Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist maps to BLS occupations averaging about $44,634, with roughly 62,390 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $3,448; common paths include Personal Care Aides and Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other.
Key Statistics
Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist: what the data shows
Common questions about aesthetician/esthetician and skin care specialist degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a aesthetician/esthetician and skin care specialist degree?
A Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist program is classified under NCES CIP 12.0409 in the Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services field family (12.04).
A program that prepares individuals to cleanse, depilate, massage, and beautify the human body and to function as licensed estheticians and skin care specialists. Includes instruction in skin anatomy, physiology, and health; principles of nutrition; decontamination and infection control; health and safety; facial and body massage; body wrapping and spa treatments; temporary hair removal including waxing and tweezing; color and skin analysis; client consultation and care; applicable laws and regulations; business practices; and sometimes related alternative healing regimens
Types of aesthetician/esthetician and skin care specialist degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 12.04 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Barbering/Barber (CIP 12.0402)
- Cosmetology & Personal Grooming Services (CIP 12.0401)
- Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor (CIP 12.0413)
- Design (CIP 12.0404)
- Facial Treatment Specialist/Facialist (CIP 12.0408)
- Hair Styling/Stylist and Hair Design (CIP 12.0407)
- Make-Up Artist/Specialist (CIP 12.0406)
- Master Aesthetician/Esthetician (CIP 12.0414)
- Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist (CIP 12.0410)
- Permanent Cosmetics/Makeup and Tattooing (CIP 12.0411)
- Salon/Beauty Salon Management/Manager (CIP 12.0412)
How long does it take to get a aesthetician/esthetician and skin care specialist degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 12.0409 in our file:
- 62 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Personal Care Aides (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a aesthetician/esthetician and skin care specialist degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Care Aides | — | — |
| Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | 62,390 | $37,900 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a aesthetician/esthetician and skin care specialist degree worth it?
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $3,448 and median net price is $14,266.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$3,448 Median In-State Public
$13,713 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist majors are, on average, $3,448 for in-state public colleges, and $13,713 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lone Star College System | TX | 45,188 |
| 2 | Lone Star College System | TX | 45,188 |
| 3 | Houston Community College | TX | 40,503 |
| 4 | Houston Community College | TX | 40,503 |
| 5 | NUC University | PR | 28,918 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 3 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
| 4 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
| 5 | Compton College | CA | $1,142 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 2 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 3 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 4 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
| 5 | Southern Regional Technical College | GA | $813 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist programs across institutions.
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 12.04 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Barbering/Barber CIP 12.0402
- Cosmetology & Personal Grooming Services CIP 12.0401
- Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor CIP 12.0413
- Design CIP 12.0404
- Facial Treatment Specialist/Facialist CIP 12.0408
- Hair Styling/Stylist and Hair Design CIP 12.0407
- Make-Up Artist/Specialist CIP 12.0406
- Master Aesthetician/Esthetician CIP 12.0414
- Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist CIP 12.0410
- Permanent Cosmetics/Makeup and Tattooing CIP 12.0411
- Salon/Beauty Salon Management/Manager CIP 12.0412
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 12.0409 in the survey year used in our extract (62 total across levels below).
- 62 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $44,634. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Care Aides | — | — |
| Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | $44,634 | 62,390 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$44,634 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist majors is $44,634.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist majors.
Occupations by Share
62,390 2023 Workforce
The number of Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist.
Age distribution for Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
42,738 Total Degrees Awarded
454 Male (1.06%)
42,284 Female (98.94%)
Gender distribution of Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
16,416 White (38.41%)
12,992 Hispanic or Latino (30.40%)
7,982 Black or African American (18.68%)
1,862 Two or More Races (4.36%)
1,377 Asian (3.22%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to cleanse, depilate, massage, and beautify the human body and to function as licensed estheticians and skin care specialists. Includes instruction in skin anatomy, physiology, and health; principles of nutrition; decontamination and infection control; health and safety; facial and body massage; body wrapping and spa treatments; temporary hair removal including waxing and tweezing; color and skin analysis; client consultation and care; applicable laws and regulations; business practices; and sometimes related alternative healing regimens
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist.
CIP Code
12.0409 - Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist
What the data shows
Women earned 98.9% of 42,738 Aesthetician/Esthetician and Skin Care Specialist completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $44,634. The largest mapped role by headcount is Personal Care Aides (N/A U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $3,448 in-state at public colleges and $13,713 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.