COSMETOLOGY SCHOOLS IN WEST VIRGINIA — Federal Data, September 2026
Cosmetology Schools in West Virginia, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
4 accredited institutions in West 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 4 ranked programs in West Virginia, the median graduate needs 7.1 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $9,208, against median earnings of $15,848 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 Clarksburg Beauty Academy and School of Massage Therapy in Clarksburg, at 5.4 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on West Virginia institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about cosmetology schools in West Virginia
The Ranking
4 cosmetology schools in West Virginia, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clarksburg Beauty Academy and School of Massage TherapyClarksburg, WV | for-profit | Certificate | 5.4 | $9,500 | $21,049 | 73% |
| 2 | Huntington School of Beauty CultureHuntington, WV | for-profit | Certificate | 7.0 | $6,906 | $11,915 | 100% |
| 3 | Charleston School of Beauty CultureCharleston, WV | for-profit | Certificate | 7.2 | $8,916 | $14,910 | 70% |
| 4 | International Beauty SchoolMartinsburg, WV | for-profit | Certificate | 8.6 | $12,000 | $16,785 | 83% |
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 West Virginia, one by one
Clarksburg Beauty Academy and School of Massage Therapy
Clarksburg, WV
Clarksburg Beauty Academy and School of Massage Therapy is a private for-profit institution in Clarksburg. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $9,500 and report median earnings of $21,049 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.4 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.7 months faster than the West Virginia state median of 7.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 73% completion rate.
Huntington School of Beauty Culture
Huntington, WV
Huntington School of Beauty Culture is a private for-profit institution in Huntington. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,906 and report median earnings of $11,915 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 7.0 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and right on the West Virginia state median of 7.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 100% completion rate.
Charleston School of Beauty Culture
Charleston, WV
Charleston School of Beauty Culture is a private for-profit institution in Charleston. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,916 and report median earnings of $14,910 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 7.2 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and right on the West Virginia state median of 7.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 70% completion rate.
International Beauty School
Martinsburg, WV
International Beauty School is a private for-profit institution in Martinsburg. Its cosmetology graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,000 and report median earnings of $16,785 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 8.6 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 1.5 months slower than the West Virginia state median of 7.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 83% completion rate.
Read It Carefully
What this ranking does not measure
With only 4 institutions publishable here, this page is a short list by construction. It is not a directory of every school in West Virginia: many programs, especially at institutions that do not take federal student aid, never appear in this data at all.
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 West Virginia
Comparing a different trade in West Virginia
For WEST VIRGINIA School Operators
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