COSMETOLOGY SCHOOLS IN MINNESOTA — Federal Data, September 2026
Cosmetology Schools in Minnesota, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
10 accredited institutions in Minnesota 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 10 ranked programs in Minnesota, the median graduate needs 5.2 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $10,084, against median earnings of $24,204 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 Model College of Hair Design in Saint Cloud, at 4.1 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Minnesota institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about cosmetology schools in Minnesota
The Ranking
10 cosmetology schools in Minnesota, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Model College of Hair DesignSaint Cloud, MN | for-profit | Certificate | 4.1 | $8,778 | $25,814 | 61% |
| 2 | Nova Academy of CosmetologyRochester, MN | for-profit | Certificate | 4.7 | $9,999 | $25,754 | 77% |
| 3 | Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute MinneapolisMinneapolis, MN | for-profit | Certificate | 4.9 | $9,941 | $24,230 | 68% |
| 4 | Minnesota State Community and Technical CollegeFergus Falls, MN | Public | Certificate | 5.0 | $10,169 | $24,367 | 47% |
| 5 | Saint Paul CollegeSaint Paul, MN | Public | Certificate | 5.2 | $14,250 | $32,987 | 40% |
| 6 | PCI Academy-PlymouthPlymouth, MN | for-profit | Certificate | 5.2 | $10,570 | $24,178 | 72% |
| 7 | Ridgewater CollegeWillmar, MN | Public | Certificate | 5.4 | $9,750 | $21,574 | 50% |
| 8 | Minnesota West Community and Technical CollegeGranite Falls, MN | Public | Certificate | 5.9 | $8,730 | $17,767 | 52% |
| 9 | Empire Beauty School-BloomingtonBloomington, MN | for-profit | Certificate | 8.9 | $13,849 | $18,639 | 78% |
| 10 | Empire Beauty School-Spring Lake ParkSpring Lake Park, MN | for-profit | Certificate | 10.3 | $15,765 | $18,408 | 52% |
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 Minnesota, one by one
Model College of Hair Design
Saint Cloud, MN
Model College of Hair Design is a private for-profit institution in Saint Cloud. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,778 and report median earnings of $25,814 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.1 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.1 months faster than the Minnesota state median of 5.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 61% completion rate.
Nova Academy of Cosmetology
Rochester, MN
Nova Academy of Cosmetology is a private for-profit institution in Rochester. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,999 and report median earnings of $25,754 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.7 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 0.5 months faster than the Minnesota state median of 5.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 77% completion rate.
Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Minneapolis
Minneapolis, MN
Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Minneapolis is a private for-profit institution in Minneapolis. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,941 and report median earnings of $24,230 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.9 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.3 months faster than the Minnesota state median of 5.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 68% completion rate.
Minnesota State Community and Technical College
Fergus Falls, MN
Minnesota State Community and Technical College is a public institution in Fergus Falls. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $10,169 and report median earnings of $24,367 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.0 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and right on the Minnesota state median of 5.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 47% completion rate.
Saint Paul College
Saint Paul, MN
Saint Paul College is a public institution in Saint Paul. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $14,250 and report median earnings of $32,987 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.2 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and right on the Minnesota state median of 5.2. 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 Minnesota
Comparing a different trade in Minnesota
For MINNESOTA School Operators
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