Best Manicurist programs in Washington, ranked by enrollment
Clean and shape customers' fingernails and toenails.
20 schools in Washington run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,232 people a year. The job pays a median of $49,900 in Washington across about 5,570 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Washington that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in Washington that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Washington (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 Washington page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 12.0401In Washington → | 847 | 68.8% | 19 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
| 2 | CIP 12.0410In Washington → | 385 | 31.2% | 11 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
Top 20 schools in Washington
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 20 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evergreen Beauty and Barber College - Everett Everett, WA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 424 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $23,420 | 83% | $18,663 | — |
| 2 | Paul Mitchell the School - Richland Richland, WA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 128 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $20,689 | 74% | $28,975 | — |
| 3 | Paul Mitchell the School - Federal Way Federal Way, WA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 81 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $23,084 | 6% | $10,350 | — |
| 4 | Paul Mitchell the School - Spokane Spokane Valley, WA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 71 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $24,554 | 54% | $21,992 | — |
| 5 | Summit Salon Academy Tacoma, WA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 70 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $22,595 | 59% | $26,702 | — |
| 6 | Spokane Community College Spokane, WA Public · 2 feeder programs | 59 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $17,869 | 33% | — | — |
| 7 | International Beauty Education Center Spokane, WA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 45 | Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist | — | 81% | $17,321 | — |
| 8 | Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Seattle Seattle, WA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $21,785 | 67% | $30,779 | — |
| 9 | Centralia Beauty College Centralia, WA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 82% | $8,004 | — |
| 10 | Aveda Institute Portland - Vancouver Campus Vancouver, WA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $21,907 | 89% | $20,012 | — |
| 11 | Studio Beauty School Spokane Valley, WA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 35 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $17,110 | 82% | $20,161 | — |
| 12 | Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy - Shoreline Shoreline, WA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 32 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $25,497 | 74% | $18,668 | — |
| 13 | Clover Park Technical College Lakewood, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $19,389 | 43% | — | — |
| 14 | Stylemaster College of Hair Design Longview, WA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 26 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $18,413 | 23% | $8,549 | — |
| 15 | Elite Cosmetology, Barber & Spa Academy Yakima, WA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 25 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 47% | $18,071 | — |
| 16 | Victoria's Academy of Cosmetology Kennewick, WA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $19,806 | 96% | $19,524 | — |
| 17 | Walla Walla Community College Walla Walla, WA Public · 2 feeder programs | 24 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 38% | — | — |
| 18 | Everett Community College Everett, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 37% | — | — |
| 19 | Zorganics Institute of Beauty and Wellness Bellingham, WA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 17 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Olympic College Bremerton, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 31% | — | — |
All 20 schools in Washington
Every school in Washington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evergreen Beauty and Barber College - Everett | Everett | Private for-profit | 424 | 2 |
| Paul Mitchell the School - Richland | Richland | Private for-profit | 128 | 2 |
| Paul Mitchell the School - Federal Way | Federal Way | Private for-profit | 81 | 2 |
| Paul Mitchell the School - Spokane | Spokane Valley | Private for-profit | 71 | 1 |
| Summit Salon Academy | Tacoma | Private for-profit | 70 | 1 |
| Spokane Community College | Spokane | Public | 59 | 2 |
| International Beauty Education Center | Spokane | Private for-profit | 45 | 1 |
| Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Seattle | Seattle | Private for-profit | 44 | 1 |
| Centralia Beauty College | Centralia | Private for-profit | 43 | 1 |
| Aveda Institute Portland - Vancouver Campus | Vancouver | Private for-profit | 35 | 1 |
| Studio Beauty School | Spokane Valley | Private for-profit | 35 | 2 |
| Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy - Shoreline | Shoreline | Private for-profit | 32 | 2 |
| Clover Park Technical College | Lakewood | Public | 31 | 1 |
| Stylemaster College of Hair Design | Longview | Private for-profit | 26 | 2 |
| Elite Cosmetology, Barber & Spa Academy | Yakima | Private for-profit | 25 | 2 |
What manicurists and pedicurists earn in Washington
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $35,760. Washington pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Washington employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Washington
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 Washington
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 Washington.
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 847 degrees in Washington in 2024-25, 68.8% 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 1,232 people a year in Washington.
How much do manicurists and pedicurists earn in Washington?+
The median is $49,900 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 39.5% 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 Washington?+
20 institutions in Washington 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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