Colleges

Private for-profit · Community college

The Salon Professional Academy

Rapid City, South Dakota · Small city

#3 graduation rate in South Dakota
0%
Transfer rate
$18,146
Avg net price
79%
Grad / completion
$23,641
Median earnings

The Salon Professional Academy is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Rapid City, South Dakota (small city setting), enrolling 80 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private for-profitSmall · 80 undergradsSmall cityCold wintersSnowy

About Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City is a city in and the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The public discovery of gold in 1874 by the Black Hills Expedition, led by George Armstrong Custer, brought a mass influx of European-American miners and settlers into Rapid City. Rapid City has invested in public sculptures, notably "The City of Presidents" series of life-sized bronze statues depicting each former President of the United States, located on street corners in the downtown area. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Certificate
To Great Lakes shore
568 miles
Nearest airport
7 miles to Rapid City (RAP)

How The Salon Professional Academy compares

Graduation rate79%

Higher than 76% · #3 of 10 in South Dakota

First-year retention100%

Higher than 95%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$23,641

Higher than 13% · #8 of 10 in South Dakota

Average net price$18,146

Cheaper than 39% · #9 cheapest of 10 in South Dakota

Median debt at graduation$8,500

Lower than 70%

Student–faculty ratio15 : 1

Lower than 56%

Undergraduate enrollment80

Larger than 22%

Percentiles compare The Salon Professional Academy with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in South Dakota.

Student body

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White74%
  • Hispanic3.8%
  • Asian1.3%
  • Other or multiracial21%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
80
Student–faculty ratio
15 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
43%
First-generation students
46%
Students over 25
26%
Median family income
$23,381

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 35 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From South Dakota91%
  • Other U.S. states8.6%

Most first-years stay in state — The Salon Professional Academy draws overwhelmingly from South Dakota.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition
—
Room & board
—
Total cost of attendance
—
Average net price
$18,146

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated
79%
First-year retention
100%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$25,321
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$23,641
Median debt at graduation
$8,500
Students with federal loans
46%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
52%

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
Free

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$14,704
$30–48k
$18,512
$48–75k
$22,275
$75–110k
$21,295
$110k+
$23,508

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

The Salon Professional Academy funds essentially no grants of its own — almost all aid here comes from federal (Pell), state, or outside sources rather than the school's own discount. Its sticker price is what it is.

Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid, 2022–23 full-time first-year undergraduates.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$23,641
Typical debt at graduation
$8,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
36%
Out-earn a HS grad
28%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.6 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

Campus climate

Summer high
84°F
Winter low
16°F
Annual rain
20″
Annual snow
53.7″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.04.1JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Rapid City Wfo, SD US station (1.2 mi from campus).

What The Salon Professional Academy graduates study — and earn

Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
50 grads$24k 1 yr$26k 5 yr$13k debt
Somatic Bodywork and Related Therapeutic Services
7 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to The Salon Professional Academy

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare The Salon Professional Academy side by side →

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Tuition
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Transfer
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Tuition
—
Transfer
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Earnings
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Skin Institute

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Students
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Empire Beauty School-Reading

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Reading, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 28 mi to Allentown

Students
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Tuition
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Earnings
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Empire Beauty School-York

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York, Pennsylvania · Midsize suburb · 20 mi to Lancaster

Students
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Tuition
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Transfer
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Earnings
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Colleges near The Salon Professional Academy

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Rapid City, SD · Public · Bachelor's · 2,071 students

1 mi

Western Dakota Technical College

Rapid City, SD · Public · Associate · 753 students

1 mi

Paul Mitchell the School-Rapid City

Rapid City, SD · Private for-profit · Certificate · 66 students

1 mi

Black Hills State University

Spearfish, SD · Public · Bachelor's · 1,928 students

44 mi

Oglala Lakota College

Kyle, SD · Public · Associate · 1,097 students

69 mi

Chadron State College

Chadron, NE · Public · Bachelor's · 1,540 students

88 mi

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.