COSMETOLOGY SCHOOLS IN MISSOURI — Federal Data, September 2026
Cosmetology Schools in Missouri, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
15 accredited institutions in Missouri 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 15 ranked programs in Missouri, the median graduate needs 5.9 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $9,833, against median earnings of $20,368 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 House of Heavilin Beauty College-Blue Springs in Blue Springs, at 4.1 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Missouri institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about cosmetology schools in Missouri
The Ranking
15 cosmetology schools in Missouri, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | House of Heavilin Beauty College-Blue SpringsBlue Springs, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 4.1 | $8,049 | $23,309 | 78% |
| 2 | Skin InstituteSaint Louis, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 4.8 | $7,947 | $19,963 | 93% |
| 3 | The Salon Professional Academy-St CharlesSt. Charles, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 5.1 | $9,833 | $23,204 | 92% |
| 4 | Summit Salon Academy Kansas CityIndependence, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 5.2 | $11,981 | $27,878 | 61% |
| 5 | Paul Mitchell the School-Missouri ColumbiaColumbia, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 5.3 | $9,833 | $22,267 | 69% |
| 6 | Paul Mitchell the School-St LouisSt. Louis, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 5.3 | $9,833 | $22,147 | 59% |
| 7 | Paul Mitchell the School-SpringfieldSpringfield, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 5.8 | $9,833 | $20,368 | 80% |
| 8 | Missouri College of Cosmetology and EstheticsJefferson City, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 5.9 | $9,793 | $19,818 | 79% |
| 9 | Academy of Hair Design-SpringfieldSpringfield, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 5.9 | $10,667 | $21,574 | 64% |
| 10 | SPBK Enterprises IncWebb City, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 6.2 | $9,701 | $18,699 | 71% |
| 11 | Academy of Beauty ProfessionalsRaymore, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 6.4 | $9,962 | $18,729 | 82% |
| 12 | Grabber School of Hair DesignSt. Louis, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 6.6 | $12,465 | $22,626 | 73% |
| 13 | Academy of Salon ProfessionalsSedalia, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 7.9 | $9,833 | $14,910 | 67% |
| 14 | Midwest Technical Institute-MissouriSpringfield, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 10.0 | $13,038 | $15,576 | 80% |
| 15 | House of Heavilin Beauty College-Kansas CityKansas City, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 10.9 | $16,500 | $18,100 | 44% |
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 Missouri, one by one
House of Heavilin Beauty College-Blue Springs
Blue Springs, MO
House of Heavilin Beauty College-Blue Springs is a private for-profit institution in Blue Springs. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,049 and report median earnings of $23,309 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.1 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.8 months faster than the Missouri state median of 5.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 78% completion rate.
Skin Institute
Saint Louis, MO
Skin Institute is a private for-profit institution in Saint Louis. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $7,947 and report median earnings of $19,963 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.8 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 1.1 months faster than the Missouri state median of 5.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 93% completion rate.
The Salon Professional Academy-St Charles
St. Charles, MO
The Salon Professional Academy-St Charles is a private for-profit institution in St. Charles. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,833 and report median earnings of $23,204 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.1 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.8 months faster than the Missouri state median of 5.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 92% completion rate.
Summit Salon Academy Kansas City
Independence, MO
Summit Salon Academy Kansas City is a private for-profit institution in Independence. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $11,981 and report median earnings of $27,878 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.2 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 0.7 months faster than the Missouri state median of 5.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 61% completion rate.
Paul Mitchell the School-Missouri Columbia
Columbia, MO
Paul Mitchell the School-Missouri Columbia is a private for-profit institution in Columbia. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,833 and report median earnings of $22,267 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.3 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.6 months faster than the Missouri state median of 5.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 69% 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 Missouri
Comparing a different trade in Missouri
For MISSOURI School Operators
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