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2022 Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California

9 Ranked Colleges
160 Degrees Awarded
$5,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Cosmetology is the 238th most popular major in the country with 95,609 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, cosmetology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $15,675 and had an average of $10,029 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 11,351 cosmetology graduates with average earnings and debt of $15,158 and $8,832 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 160 cosmetology graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,451 and $19,634 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in cosmetology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great cosmetology programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the cosmetology program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California.

Top 9 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Cosmetology in California

#1

Citrus College

Glendora, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Citrus College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California list. Citrus College is a fairly large public school situated in Glendora, California. It awarded 17 associates’s cosmetology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Citrus College, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Citrus College is $2,751 for california associate degree cosmetology students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Citrus College Cosmetology Report

#2

Golden West College

Huntington Beach, California

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Golden West College landed the #2 spot on the list. Golden West College is a fairly large public school situated in Huntington Beach, California. It awarded 16 associates’s cosmetology degrees in 2019-2020.

Golden West College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Golden West College is $2,862 for california associate degree cosmetology students.

Read full report on Cosmetology at Golden West College

#3

Los Angeles Trade Technical College

Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Los Angeles Trade Technical College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California list. Los Angeles Trade Technical College is a fairly large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 8 associates’s cosmetology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california associate degree cosmetology students list, Los Angeles Trade Technical College has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $6,907 for california associate degree cosmetology students per year to attend Los Angeles Trade Technical College.

Read full report on Cosmetology at Los Angeles Trade Technical College

#4

San Diego City College

San Diego, California
#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Diego City College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California. Located in San Diego, California, this fairly large public school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified associates’s cosmetology students in 2019-2020.

San Diego City College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $5,082 for California Associate Degree Cosmetology students per year to attend San Diego City College.

Full San Diego City College Cosmetology Report

#5

Riverside City College

Riverside, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Riverside City College. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California list. Riverside City College is a large public school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 12 associates’s cosmetology degrees in 2019-2020.

Riverside City College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Riverside City College is $4,620 for california associate degree cosmetology students.

Read full report on Cosmetology at Riverside City College

#6

College of San Mateo

San Mateo, California

College of San Mateo came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California ranking. CSM is a medium-sized public school situated in San Mateo, California. It awarded 3 associates’s cosmetology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSM, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $1,239 for california associate degree cosmetology students per year to attend CSM.

Read full report on Cosmetology at College of San Mateo

#7

Sacramento City College

Sacramento, California

Sacramento City College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California ranking, coming in at #7. Sacramento, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s cosmetology degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california associate degree cosmetology students list, Sacramento City has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $4,835 for california associate degree cosmetology students per year to attend Sacramento City College.

Read more about Cosmetology at Sacramento City

#8

Laney College

Oakland, California
#6 in overall quality

Laney College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California ranking. Oakland, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s cosmetology degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

Laney College also took the #6 spot in our “Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $11,977 for California Associate Degree Cosmetology students per year to attend Laney College.

Read more about Cosmetology at Laney College

#9

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara, California

With a ranking of #9, Santa Barbara City College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Cosmetology Schools for an Associate in California list. SBCC is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 3 associates’s cosmetology degrees in 2019-2020.

SBCC also made our “Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend Santa Barbara City College is $7,556 for california associate degree cosmetology students.

Read full report on Cosmetology at Santa Barbara City College

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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