COSMETOLOGY SCHOOLS IN MARYLAND — Federal Data, September 2026
Cosmetology Schools in Maryland, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
14 accredited institutions in Maryland 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 Maryland, the median graduate needs 8.6 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $12,760, against median earnings of $16,624 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 Cortiva Institute in Linthicum, at 4.6 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Maryland institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about cosmetology schools in Maryland
The Ranking
14 cosmetology schools in Maryland, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cortiva InstituteLinthicum, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 4.6 | $7,917 | $20,754 | 70% |
| 2 | Aveda Institute-MarylandBel Air, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 7.2 | $9,833 | $16,394 | 97% |
| 3 | The Temple-A Paul Mitchell Partner SchoolFrederick, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 7.2 | $12,583 | $20,844 | 89% |
| 4 | The Temple Annapolis-A Paul Mitchell Partner SchoolAnnapolis, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 7.2 | $12,583 | $20,844 | 85% |
| 5 | Del-Mar-Va Beauty AcademySalisbury, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 7.9 | $13,550 | $20,694 | 40% |
| 6 | Montgomery Beauty SchoolSilver Spring, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 8.3 | $12,937 | $18,623 | 50% |
| 7 | Montgomery Beauty School-Baltimore Beauty & Barber SchoolBaltimore, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 8.3 | $12,937 | $18,623 | 51% |
| 8 | Award Beauty SchoolHagerstown, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 8.9 | $11,015 | $14,771 | 65% |
| 9 | Baltimore Beauty & Barber School IITimonium, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 8.9 | $11,015 | $14,771 | n/a |
| 10 | Hair AcademyNew Carrollton, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 9.3 | $13,000 | $16,819 | 61% |
| 11 | Empire Beauty School-Owings MillsOwings Mills, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 9.9 | $13,583 | $16,429 | 39% |
| 12 | Empire Beauty School-Glen BurnieGlen Burnie, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 9.9 | $13,583 | $16,429 | 36% |
| 13 | Maryland Beauty Academy of EssexBaltimore, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 10.6 | $11,500 | $13,002 | 75% |
| 14 | Aspen Beauty Academy of LaurelLaurel, MD | for-profit | Certificate | 17.9 | $16,500 | $11,038 | 47% |
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 Maryland, one by one
Cortiva Institute
Linthicum, MD
Cortiva Institute is a private for-profit institution in Linthicum. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $7,917 and report median earnings of $20,754 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.6 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 4.0 months faster than the Maryland state median of 8.6. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 70% completion rate.
Aveda Institute-Maryland
Bel Air, MD
Aveda Institute-Maryland is a private for-profit institution in Bel Air. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,833 and report median earnings of $16,394 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 7.2 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 1.4 months faster than the Maryland state median of 8.6. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 97% completion rate.
The Temple-A Paul Mitchell Partner School
Frederick, MD
The Temple-A Paul Mitchell Partner School is a private for-profit institution in Frederick. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,583 and report median earnings of $20,844 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 7.2 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 1.4 months faster than the Maryland state median of 8.6. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 89% completion rate.
The Temple Annapolis-A Paul Mitchell Partner School
Annapolis, MD
The Temple Annapolis-A Paul Mitchell Partner School is a private for-profit institution in Annapolis. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,583 and report median earnings of $20,844 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 7.2 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 1.4 months faster than the Maryland state median of 8.6. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 85% completion rate.
Del-Mar-Va Beauty Academy
Salisbury, MD
Del-Mar-Va Beauty Academy is a private for-profit institution in Salisbury. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $13,550 and report median earnings of $20,694 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 7.9 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.7 months faster than the Maryland state median of 8.6. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 40% 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 Maryland
Comparing a different trade in Maryland
For MARYLAND School Operators
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