Missouri·Personal Care and Service Occupations·SOC 39-5011

Best Barber programs in Missouri, ranked by enrollment

Provide barbering services, such as cutting, trimming, shampooing, and styling hair; trimming beards; or giving.

13 schools in Missouri run programs that feed this job, graduating 225 people a year. The job pays a median of $47,880 in Missouri across about 580 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledBarberStylistBarber StylistBarber Shop OperatorHair CutterHairstylistLicensed BarberTonsorial Artist
Graduates / yr
225
in Missouri
Median pay · Missouri
$47,880
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
580
people employed
Schools
13
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
72%
across those schools
Median net price
$16,487
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Missouri that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

2 programs in Missouri that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Missouri (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 Missouri page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 12.0402In Missouri
190
84.4%
9$17,113$10,000
2
CIP 12.0413In Missouri
35
15.6%
7$17,113$10,000

Top 13 schools in Missouri

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 8 of the 13 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Academy of Hair Design - Springfield
Springfield, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
90Barbering/Barber$21,57464%$17,700
2Paul Mitchell the School - Springfield
Springfield, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
41Barbering/Barber$20,36880%$16,487
3Paul Mitchell the School - Missouri Columbia
Columbia, MO Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
31Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor$22,26769%$17,586
4Trend Setters School
Cape Girardeau, MO Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
18Barbering/Barber74%$9,460
5Missouri College of Cosmetology and Esthetics
Jefferson City, MO Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
16Barbering/Barber$19,81879%$18,879
6Ea La Mar's Cosmetology & Barber College
Kansas City, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
12Barbering/Barber80%$29,747
7House of Heavilin Beauty College - Kansas City
Kansas City, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Barbering/Barber$18,10044%$24,618
8Renaissance Beauty Academy
Cape Girardeau, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Barbering/Barber88%$11,600
9Academy of Salon Professionals
Sedalia, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Barbering/Barber$14,91067%$15,071
10Central College of Cosmetology
Saint Robert, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor69%$8,543
11House of Heavilin Beauty College - Blue Springs
Blue Springs, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor$23,30978%$22,229
12SPBK Enterprises Inc
Webb City, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor$18,69971%$13,182
13Neosho Beauty and Barber College
Neosho, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor74%$9,221

All 13 schools in Missouri

Every school in Missouri 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.

All schools in Missouri that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Academy of Hair Design - SpringfieldSpringfieldPrivate for-profit901
Paul Mitchell the School - SpringfieldSpringfieldPrivate for-profit411
Paul Mitchell the School - Missouri ColumbiaColumbiaPrivate for-profit312
Trend Setters SchoolCape GirardeauPrivate for-profit182
Missouri College of Cosmetology and EstheticsJefferson CityPrivate for-profit162
Ea La Mar's Cosmetology & Barber CollegeKansas CityPrivate for-profit121
House of Heavilin Beauty College - Kansas CityKansas CityPrivate for-profit51
Renaissance Beauty AcademyCape GirardeauPrivate for-profit31
Academy of Salon ProfessionalsSedaliaPrivate for-profit21
Central College of CosmetologySaint RobertPrivate for-profit21
House of Heavilin Beauty College - Blue SpringsBlue SpringsPrivate for-profit21
SPBK Enterprises IncWebb CityPrivate for-profit21
Neosho Beauty and Barber CollegeNeoshoPrivate for-profit11

What barbers earn in Missouri

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Missouri
$47,880
Mean annual
$55,900
Jobs in state
580
What the range looks like
10th pct$36,710Median$47,88090th pct$80,950
Versus the national median
+25.3%

U.S. median $38,210. Missouri pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
2.05×

Concentrated here: Missouri employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Missouri

St. Louis, MO-IL
$57,960median
260 jobs
Springfield, MO
$56,580median
100 jobs
Kansas City, MO-KS
$42,210median
120 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+4.1%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
8,400
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
3,100
76,000 → 79,200
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award

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 Barbers page.

How to become a Barber

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Active ListeningSpeakingMonitoringCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Missouri

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 4 majors mapped to Barbers4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 12.0402Barbering/Barber
  • 12.0407Hair Styling/Stylist and Hair Design
  • 12.0412Salon/Beauty Salon Management/Manager
  • 12.0413Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor

Common questions

Answers for people weighing barbers programs in Missouri.

What degree do you need to become a Barber?+

Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Barbering/Barber, which awarded 190 degrees in Missouri in 2024-25, 84.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Barber?+

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 225 people a year in Missouri.

How much do barbers earn in Missouri?+

The median is $47,880 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 25.3% above the U.S. median of $38,210. 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 barbers growing?+

BLS projects a +4.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 8,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Missouri?+

13 institutions in Missouri 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 barbers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Barber, Stylist, Barber Stylist, Barber Shop Operator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 39-5011.

Programs in MissouriBarbering/Barber

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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