Best Manicurist programs in Mississippi, ranked by enrollment
Clean and shape customers' fingernails and toenails.
26 schools in Mississippi run programs that feed this job, graduating 800 people a year. The job pays a median of $37,300 in Mississippi across about 520 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Mississippi that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in Mississippi that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Mississippi (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 Mississippi page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 12.0401In Mississippi → | 730 | 91.2% | 26 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
| 2 | CIP 12.0410In Mississippi → | 70 | 8.8% | 5 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
Top 25 schools in Mississippi
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 19 of the 26 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delta Technical College - Mississippi Horn Lake, MS Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 141 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $15,576 | 71% | $18,202 | — |
| 2 | Coahoma Community College Clarksdale, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 71 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $13,615 | 41% | — | — |
| 3 | Chris Beauty College Gulfport, MS Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 65 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $14,801 | 88% | $17,972 | — |
| 4 | Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Perkinston, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 48% | — | — |
| 5 | Northwest Mississippi Community College Senatobia, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $17,660 | 45% | — | — |
| 6 | KC's School of Hair Design Pontotoc, MS Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 36 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $13,206 | 95% | $10,877 | — |
| 7 | East Mississippi Community College Scooba, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $12,128 | 48% | — | — |
| 8 | Unlimited Cosmetology School Hattiesburg, MS Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 31 | Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist | — | 54% | $18,963 | — |
| 9 | Hatfield's Mississippi College of Beauty Culture Laurel, MS Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $15,880 | 71% | $33,969 | — |
| 10 | Corinth Academy of Cosmetology Corinth, MS Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 27 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $14,608 | 42% | $23,215 | — |
| 11 | Mississippi Institute of Aesthetics Nails & Cosmetology Clinton, MS Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $15,875 | 67% | $10,770 | — |
| 12 | Southwest Mississippi Community College Summit, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 56% | — | — |
| 13 | Meridian Community College Meridian, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $17,559 | 34% | — | — |
| 14 | Academy of Hair Design - Pearl Pearl, MS Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $15,440 | 83% | $20,326 | — |
| 15 | Blue Cliff College - Gulfport Gulfport, MS Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $15,719 | 70% | $25,264 | — |
| 16 | Vaughn Beauty College Aberdeen, MS Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 20 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 44% | $8,752 | — |
| 17 | Copiah - Lincoln Community College Wesson, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 50% | — | — |
| 18 | Traxlers School of Hair Jackson, MS Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $9,525 | 100% | $10,837 | — |
| 19 | East Central Community College Decatur, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 36% | — | — |
| 20 | Jones County Junior College Ellisville, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $10,046 | 41% | — | — |
| 21 | Pearl River Community College Poplarville, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $7,580 | 37% | — | — |
| 22 | The Academy of Hair Design Six Hattiesburg, MS Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $13,776 | 100% | $19,488 | — |
| 23 | Hinds Community College Raymond, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $17,704 | 43% | — | — |
| 24 | Academy of Hair Design - Grenada Grenada, MS Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $13,348 | 89% | $20,493 | — |
| 25 | Holmes Community College Goodman, MS Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $13,865 | 39% | — | — |
All 26 schools in Mississippi
Every school in Mississippi 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Technical College - Mississippi | Horn Lake | Private for-profit | 141 | 1 |
| Coahoma Community College | Clarksdale | Public | 71 | 1 |
| Chris Beauty College | Gulfport | Private for-profit | 65 | 2 |
| Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College | Perkinston | Public | 40 | 1 |
| Northwest Mississippi Community College | Senatobia | Public | 37 | 1 |
| KC's School of Hair Design | Pontotoc | Private for-profit | 36 | 2 |
| East Mississippi Community College | Scooba | Public | 34 | 1 |
| Unlimited Cosmetology School | Hattiesburg | Private for-profit | 31 | 2 |
| Hatfield's Mississippi College of Beauty Culture | Laurel | Private for-profit | 28 | 1 |
| Corinth Academy of Cosmetology | Corinth | Private for-profit | 27 | 2 |
| Mississippi Institute of Aesthetics Nails & Cosmetology | Clinton | Private for-profit | 27 | 1 |
| Southwest Mississippi Community College | Summit | Public | 26 | 1 |
| Meridian Community College | Meridian | Public | 24 | 1 |
| Academy of Hair Design - Pearl | Pearl | Private for-profit | 23 | 1 |
| Blue Cliff College - Gulfport | Gulfport | Private for-profit | 23 | 1 |
What manicurists and pedicurists earn in Mississippi
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $35,760. Mississippi pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Mississippi
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 Mississippi
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 Mississippi.
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 730 degrees in Mississippi in 2024-25, 91.2% 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 800 people a year in Mississippi.
How much do manicurists and pedicurists earn in Mississippi?+
The median is $37,300 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.3% 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 Mississippi?+
26 institutions in Mississippi 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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