Tuition tells you what a school costs. Pass rates tell you whether it works. Compare schools side by side on real 2026 licensing exam outcomes — written, practical, and how many students passed on the first try. This data isn't on Google.
Pass rates are real 2026 licensing exam outcomes for each school's own students. A school needs at least 5 recorded test-takers before its percentage means anything — below that, one result swings the number wildly. Those schools are marked small sample and hidden by default.
114 schools nationwide · Barber exam outcomes
| Renew Barber Carrollton, TX4.5 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 1.0 | 5 | — | |
| Rio Grande High School Rio Grande City, TX | 100% | 91% | 100% | 1.0 | 6 | — | |
| OZ Barber and Piercing Academy Dallas, TXAccredited4.8 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 1.0 | 24 | — | |
| Central Texas Beauty College 2 Round Rock, TXAccredited4.2 | 100% | 100% | 80% | 1.2 | 5 | $8,675 | |
| Shears Of Steele Jensen Beach, FL4.9 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 1.0 | 19 | — | |
| Grayson County College Denison, TX4.1 | 100% | 100% | 88% | 1.3 | 8 | — | |
| Crossroads Barber Academy Victoria, TX4.6 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 1.0 | 7 | — | |
| North Central Texas College Gainesville, TX3.8 | 100% | 100% | 83% | 1.2 | 6 | $8,675 | |
| Expert Do Inc Carrollton, TX4.5 | 100% | 100% | 80% | 1.2 | 5 | — | |
| Marqblendz Barber Academy Co Plano, TX5.0 | 98% | 100% | 91% | 1.3 | 53 | — | |
| Illumination Barber School LLC Houston, TX4.4 | 97% | 96% | 91% | 1.1 | 33 | — | |
| NeeCee's Barber College Abilene, TXAccredited4.2 | 91% | 70% | 64% | 1.4 | 11 | $13,390 | |
| Brighton Barber Institute Hurst, TXAccredited4.8 | 90% | 89% | 90% | 1.0 | 10 | $15,175 | |
| A&M Barber Academy Grand Prairie, TXAccredited4.7 | 89% | 100% | 66% | 1.1 | 19 | — | |
| 717 Barber Academy, LLC Frisco, TX4.8 | 87% | 94% | 60% | 2.0 | 15 | — | |
| Jean Percy School Of Barbering LLC Cypress, TX4.7 | 86% | 100% | — | — | 7 | — | |
| Paul Mitchell The School San Antonio San Antonio, TX5.0 | 85% | 100% | — | — | 13 | — | |
| State Barber & Cosmetology School Arlington, TXAccredited4.6 | 83% | 67% | 83% | 1.0 | 6 | — | |
| Jb Hensler College And Career Academy Manvel, TX | 83% | 100% | 83% | 1.0 | 6 | — | |
| Pearland Beauty And Barber College LLC Pearland, TX4.2 | 83% | 50% | 67% | 1.4 | 6 | — |
Almost every school markets the same three things: small classes, experienced instructors, and job placement. None of that is measurable. What is measurable is whether their students pass the state licensing exam — because until you pass, you can't legally work. Across the 428 programs with enough 2026 test-takers to rank here, the median written pass rate is 73%, but the spread is wide: 71 schools clear 90% while 190 fall below 70%. That gap is the single most useful thing to know before you enroll.
Across the 428 schools with enough 2026 test-takers to rank here, the median written exam pass rate is 73%. 71 schools are at 90% or better, and 190 sit below 70%. Treat anything under 70% as a serious question to raise with admissions — ask what changed and what they're doing about it. Also check the sample size: a 100% pass rate from four students tells you far less than 88% from sixty.
Overall pass rate counts a student who passed on their fourth try the same as one who passed on their first. First-attempt rate shows whether the school actually prepared you. Every retest costs an exam fee and weeks of delay before you can start earning. The median first-attempt written rate here is 57%, and the average-attempts figure shows how many tries the typical graduate needed — a school averaging 1.0 is getting students through cleanly.
Among schools here that publish tuition, the median annual figure is $11,350. Tuition varies enormously between public community-college programs and private institutes, and it is not a reliable proxy for quality — several of the strongest performers on pass rate are among the cheaper options. Compare cost against pass rate together rather than either one alone.
Yes — they're separate licenses with separate written and practical exams, and a school's results on one say nothing about its results on the other. A school that runs both programs is listed under both, with its own real outcomes for each, rather than a single blended number that would hide a weak program behind a strong one.
Pass rates are 2026 state licensing exam outcomes recorded for each school's own students, covering 8,461 test-takers across 219 cities. It isn't published on Google, school websites, or review sites, which is why two schools with identical marketing can have very different outcomes. Schools with fewer than 5 recorded test-takers are flagged as a small sample and hidden by default.
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