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Nail tech school in Iowa

6 nail technician programs with costs, results and funding that can make them free

6 schools offer these nail technician programs, and Iowa has approved every one for workforce funding. Each shows its price if you pay yourself and how past students did.

Nail technicians clean, shape and decorate fingernails and toenails. A license usually takes a state-approved nail technician or cosmetology program and a state exam.1 In Iowa, every program asks for a diploma or other schooling first.

See the 6 programs

How much does nail tech school cost in Iowa?

$4,263 to $4,840 is what most nail technician programs in Iowa cost if you pay yourself

That is the middle half of the 6 programs with a price. All of them: $3,000 to $4,840

In the typical program

Finished the program
98%
Working 6 months later
Not enough data
Earned a year, estimated
Not enough data
Length
17 weeks

Source: US Department of Labor, program year 2024 (July 2024 to June 2025). Only programs approved for workforce funding are listed; other schools in Iowa may also offer nail tech school. How these figures are made

Is there free nail tech school in Iowa?

Who qualifies, and other ways to pay: financial aid, grants and the GI Bill

Nail tech school in Dubuque, Des Moines, Davenport and other Iowa cities

Choosing an area filters the list below.

All 6 nail technician programs in Iowa approved for WIOA funding

Filters
What you need to enroll
Kind of program
How it's taught
How to show the list

6 programs

  • Nail technician license programIn personHigh school diploma or equivalent

    Nail Technology

    Capri College

    Dubuque

    High school diploma or equivalent

    Capri College, Dubuque · Nail technician license program · In person · High school diploma or equivalent

    Earned a year, estimated$13,400
    Price if you pay yourself$4,070
    Program website, Nail Technology at Capri College
    More details about Nail Technology at Capri College
    Finished
    100%
    Working at 6 months
    71%
    Earned in a quarter
    $3,360
    Length
    12 weeks, 30 hours a week
    Cost of supplies
    $580
    Students counted
    78
    a year, estimated
    $13,400
    price
    $4,070

  • Nail technician license programIn personHigh school diploma or equivalent

    Nail Technology

    La' James International College

    Johnston

    High school diploma or equivalent

    La' James International College, Johnston · Nail technician license program · In person · High school diploma or equivalent

    Earned a year, estimated$21,200
    Price if you pay yourself$4,840
    Program website, Nail Technology at La' James International College
    More details about Nail Technology at La' James International College
    Finished
    92%
    Working at 6 months
    64%
    Earned in a quarter
    $5,290
    Length
    17 weeks, 21 hours a week
    Cost of supplies
    $741
    Students counted
    77
    a year, estimated
    $21,200
    price
    $4,840

  • Nail technician license programIn personHigh school diploma or equivalent

    Nail Technology

    La' James International College - Cedar Rapids / Davenport

    Davenport

    High school diploma or equivalent

    La' James International College - Cedar Rapids / Davenport, Davenport · Nail technician license program · In person · High school diploma or equivalent

    Earned a year, estimated$25,700
    Price if you pay yourself$4,840
    Program website, Nail Technology at La' James International College - Cedar Rapids / Davenport
    More details about Nail Technology at La' James International College - Cedar Rapids / Davenport
    Finished
    98%
    Working at 6 months
    74%
    Earned in a quarter
    $6,420
    Length
    17 weeks, 21 hours a week
    Cost of supplies
    $741
    Students counted
    68
    a year, estimated
    $25,700
    price
    $4,840

  • Nail technician license programIn personHigh school diploma or equivalent

    Nail Technology

    La'James College Of Hairstyling, Inc Of Mason City

    Mason City

    High school diploma or equivalent

    La'James College Of Hairstyling, Inc Of Mason City, Mason City · Nail technician license program · In person · High school diploma or equivalent

    Earned a year, estimated$8,500
    Price if you pay yourself$3,000
    Program website, Nail Technology at La'James College Of Hairstyling, Inc Of Mason City
    More details about Nail Technology at La'James College Of Hairstyling, Inc Of Mason City
    Finished
    87%
    Working at 6 months
    68%
    Earned in a quarter
    $2,119
    Length
    25 weeks, 16 hours a week
    Cost of supplies
    $800
    Students counted
    38
    a year, estimated
    $8,500
    price
    $3,000

  • Nail technician license programIn personHigh school diploma or equivalent

    Nail Technology

    La' James International College

    Cedar Falls

    High school diploma or equivalent

    La' James International College, Cedar Falls · Nail technician license program · In person · High school diploma or equivalent

    Earned a year, estimatedNot reported
    Price if you pay yourself$4,840
    Program website, Nail Technology at La' James International College
    More details about Nail Technology at La' James International College
    Finished
    100%
    Working at 6 months
    Not reported
    Earned in a quarter
    Not reported
    Length
    17 weeks, 21 hours a week
    Cost of supplies
    $741
    Students counted
    11
    a year, estimated
    Not reported
    price
    $4,840

