Best Manicurist programs in Wisconsin, ranked by enrollment
Clean and shape customers' fingernails and toenails.
29 schools in Wisconsin run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,134 people a year. The job pays a median of $36,680 in Wisconsin across about 2,350 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Wisconsin that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in Wisconsin that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Wisconsin (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 Wisconsin page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 12.0401In Wisconsin → | 916 | 80.8% | 29 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
| 2 | CIP 12.0410In Wisconsin → | 218 | 19.2% | 11 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
Top 25 schools in Wisconsin
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 22 of the 29 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee, WI Public · 2 feeder programs | 104 | Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist | $23,198 | 25% | — | — |
| 2 | The Institute of Beauty and Wellness Milwaukee, WI Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 74 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $25,029 | 90% | $15,441 | — |
| 3 | Empire Beauty School - Green Bay Ashwaubenon, WI Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 69 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $18,639 | 73% | $16,653 | — |
| 4 | Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 65 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 51% | — | — |
| 5 | Waukesha County Technical College Pewaukee, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 57 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $27,049 | 44% | — | — |
| 6 | Northwood Technical College Rice Lake, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 53 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $18,294 | 56% | — | — |
| 7 | First Class Cosmetology School Beloit, WI Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 51 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $23,235 | 86% | $17,335 | — |
| 8 | Mid - State Technical College Wisconsin Rapids, WI Public · 2 feeder programs | 49 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $17,385 | 52% | — | — |
| 9 | VICI Beauty School Greenfield, WI Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 48 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $21,773 | 88% | $13,775 | — |
| 10 | Chippewa Valley Technical College Eau Claire, WI Public · 2 feeder programs | 47 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $23,405 | 50% | — | — |
| 11 | The Salon Professional Academy - Appleton Appleton, WI Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $18,603 | 82% | $11,696 | — |
| 12 | Tricoci University of Beauty Culture - Janesville Janesville, WI Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $20,302 | — | $14,017 | — |
| 13 | The Salon Professional Academy - Onalaska Onalaska, WI Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $25,017 | 93% | $16,876 | — |
| 14 | Academy of Beauty Professionals Green Bay, WI Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 35 | Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist | $18,729 | 56% | — | — |
| 15 | Empire Beauty School - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $18,639 | 47% | $17,643 | — |
| 16 | Moraine Park Technical College Fond du Lac, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 58% | — | — |
| 17 | State College of Beauty Culture Wausau, WI Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 32 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 90% | $11,528 | — |
| 18 | Fox Valley Technical College Appleton, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 65% | — | — |
| 19 | Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Fennimore, WI Public · 2 feeder programs | 27 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | — | 66% | — | — |
| 20 | The Institute of Beauty and Wellness Madison Madison, WI Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 27 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $25,029 | 97% | $11,939 | — |
| 21 | The Salon Professional Academy - Kenosha Kenosha, WI Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $21,678 | 70% | $27,093 | — |
| 22 | The Professional Hair Design Academy Eau Claire, WI Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $21,659 | 76% | $21,059 | — |
| 23 | Madison Area Technical College Madison, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General | $22,152 | 29% | — | — |
| 24 | Academy of Beauty Professionals Appleton, WI Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 23 | Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist | $18,729 | 79% | — | — |
| 25 | Academy of Beauty Professionals Madison, WI Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 22 | Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist | $18,729 | 93% | — | — |
All 29 schools in Wisconsin
Every school in Wisconsin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Area Technical College | Milwaukee | Public | 104 | 2 |
| The Institute of Beauty and Wellness | Milwaukee | Private for-profit | 74 | 2 |
| Empire Beauty School - Green Bay | Ashwaubenon | Private for-profit | 69 | 1 |
| Gateway Technical College | Kenosha | Public | 65 | 1 |
| Waukesha County Technical College | Pewaukee | Public | 57 | 1 |
| Northwood Technical College | Rice Lake | Public | 53 | 1 |
| First Class Cosmetology School | Beloit | Private for-profit | 51 | 2 |
| Mid - State Technical College | Wisconsin Rapids | Public | 49 | 2 |
| VICI Beauty School | Greenfield | Private for-profit | 48 | 1 |
| Chippewa Valley Technical College | Eau Claire | Public | 47 | 2 |
| The Salon Professional Academy - Appleton | Appleton | Private for-profit | 42 | 1 |
| Tricoci University of Beauty Culture - Janesville | Janesville | Private for-profit | 39 | 1 |
| The Salon Professional Academy - Onalaska | Onalaska | Private for-profit | 37 | 1 |
| Academy of Beauty Professionals | Green Bay | Private for-profit | 35 | 2 |
| Empire Beauty School - Milwaukee | Milwaukee | Private for-profit | 33 | 1 |
What manicurists and pedicurists earn in Wisconsin
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $35,760. Wisconsin pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin.
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 916 degrees in Wisconsin in 2024-25, 80.8% 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 1,134 people a year in Wisconsin.
How much do manicurists and pedicurists earn in Wisconsin?+
The median is $36,680 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.6% 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 Wisconsin?+
29 institutions in Wisconsin 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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