Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists salary
SOC 39-5012 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $27,040
- 25th
- $30,120
- Median
- $35,790
- 75th
- $48,830
- 90th
- $71,190
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $59,510 | 107.0 | 6,930 | 0.99× |
| 2 | Oregon | $57,580 | 103.4 | 1,860 | 0.48× |
| 3 | District of Columbia | $54,570 | 109.9 | 870 | 0.63× |
| 4 | South Dakota | $49,800 | 88.6 | 690 | 0.77× |
| 5 | Vermont | $48,650 | 98.0 | 440 | 0.73× |
| 6 | Connecticut | $44,620 | 103.6 | 4,090 | 1.23× |
| 7 | Maine | $44,000 | 97.0 | 970 | 0.77× |
| 8 | Minnesota | $39,170 | 98.6 | 5,320 | 0.92× |
| 9 | California | $38,660 | 110.7 | 27,080 | 0.76× |
| 10 | North Carolina | $38,410 | 94.3 | 8,490 | 0.87× |
| 11 | Montana | $38,000 | 94.6 | 690 | 0.68× |
| 12 | New Mexico | $37,750 | 92.2 | 1,230 | 0.72× |
| 13 | Colorado | $37,690 | 103.1 | 6,820 | 1.21× |
| 14 | Massachusetts | $37,290 | 105.8 | 9,600 | 1.34× |
| 15 | Arizona | $36,810 | 100.7 | 7,840 | 1.23× |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | $36,790 | 97.6 | 19,350 | 1.62× |
| 17 | Maryland | $36,420 | 105.0 | 5,860 | 1.08× |
| 18 | Ohio | $36,260 | 92.8 | 12,890 | 1.18× |
| 19 | Wisconsin | $36,230 | 94.1 | 6,260 | 1.08× |
| 20 | New Jersey | $36,150 | 108.8 | 15,500 | 1.84× |
| 21 | New York | $35,760 | 107.9 | 20,740 | 1.09× |
| 22 | Iowa | $35,700 | 87.8 | 2,930 | 0.96× |
| 23 | Idaho | $35,480 | 95.5 | 2,250 | 1.34× |
| 24 | Utah | $35,140 | 98.9 | 2,810 | 0.82× |
| 25 | Hawaii | $35,040 | 110.0 | 930 | 0.76× |
| 26 | North Dakota | $34,850 | 89.0 | 870 | 1.03× |
| 27 | Michigan | $34,820 | 96.2 | 8,970 | 1.04× |
| 28 | New Hampshire | $34,650 | 104.2 | 1,950 | 1.45× |
| 29 | Georgia | $34,560 | 96.3 | 7,910 | 0.82× |
| 30 | West Virginia | $34,480 | 89.5 | 1,020 | 0.74× |
| 31 | Delaware | $34,350 | 99.8 | 1,270 | 1.33× |
| 32 | Nebraska | $34,320 | 90.1 | 1,890 | 0.94× |
| 33 | Illinois | $34,040 | 100.0 | 13,190 | 1.10× |
| 34 | Nevada | $33,840 | 100.0 | 1,940 | 0.64× |
| 35 | South Carolina | $33,700 | 93.7 | 3,570 | 0.79× |
| 36 | Indiana | $32,830 | 93.3 | 5,920 | 0.94× |
| 37 | Alaska | $32,150 | 102.4 | 330 | 0.52× |
| 38 | Tennessee | $31,310 | 91.9 | 6,080 | 0.94× |
| 39 | Rhode Island | $31,200 | 102.3 | 1,470 | 1.49× |
| 40 | Missouri | $30,750 | 90.8 | 5,430 | 0.94× |
| 41 | Texas | $30,680 | 97.1 | 22,440 | 0.81× |
| 42 | Kentucky | $29,840 | 90.2 | 2,350 | 0.60× |
| 43 | Kansas | $29,710 | 90.1 | 2,190 | 0.77× |
| 44 | Oklahoma | $29,650 | 87.8 | 1,920 | 0.57× |
| 45 | Florida | $29,530 | 103.4 | 23,530 | 1.21× |
| 46 | Wyoming | $29,170 | 92.7 | 360 | 0.65× |
| 47 | Alabama | $29,150 | 88.8 | 3,300 | 0.79× |
| 48 | Arkansas | $28,830 | 86.9 | 1,410 | 0.55× |
| 49 | Mississippi | $27,560 | 87.0 | 1,040 | 0.45× |
| 50 | Louisiana | $26,030 | 88.2 | 2,720 | 0.71× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists
The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corvallis, OR | $61,880 | 104.0 | 120 | 1.56× |
| 2 | Bellingham, WA | $61,820 | 103.3 | 160 | 0.90× |
