2025 Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in Washington

If you plan on getting your associate degree in cosmetology, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #81 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools in Washington to determine which ones were the best for cosmetology students pursuing a associate degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 101 associate degrees in cosmetology during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Early-Career Earnings

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on cosmetology students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other cosmetology students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for cosmetology to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized cosmetology related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for cosmetology students working on their associate degree.

More Ways to Rank Cosmetology Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Cosmetology Associate Degree Schools in Washington list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Cosmetology in Washington

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in cosmetology.

Top Washington Schools for an Associate in Cosmetology

1

Clover Park Technical College
Lakewood, WA

70 Annual Graduates

$19,389 Median Starting Salary

Clover Park Technical College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting an associate degree in cosmetology. CPTC is a small public college located in the small city of Lakewood.

After graduating, cosmetology associate recipients generally make about $19,389 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a associate in cosmetology from Clover Park Technical College

2

Spokane Community College
Spokane, WA

16 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Spokane Community College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in cosmetology. Spokane Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the medium-sized city of Spokane.More information about a associate in cosmetology from Spokane Community College

Best Cosmetology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Cosmetology Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
California	192	196
Oregon	147	11
Hawaii	59	20

View All Rankings >

Cosmetology Related Rankings by Major

One of 4 majors within the Personal & Culinary Services area of study, Cosmetology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Cosmetology Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
General Cosmetology/Cosmetologist	54
Aesthetician/Esthetician & Skin Care Specialist	44
Barbering/Barber	3

Most Popular Majors Related to Cosmetology

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts	149
Funeral & Mortuary Science	21

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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.