Best Barber programs in Texas, ranked by enrollment
Provide barbering services, such as cutting, trimming, shampooing, and styling hair; trimming beards; or giving.
63 schools in Texas run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,696 people a year. The job pays a median of $30,760 in Texas across about 2,580 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Texas that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
3 programs in Texas that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Texas (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 Texas page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 12.0402In Texas → | 1,578 | 93.0% | 59 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
| 2 | CIP 12.0407In Texas → | 102 | 6.0% | 1 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
| 3 | CIP 12.0413In Texas → | 16 | 0.9% | 6 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
Top 25 schools in Texas
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 35 of the 63 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Career Schools of Texas Houston, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 191 | Barbering/Barber | $12,759 | 26% | $16,605 | — |
| 2 | Houston Barber School Houston, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 182 | Barbering/Barber | — | 93% | $14,760 | — |
| 3 | Clarendon College Clarendon, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 102 | Hair Styling/Stylist and Hair Design | — | 41% | — | — |
| 4 | Alamo City Barber College San Antonio, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 85 | Barbering/Barber | $13,291 | 57% | $14,511 | — |
| 5 | Mei Barber School Brownsville, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 82 | Barbering/Barber | — | 76% | $6,713 | — |
| 6 | Deluxe Barber College San Antonio, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 71 | Barbering/Barber | — | 63% | $19,529 | — |
| 7 | Advanced Barber College and Hair Design Weslaco, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 68 | Barbering/Barber | $9,932 | 60% | $20,784 | — |
| 8 | Top of the Line Barber School San Antonio, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 55 | Barbering/Barber | — | 0% | $24,331 | — |
| 9 | Epic Barber College Houston, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Barbering/Barber | — | 13% | — | — |
| 10 | Northwest Educational Center Houston, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Barbering/Barber | $17,974 | 70% | $11,627 | — |
| 11 | Barbers Trade School Beaumont, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Barbering/Barber | — | — | $13,387 | — |
| 12 | Tonsorial Arts Barber College Texarkana, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Barbering/Barber | — | 59% | $19,018 | — |
| 13 | GA Beauty & Barber School McAllen, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Barbering/Barber | $13,238 | 59% | $25,426 | — |
| 14 | Premier Barber School Houston, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Barbering/Barber | — | — | $19,332 | — |
| 15 | Wade Gordon Hairdressing Academy Amarillo, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Barbering/Barber | $20,065 | 53% | $25,694 | — |
| 16 | Paul Mitchell the School - Arlington Arlington, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Barbering/Barber | $20,500 | 62% | $24,350 | — |
| 17 | Mystros Barber Academy Houston, TX Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Barbering/Barber | — | 100% | — | — |
| 18 | Neecee's Barber College Abilene, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Barbering/Barber | $14,275 | 35% | $19,811 | — |
| 19 | Paul Mitchell the School - San Antonio San Antonio, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Barbering/Barber | $20,500 | 76% | $25,203 | — |
| 20 | Trend Barber College Houston, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Barbering/Barber | $13,687 | 56% | $17,885 | — |
| 21 | Jay's Technical Institute Houston, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Barbering/Barber | — | 38% | $16,306 | — |
| 22 | Barber Education Academy Laredo, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Barbering/Barber | — | 73% | $8,852 | — |
| 23 | Invictus Career College Dallas, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Barbering/Barber | — | 89% | $27,563 | — |
| 24 | Wade Gordon Hairdressing Academy - Lubbock Lubbock, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Barbering/Barber | $20,065 | 62% | $25,243 | — |
| 25 | Milan Institute of Cosmetology - El Paso El Paso, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Barbering/Barber | $14,943 | 54% | $27,271 | — |
All 63 schools in Texas
Every school in Texas 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career Schools of Texas | Houston | Private for-profit | 191 | 1 |
| Houston Barber School | Houston | Private for-profit | 182 | 1 |
| Clarendon College | Clarendon | Public | 102 | 1 |
| Alamo City Barber College | San Antonio | Private for-profit | 85 | 1 |
| Mei Barber School | Brownsville | Private for-profit | 82 | 1 |
| Deluxe Barber College | San Antonio | Private for-profit | 71 | 1 |
| Advanced Barber College and Hair Design | Weslaco | Private for-profit | 68 | 1 |
| Top of the Line Barber School | San Antonio | Private for-profit | 55 | 1 |
| Epic Barber College | Houston | Private for-profit | 50 | 1 |
| Northwest Educational Center | Houston | Private for-profit | 42 | 1 |
| Barbers Trade School | Beaumont | Private for-profit | 40 | 1 |
| Tonsorial Arts Barber College | Texarkana | Private for-profit | 39 | 1 |
| GA Beauty & Barber School | McAllen | Private for-profit | 35 | 1 |
| Premier Barber School | Houston | Private for-profit | 35 | 1 |
| Wade Gordon Hairdressing Academy | Amarillo | Private for-profit | 35 | 1 |
What barbers earn in Texas
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $38,210. Texas pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Texas employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Texas
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 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
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Texas
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 Texas.
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 1,578 degrees in Texas in 2024-25, 93.0% 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 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services. Together they graduate about 1,696 people a year in Texas.
How much do barbers earn in Texas?+
The median is $30,760 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 19.5% below 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 Texas?+
63 institutions in Texas reported graduates from at least one of the 3 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.
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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