| 3 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | $61,440 | 100.3 | 570 | 1.14× |
| 4 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $60,710 | 109.4 | 80 | 0.56× |
| 5 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $59,810 | 111.1 | 4,510 | 1.10× |
| 6 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $59,610 | 105.4 | 1,500 | 0.63× |
| 7 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | $58,740 | 100.9 | 220 | 0.93× |
| 8 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $58,150 | 105.6 | 200 | 1.09× |
| 9 | Bend, OR | $51,640 | 103.6 | 80 | 0.38× |
| 10 | Salem, OR | $50,960 | 103.6 | 130 | 0.34× |
| 11 | Sioux Falls, SD-MN | $50,500 | 90.6 | 320 | 0.92× |
| 12 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | $49,840 | 103.7 | 290 | 1.14× |
| 13 | Kennewick-Richland, WA | $49,640 | 100.1 | 250 | 1.00× |
| 14 | Eugene-Springfield, OR | $49,570 | 101.6 | 180 | 0.58× |
| 15 | Medford, OR | $49,480 | 101.4 | 120 | 0.68× |
| 16 | Rapid City, SD | $48,440 | 89.2 | 170 | 1.14× |
| 17 | Boulder, CO | $48,120 | 105.2 | 490 | 1.30× |
| 18 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $48,060 | 97.6 | 530 | 0.79× |
| 19 | Barnstable Town, MA | $46,520 | 98.4 | 370 | 2.01× |
| 20 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $46,470 | 106.9 | 1,500 | 1.89× |
| 21 | Portland-South Portland, ME | $46,460 | 101.9 | 600 | 1.06× |
| 22 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $46,310 | 104.8 | 3,920 | 1.02× |
| 23 | Yakima, WA | $46,270 | 95.5 | 100 | 0.51× |
| 24 | Greeley, CO | $44,380 | 100.2 | 210 | 0.88× |
| 25 | Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | $44,270 | 100.4 | 280 | 1.12× |
| 26 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | $43,700 | 98.2 | 1,810 | 1.24× |
| 27 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $43,500 | 113.6 | 10,910 | 0.89× |
| 28 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $43,410 | 110.4 | 2,030 | 0.91× |
| 29 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $42,650 | 102.7 | 1,180 | 1.00× |
| 30 | Great Falls, MT | $42,450 | 96.8 | 60 | 0.86× |
| 31 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $42,400 | 115.6 | 3,370 | 0.72× |
| 32 | Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | $42,350 | 98.9 | 630 | 1.89× |
| 33 | Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | $41,230 | 101.1 | 560 | 1.69× |
| 34 | Billings, MT | $40,950 | 93.5 | 130 | 0.73× |
| 35 | Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $40,720 | 100.9 | 1,270 | 0.78× |
| 36 | Asheville, NC | $40,620 | 96.5 | 330 | 0.93× |
| 37 | Jacksonville, NC | $39,990 | 92.1 | 90 | 0.88× |
| 38 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $39,990 | 103.2 | 690 | 1.46× |
| 39 | Napa, CA | $39,610 | 112.6 | 40 | 0.29× |
| 40 | Rochester, MN | $39,460 | 90.8 | 190 | 0.79× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.
- Manicurists and Pedicurists$35,760
- Skincare Specialists$45,330
- Barbers$38,210
- Shampooers$32,600
- Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance$97,150