Best 49 Cosmetology Schools in California (2022)
Discover the best cosmetology schools in California, as ranked by the Beauty Schools Directory team with the latest data available in 2022.
Top Cosmetology Schools in California
#1 - Cosmo Beauty Academy
#2 - Diamond Beauty College
#3 - J D Academy of Salon and Spa
#4 - Advance Beauty College
#5 - Santa Ana Beauty Academy
Top Cosmetology Schools in California (Full List)
#1
Sacramento, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
98.6%
#2
South El Monte, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
93.7%
#3
J D Academy of Salon and Spa
Danville, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
93.5%
#4
Garden Grove, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
92.1%
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
92%
#6
Asian-American International Beauty College
Westminster, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
90.9%
#7
Fountain Valley, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
89.9%
#8
Sacramento, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
89.7%
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
89.7%
#10
Palomar Institute of Cosmetology
San Marcos, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
89.3%
#11
Los Angeles, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
88.7%
#12
Hacienda La Puente Adult Education
La Puente, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
87.8%
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
87.3%
#14
Santa Ana, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
86.1%
#15
Redondo Beach Beauty College
Redondo Beach, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
86%
#16
Paul Mitchell the School-Pasadena
Pasadena, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
85.9%
#17
Salon Success Academy-Corona
Corona, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
83.8%
#18
International College of Beauty Arts & Sciences
Los Angeles, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
83.1%
#19
Paul Mitchell the School-Costa Mesa
Costa Mesa, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
83.1%
#20
Citrus Heights Beauty College
Citrus Heights, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
83%
#21
Lytles Redwood Empire Beauty College Inc
Santa Rosa, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
82.6%
#22
Academy for Salon Professionals
Northridge, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
81.9%
#23
Bakersfield, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
81.4%
#24
Lancaster, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
81.4%
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
81%
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
80.6%
#27
Federico Beauty Institute
Sacramento, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
80.2%
#28
San Francisco Institute of Esthetics & Cosmetology Inc
San Francisco, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
79.6%
#29
Garden Grove, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
78.2%
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
77.8%
#31
Roseville, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
77.1%
#32
Newberry School of Beauty
Granada Hills, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
77.1%
#33
Hinton Barber and Beauty College
Vallejo, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
77%
#34
CRU Institute of Cosmetology and Barbering
Garden Grove, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
76.9%
#35
Vacaville, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
76.7%
#36
International School of Beauty Inc
Palm Desert, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
76.6%
#37
Shasta School of Cosmetology
Redding, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
76.5%
#38
Fredrick and Charles Beauty College
Eureka, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
76.2%
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
76.2%
#40
Baldwin Park Adult & Community Education
Baldwin Park, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
76%
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
76%
#42
Salon Success Academy-Upland
Upland, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
75.2%
#43
Professional Institute of Beauty
El Monte, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
75.1%
#44
Paul Mitchell the School-Fresno
Fresno, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
75.1%
#45
Adrian's College of Beauty Turlock
Turlock, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
74.5%
#46
San Francisco, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
74.3%
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
73.9%
#48
Paul Mitchell the School-Sacramento
Sacramento, California
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
73.4%
3-Year Average Graduation Rate
2018 – 2020 average:
73.4%
How We Ranked California Cosmetology Programs
The cosmetology schools ranked are accredited or state-approved to provide cosmetology programming according to the licensing requirements in the state. We researched schools that qualified as Title IV institutions and had an average of at least 25 students enrolled in the most recent 3 academic years of available data (2018 - 2020). These schools are all within 50 miles of a major city center and had a weighted 3-year average graduation rate (2018, 2019, and 2020) greater than 50%. After filtering for those requirements, we sorted the remaining programs by the highest weighted average graduation rate to determine the top 49 cosmetology schools in California.
Graduation rate and student enrollment data are from the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) reports. Schools with key data points missing from IPEDS reports may be omitted from the ranking, as are schools with data that is unattributable to its beauty programs. Many excellent educational institutions—including community colleges—offering a wide variety of vocational programs may, as a result, not be represented on these rankings of top beauty schools.
Editorial Transparency and Anti-Bias Statement
This program ranking and others on our site were created by Beauty Schools Directory editorial staff based on both proprietary and publicly available data. In providing this information for our readers, our team makes editorial decisions independent from any commercial partnerships with any educational institution.
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