Best Manicurist programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment
Clean and shape customers' fingernails and toenails.
22 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 946 people a year. The job pays a median of $45,310 in Kentucky across about 240 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Kentucky page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 12.0401In Kentucky → | 859 | 90.8% | 22 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
| 2 | CIP 12.0410In Kentucky → | 87 | 9.2% | 6 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
Top 22 schools in Kentucky
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 16 of the 22 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PJ's College of Cosmetology - Bowling Green Bowling Green, KY Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 97 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $21,439 | 64% | $21,241 | — |
| 2 | Paul Mitchell the School - Louisville Louisville, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 91 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $20,033 | 73% | $28,293 | — |
| 3 | Employment Solutions - College for Technical Education Lexington, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 81 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $13,117 | 63% | $19,115 | — |
| 4 | Empire Beauty School - Florence Florence, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 72 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $18,408 | 75% | $17,082 | — |
| 5 | Paul Mitchell the School - Lexington Lexington, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 66 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $18,950 | 79% | $23,450 | — |
| 6 | Empire Beauty School - Elizabethtown Elizabethtown, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 58 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $15,322 | 51% | $17,826 | — |
| 7 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 57 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $12,486 | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
| 8 | Somerset Community College Somerset, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 53 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $11,565 | 43% | — | — |
| 9 | Summit Salon Academy - Lexington Lexington, KY Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 52 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $16,679 | 55% | $14,224 | 81% |
| 10 | Empire Beauty School - Dixie Louisville, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $16,251 | 52% | $16,943 | — |
| 11 | Empire Beauty School - Chenoweth Louisville, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $15,679 | 57% | $15,472 | — |
| 12 | Lindsey Institute of Cosmetology Bowling Green, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $12,627 | 83% | $14,227 | — |
| 13 | Edge Academy of Beauty Manchester, KY Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 28 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | — | $15,081 | — |
| 14 | West Kentucky Community and Technical College Paducah, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $14,110 | 50% | — | — |
| 15 | Ashland Community and Technical College Ashland, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 51% | — | — |
| 16 | Appalachian Beauty School Belfry, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $5,973 | 56% | $14,128 | — |
| 17 | Hazard Community and Technical College Hazard, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 48% | — | — |
| 18 | PJ's College of Cosmetology - Glasgow Glasgow, KY Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 20 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $10,936 | 67% | $19,420 | — |
| 19 | Berea Beauty Academy Berea, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Bluegrass Community and Technical College Lexington, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 43% | — | — |
| 21 | South Eastern Beauty Academy Paintsville, KY Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 41% | — | — |
| 22 | Regina Webb Academy Bowling Green, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $15,757 | 100% | $17,412 | — |
All 22 schools in Kentucky
Every school in Kentucky with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PJ's College of Cosmetology - Bowling Green | Bowling Green | Private for-profit | 97 | 2 |
| Paul Mitchell the School - Louisville | Louisville | Private for-profit | 91 | 1 |
| Employment Solutions - College for Technical Education | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 81 | 2 |
| Empire Beauty School - Florence | Florence | Private for-profit | 72 | 1 |
| Paul Mitchell the School - Lexington | Lexington | Private for-profit | 66 | 1 |
| Empire Beauty School - Elizabethtown | Elizabethtown | Private for-profit | 58 | 1 |
| Campbellsville University | Campbellsville | Private not-for-profit | 57 | 1 |
| Somerset Community College | Somerset | Public | 53 | 1 |
| Summit Salon Academy - Lexington | Lexington | Private for-profit | 52 | 2 |
| Empire Beauty School - Dixie | Louisville | Private for-profit | 49 | 1 |
| Empire Beauty School - Chenoweth | Louisville | Private for-profit | 44 | 1 |
| Lindsey Institute of Cosmetology | Bowling Green | Private for-profit | 35 | 1 |
| Edge Academy of Beauty | Manchester | Private for-profit | 28 | 2 |
| West Kentucky Community and Technical College | Paducah | Public | 26 | 1 |
| Ashland Community and Technical College | Ashland | Public | 24 | 1 |
What manicurists and pedicurists earn in Kentucky
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $35,760. Kentucky pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Kentucky
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Manicurists and Pedicurists page.
How to become a Manicurist
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Kentucky
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Manicurists and Pedicurists2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 12.0401Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General
- 12.0410Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist
Common questions
Answers for people weighing manicurists and pedicurists programs in Kentucky.
What degree do you need to become a Manicurist?+
Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General, which awarded 859 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 90.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Manicurist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services. Together they graduate about 946 people a year in Kentucky.
How much do manicurists and pedicurists earn in Kentucky?+
The median is $45,310 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 26.7% above the U.S. median of $35,760. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for manicurists and pedicurists growing?+
BLS projects a +7.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 24,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+
22 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do manicurists and pedicurists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Manicurist, Pedicurist, Nail Technician (Nail Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 39-5092.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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