 33% |
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 Tennessee, one by one
Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers
Chattanooga, TN
Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers is a private for-profit institution in Chattanooga. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $5,499 and report median earnings of $20,488 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.2 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 3.8 months faster than the Tennessee state median of 7.0. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 12% completion rate.
Brillare Beauty Institute
Cleveland, TN
Brillare Beauty Institute is a private nonprofit institution in Cleveland. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $7,917 and report median earnings of $20,885 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.5 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 2.5 months faster than the Tennessee state median of 7.0. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 84% completion rate.
The Salon Professional Academy-Nashville
Nashville, TN
The Salon Professional Academy-Nashville is a private for-profit institution in Nashville. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,833 and report median earnings of $25,878 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.6 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 2.4 months faster than the Tennessee state median of 7.0. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 97% completion rate.
Chattanooga State Community College
Chattanooga, TN
Chattanooga State Community College is a public institution in Chattanooga. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,250 and report median earnings of $18,593 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.3 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 1.7 months faster than the Tennessee state median of 7.0. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 26% completion rate.
Tennessee College of Applied Technology Nashville
Nashville, TN
Tennessee College of Applied Technology Nashville is a public institution in Nashville. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,300 and report median earnings of $20,870 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.3 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 1.7 months faster than the Tennessee state median of 7.0. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 70% 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 Tennessee
Comparing a different trade in Tennessee
For TENNESSEE School Operators
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