COSMETOLOGY SCHOOLS IN ARIZONA — Federal Data, September 2026
Cosmetology Schools in Arizona, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
17 accredited institutions in Arizona 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 17 ranked programs in Arizona, the median graduate needs 5.5 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $9,500, against median earnings of $21,496 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 Alturas Cosmetology of Arizona LLC in Chandler, at 3.4 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Arizona institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about cosmetology schools in Arizona
The Ranking
17 cosmetology schools in Arizona, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alturas Cosmetology of Arizona LLCChandler, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 3.4 | $6,333 | $22,434 | 77% |
| 2 | Pure Aesthetics Natural Skincare SchoolTucson, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 3.6 | $6,333 | $21,125 | 91% |
| 3 | Penrose AcademyScottsdale, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.1 | $8,043 | $23,700 | 90% |
| 4 | Southwest Institute of Healing ArtsTempe, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.3 | $9,500 | $26,795 | 67% |
| 5 | Avalon Institute-MesaMesa, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.5 | $8,081 | $21,496 | 84% |
| 6 | Avalon Institute-PhoenixPhoenix, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.5 | $8,081 | $21,496 | 80% |
| 7 | Aveda Institute-TucsonTucson, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 5.5 | $10,555 | $23,086 | 82% |
| 8 | Aveda Institute-PhoenixTempe, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 5.5 | $10,555 | $23,086 | 68% |
| 9 | Aveda Institute Tucson-AvondaleAvondale, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 5.5 | $10,555 | $23,086 | n/a |
| 10 | Tucson College of BeautyTucson, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 6.0 | $8,763 | $17,651 | 76% |
| 11 | Turning Point Beauty CollegeChandler, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 6.1 | $7,282 | $14,374 | 86% |
| 12 | Charles of Italy Beauty CollegeLake Havasu City, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 6.9 | $7,000 | $12,179 | 74% |
| 13 | International Barber CollegeChandler, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 8.6 | $16,500 | $22,925 | 43% |
| 14 | Empire Beauty School-AvondaleAvondale, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 8.9 | $13,849 | $18,639 | 53% |
| 15 | Empire Beauty School-TucsonTucson, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 9.9 | $13,583 | $16,429 | 83% |
| 16 | Paul Mitchell the School-PhoenixPhoenix, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 10.0 | $17,667 | $21,139 | 53% |
| 17 | Empire Beauty School-ChandlerChandler, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 10.4 | $13,583 | $15,679 | 71% |
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 Arizona, one by one
Alturas Cosmetology of Arizona LLC
Chandler, AZ
Alturas Cosmetology of Arizona LLC is a private for-profit institution in Chandler. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,333 and report median earnings of $22,434 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.4 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 2.1 months faster than the Arizona state median of 5.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 77% completion rate.
Pure Aesthetics Natural Skincare School
Tucson, AZ
Pure Aesthetics Natural Skincare School is a private for-profit institution in Tucson. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,333 and report median earnings of $21,125 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.6 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 1.9 months faster than the Arizona state median of 5.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 91% completion rate.
Penrose Academy
Scottsdale, AZ
Penrose Academy is a private for-profit institution in Scottsdale. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,043 and report median earnings of $23,700 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.1 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 1.4 months faster than the Arizona state median of 5.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 90% completion rate.
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts
Tempe, AZ
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts is a private for-profit institution in Tempe. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,500 and report median earnings of $26,795 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.3 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 1.2 months faster than the Arizona state median of 5.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 67% completion rate.
Avalon Institute-Mesa
Mesa, AZ
Avalon Institute-Mesa is a private for-profit institution in Mesa. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,081 and report median earnings of $21,496 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.5 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 1.0 months faster than the Arizona state median of 5.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 84% 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 Arizona
Comparing a different trade in Arizona
For ARIZONA School Operators
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