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Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

2023 Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

1 College
$18,350 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$16,507 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Cosmetology Associate Degree School for You

Cosmetology is the most popular major in the United States with 14,178 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022.

Today's trade school students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Trade College Search has created the Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to help you in your search for the best school for you.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

The following school tops our list of the Best Value Cosmetology Associate Degree Colleges.

Best Cosmetology Associate Degree School

#1

Douglas Education Center

Monessen, PA

Our analysis found Douglas Education Center to be the best value school for cosmetology students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Middle Atlantic Region . Douglas Education Center is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the small suburb of Monessen.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Douglas Education Center are $18,350 per year. Cosmetology majors at Douglas Education Center take out an average of $13,976 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $503.

Full Cosmetology at Douglas Education Center Report

Best Cosmetology Colleges by State

Explore the best cosmetology schools for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 5,055
Pennsylvania 3,378
New Jersey 2,419
Maryland 1,103
Delaware 343
District of Columbia 160

One of 4 majors within the trade school area of study, cosmetology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Cosmetology Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Cosmetology/Cosmetologist 50,210
Aesthetician/Esthetician & Skin Care Specialist 40,040
Nail Technician/Specialist & Manicurist 13,960
Barbering/Barber 9,893
Facial Treatment Specialist/Facialist 2,907
Other Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Arts 2,184
Master Aesthetician/Esthetician 1,729
Hair Styling/Stylist & Hair Design 1,238
Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, & Nail Instructor 1,230
Make-Up Artist/Specialist 440
Electrolysis/Electrology & Electrolysis Technician 354
Salon/Beauty Salon Management/Manager 336
Permanent Cosmetics/Makeup & Tattooing 90

Related Major Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts 22,075
Funeral & Mortuary Science 2,186
Casino Operations and Services 385
Other Personal & Culinary Services 95

Notes and References

*These values are for the top school only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Tiffany Bumgardner.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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