  • Nail technician license programIn personHigh school diploma or equivalent

    Nail Technology

    La' James International College

    Fort Dodge

    High school diploma or equivalent

    La' James International College, Fort Dodge · Nail technician license program · In person · High school diploma or equivalent

    Earned a year, estimatedNot reported
    Price if you pay yourself$4,840
    Program website, Nail Technology at La' James International College
    More details about Nail Technology at La' James International College
    Finished
    Not reported
    Working at 6 months
    Not reported
    Earned in a quarter
    Not reported
    Length
    17 weeks, 21 hours a week
    Cost of supplies
    $741
    Students counted
    Not reported
    a year, estimated
    Not reported
    price
    $4,840

How to pay for nail tech school in Iowa

WIOA funding can pay for nail tech school in Iowa

Every program on this page is approved for WIOA funding: public workforce funding under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. It can pay for training for eligible adults, people who lost their job and young people.2People on public assistance, with a low income or lacking basic skills come first, and veterans have priority.3Your state or local area may limit how much WIOA pays and for how long. If a program costs more, a Pell Grant, a scholarship or severance pay can cover the rest.4

Ask at an American Job Center

Eligibility rules apply, and services vary from state to state. Your local American Job Center can tell you whether you qualify. The Department of Labor's page links to the center finder, or call 1-877-US-2JOBS (1-877-872-5627).5

Financial aid and grants for nail tech school

Most students can get federal student aid for college, career school or trade school. A Federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, usually doesn't have to be repaid. Ask the school whether its program qualifies.67

GI Bill for nail tech school

Veterans, service members and qualified dependents can use GI Bill benefits for non-college training programs.8

The program list does not show which programs accept these. Ask the school.

Does WIOA pay for job training? Who qualifies and how to apply

Quick facts: Nail tech school in Iowa

programs with a price cost under $5,000
6 of 6
lowest typical price among the states with enough programs to compare
9th of 16
nail technician programs here, against the typical state's 4
6 vs 4

State comparisons use the same figures as the nail tech school by state table: the middle program of each state, and only states with three or more schools for prices. Source: US Department of Labor, program year 2024 (July 2024 to June 2025).

Where the Iowa nail technician program numbers come from

Which Iowa nail technician programs are on this list?

These are the nail technician programs Iowa approved for WIOA funding (public workforce funding under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act), as reported to the US Department of Labor for program year 2024 (July 2024 to June 2025). Each state keeps its approved programs on an eligible training provider list (ETPL).9 The list here covers programs approved as of June 30, 2025. Schools that never applied for approval are missing, so this is a part of what Iowa offers.

How Iowa nail technician program prices are reported

The price is tuition and required fees for someone paying without workforce funding, as the school reported it. "Trained with WIOA funding" on a program counts the people whose training there WIOA paid toward through a training account in program year 2024; the file never gives counts under 3, so a program without the line may still take WIOA students. It does not say how much of the price WIOA covered. Prices under $100 are treated as not reported, because the file holds many blanks entered as $0. Check the current price with the school.

What the graduate results of these programs measure

The figures at the top of this page are the middle program among those that report results: half did better, half did worse. Results describe students who left each program in recent years: the share who finished, the share working in the second quarter after leaving, and the middle earnings of those working in that quarter. States report earnings for that one quarter because they take them from the wage reports employers file every three months. The yearly figure here is that quarter times four, rounded to the nearest $100: an estimate, and an early one, since it is measured about half a year after training. The quarter as reported is under "More details" on each program. Results are withheld for small programs, and they describe past students, so they are no guarantee.

Why do some nail technician programs say "Not reported"?

Where a school or the state left a field empty, or the Department of Labor withheld it, the page says "Not reported". Nothing here is estimated to fill a gap.

Why the kind of school is left off each program

The file also records whether a school is public, private or nonprofit, but those entries are wrong too often to print next to a school's name, so this page leaves them out.

Other training in Iowa

Sources for the facts about nail tech school in Iowa

Show the 9 sourcesHide the sources
  1. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Manicurists and Pedicurists
  2. US Department of Labor, TrainingProviderResults.gov: About This Site
  3. US Department of Labor: WIOA Adult Program
  4. Code of Federal Regulations, title 20, part 680, sections 680.220, 680.230 and 680.310: career services before training, other grants such as Pell Grants first, and limits on Individual Training Accounts (GovInfo, 2024 edition)
  5. US Department of Labor: American Job Centers
  6. US Department of Education, Federal Student Aid: Eligibility for Federal Student Aid
  7. US Department of Education, Federal Student Aid: Don't Miss Out on Federal Pell Grants
  8. US Department of Veterans Affairs: GI Bill benefits for non-college degree programs
  9. US Department of Labor, Training and Employment Guidance Letter 8-19, Attachment I: Requirements for Training Providers, Program Eligibility, and the State Eligible Training Provider (ETP) List