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2023 Best Value Cosmetology Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Cosmetology Basic Certificate School for You
In 2021-2022, 124,611 degrees and certificates were awarded to cosmetology students, making the major the most popular in the country.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for trade school students. 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 Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 114 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value basic certificate programs for cosmetology students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 25 Best Great Lakes Region Schools for Affordable Quality for an Award Taking Less Than 1 Year in Cosmetology
Our 2023 rankings named Chippewa Valley Technical College the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for cosmetology students working on their basic certificate. CVTC is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Eau Claire.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CVTC are $6,793 a year.
CVTC also claimed a spot on our Best Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Waukesha County Technical College is a great value for cosmetology students working on their basic certificate. WCTC is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Pewaukee.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WCTC are $6,722 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, WCTC also did well on our Best Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Gateway Technical College is a great value for cosmetology students working on their basic certificate. Located in the suburb of Kenosha, Gateway Technical College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Gateway Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,917 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Gateway Technical College also is in the top 15% of our Best Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
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The excellent basic certificate programs at Mid-State Technical College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value cosmetology schools in the Great Lakes Region . Mid-State is a small public school located in the rural area of Wisconsin Rapids.
Mid-State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,850 in tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent basic certificate programs at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value cosmetology schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the rural area of Shell Lake, WITC is a public school with a small student population.
WITC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,624 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, WITC is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
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Fox Valley Technical College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Cosmetology Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Appleton, FVTC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
FVTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,977 in tuition and fees each year.
FVTC also took the #5 spot in our Best Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region rankings.
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Milwaukee Area Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for cosmetology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Milwaukee, MATC is a public college with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MATC are $7,018 per year.
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Northern Michigan University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Cosmetology Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the town of Marquette, Northern Michigan University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Northern Michigan University undergraduate students pay an average of $18,570 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #9, City Colleges of Chicago - Harry S Truman College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for cosmetology students working on their basic certificate. Harry S Truman College is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Chicago.
Harry S Truman College undergraduate students pay an average of $14,430 in tuition and fees each year.
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Educators of Beauty College of Cosmetology-Sterling ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Cosmetology Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the town of Sterling, Educators of Beauty College of Cosmetology-Sterling is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
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With a ranking of #10, Paul Mitchell the School Farmington Hills did quite well on this year’s best value schools for cosmetology students working on their basic certificate. Paul Mitchell the School Farmington Hills is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the small city of Farmington Hills.
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Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Rockford came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cosmetology Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Tricoci RFD is a small private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Rockford.
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Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Peoria landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate cosmetology programs. Tricoci PEO is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Peoria.
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Debutantes School of Cosmetology and Nail Technology came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cosmetology Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Debutantes School of Cosmetology and Nail Technology is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.
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With a ranking of #10, G Skin & Beauty Institute did quite well on this year’s best value schools for cosmetology students working on their basic certificate. Located in the suburb of Oakbrook, Naperville Skin Institute is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
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Summit Salon Academy - Anderson landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate cosmetology programs. Summit Salon Academy Anderson is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Anderson.
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Michigan College of Beauty-Troy did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for cosmetology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Michigan College of Beauty-Troy is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the small city of Troy.
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Paul Mitchell the School Lombard came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cosmetology Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the large suburb of Lombard, Paul Mitchell the School Lombard is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
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Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Indianapolis landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate cosmetology programs. Located in the large suburb of Indianapolis, Tricoci INE is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
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Paul Mitchell the School Michigan did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for cosmetology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the suburb of Sterling Heights, Paul Mitchell the School Michigan is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
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Paul Mitchell the School Grand Rapids did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for cosmetology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Paul Mitchell the School Grand Rapids is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Kentwood.
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Aveda Institute - Madison landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate cosmetology programs. Aveda Institute - Madison is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Madison.
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University of Aesthetics & Cosmetology ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Cosmetology Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Chicago, University of Aesthetics & Cosmetology is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
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Twin City Beauty College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for cosmetology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Twin City Beauty College is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Joseph.
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PJ’s College of Cosmetology-Clarksville ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Cosmetology Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large suburb of Clarksville, PJ's College of Cosmetology-Clarksville is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
Request InformationBest Cosmetology Colleges by State
Explore the best cosmetology schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 2,766 |
| Indiana | 1,897 |
| Wisconsin | 1,320 |
| Ohio | 3,404 |
| Illinois | 3,922 |
Cosmetology Related Majors for Cosmetology
Cosmetology is one of 4 different types of trade school programs to choose from.
Cosmetology Concentrations
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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 averages are for the top 114 schools 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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