BEAUTY SCHOOLS IN VIRGINIA — Federal Data, September 2026
Beauty Schools in Virginia, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
16 accredited institutions in Virginia 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 Virginia, the median graduate needs 8.1 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $13,292, against median earnings of $16,462 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 Institute of Advanced Medical Esthetics in Ashland, at 3.0 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Virginia institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about beauty schools in Virginia
The Ranking
16 beauty schools in Virginia, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Institute of Advanced Medical EstheticsAshland, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 3.0 | $6,944 | $27,490 | 100% |
| 2 | The Chrysm Institute of EstheticsVirginia Beach, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 3.7 | $7,333 | $23,974 | 81% |
| 3 | The Esthetic InstituteVienna, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 4.6 | $11,208 | $29,301 | 88% |
| 4 | Eastern Virginia Career CollegeFredericksburg, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 4.8 | $7,917 | $19,612 | 66% |
| 5 | Avi Career Trainingvienna, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 4.9 | $6,333 | $15,607 | 86% |
| 6 | Culpeper Cosmetology Training CenterCulpeper, VA | Public | Certificate | 7.5 | $13,666 | $21,937 | 88% |
| 7 | Paul Mitchell the School-RoanokeRoanoke, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 8.0 | $13,833 | $20,761 | 59% |
| 8 | Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Lafayette-ArlingtonArlington, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 8.0 | $9,557 | $14,397 | n/a |
| 9 | Sylvain Melloul International Hair AcademyLynchburg, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 8.2 | $10,757 | $15,812 | 50% |
| 10 | Rudy & Kelly Academy A Paul Mitchell Partner SchoolVirginia Beach, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 9.7 | $16,184 | $20,028 | 73% |
| 11 | Empire Beauty School-MidlothianMidlothian, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 10.4 | $13,583 | $15,679 | 44% |
| 12 | Empire Beauty School-RichmondRichmond, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 10.4 | $13,583 | $15,679 | 39% |
| 13 | Empire Beauty School-Newport NewsNewport News, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 10.4 | $13,583 | $15,679 | 50% |
| 14 | Empire Beauty School-Virginia BeachVirginia Beach, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 11.6 | $16,500 | $17,113 | 37% |
| 15 | Tomorrow’s Image Barber And Beauty Academy of VirginiaNewport News, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 13.5 | $13,000 | $11,572 | 46% |
| 16 | Another Level Barbering and Cosmetology SchoolPetersburg, VA | for-profit | Certificate | 17.2 | $16,500 | $11,506 | 100% |
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 Virginia, one by one
Institute of Advanced Medical Esthetics
Ashland, VA
Institute of Advanced Medical Esthetics is a private for-profit institution in Ashland. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,944 and report median earnings of $27,490 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.0 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 5.1 months faster than the Virginia state median of 8.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 100% completion rate.
The Chrysm Institute of Esthetics
Virginia Beach, VA
The Chrysm Institute of Esthetics is a private for-profit institution in Virginia Beach. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $7,333 and report median earnings of $23,974 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.7 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 4.4 months faster than the Virginia state median of 8.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 81% completion rate.
The Esthetic Institute
Vienna, VA
The Esthetic Institute is a private for-profit institution in Vienna. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $11,208 and report median earnings of $29,301 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.6 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 3.5 months faster than the Virginia state median of 8.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 88% completion rate.
Eastern Virginia Career College
Fredericksburg, VA
Eastern Virginia Career College is a private for-profit institution in Fredericksburg. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $7,917 and report median earnings of $19,612 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.8 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 3.3 months faster than the Virginia state median of 8.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 66% completion rate.
Avi Career Training
vienna, VA
Avi Career Training is a private for-profit institution in vienna. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,333 and report median earnings of $15,607 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.9 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 3.2 months faster than the Virginia state median of 8.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 86% 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 Virginia
Comparing a different trade in Virginia
For VIRGINIA School Operators
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