Accredited beauty schools by state
637 beauty programs at accredited schools, approved for WIOA funding
That is 61% of the 1,043 beauty programs that states have approved for workforce funding. The schools are on the US Department of Education's list of accredited schools. The Department doesn't accredit schools itself: it reviews accrediting agencies and lists the ones it recognizes as reliable judges of the quality of the education they accredit.1
WIOA funding doesn't require accreditation: besides colleges, a state can approve other public and private training providers.2 Funding comes through your own state's list, so pick your state below.
Beauty school by state, accredited or not, with costs and results
Accredited beauty schools in each state
- Arizona13accredited schools, 27 programs
- California19accredited schools, 45 programs
- Colorado6accredited schools, 15 programs
- Iowa10accredited schools, 24 programs
- Michigan8accredited schools, 17 programs
- Minnesota12accredited schools, 45 programs
- Missouri8accredited schools, 15 programs
- Nevada9accredited schools, 27 programs
- New Jersey7accredited schools, 11 programs
- North Carolina18accredited schools, 35 programs
- Ohio30accredited schools, 54 programs
- Puerto Rico11accredited schools, 52 programs
- Tennessee20accredited schools, 32 programs
- Utah9accredited schools, 15 programs
- Washington22accredited schools, 90 programs
- West Virginia6accredited schools, 11 programs
- Wisconsin15accredited schools, 27 programs
Fewer than 5 accredited schools, so no page of their own: Arkansas (2), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), Florida (1), Georgia (4), Hawaii (1), Illinois (4), Indiana (2), Kansas (1), Kentucky (2), Louisiana (2), Maine (2), Maryland (3), Massachusetts (3), Mississippi (1), Montana (1), New York (4), North Dakota (2), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (3), Rhode Island (4), South Dakota (2), Texas (1), Vermont (1), Virginia (2), Wyoming (2). Their programs are on each field's state page, with an "Accredited school" filter.
Accredited beauty programs by field
- Cosmetology school243of 355 programs at accredited schools
- Esthetician school172of 264 programs at accredited schools
- Nail tech school119of 191 programs at accredited schools
- Barber school103of 233 programs at accredited schools
Programs approved for WIOA funding in any state. Fields with a link have a page of accredited programs by state.
How the accredited beauty and personal care schools were found
Which programs are counted?
Programs that states approved for WIOA funding, from the US Department of Labor's file for program year 2024 (July 2024 to June 2025).3 The two lists share no ID number, so we matched each school by its website and name in the same state, and checked every unclear case by hand. A school that only hosts a college's classes doesn't count as the college.
How current is the accreditation?
We read the Department's list of October 24, 2026 and count only current accreditation. The Department notes that agencies report this information, that it isn't audited, and that the agency itself has the latest status.1
Sources for the accreditation facts about beauty programs
Show the 3 sourcesHide the sources
- US Department of Education, Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), data files of 2026-10-24
- 20 CFR 680.410, What is an eligible training provider? (eCFR)
- US Department of Labor, Training and Employment Guidance Letter 8-19, Attachment I: Requirements for Training Providers, Program Eligibility, and the State Eligible Training Provider (ETP) List