Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
United States. Estimated employment 305,710, with pages for 25 metro areas below.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 39-5012
Fig. 1 — The wage rule
Where you sit in the distribution
Drag the marker, or type a figure
$35,790 · 50th
$27,04010th
$30,12025th
$35,79050th
$48,83075th
$71,19090th
That is the median — half of people in this occupation in the US earn more.
Table 1 — By metro area
Where it pays
Every published Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists page, by median pay. Employment is the BLS estimate for the metro.
| Metro area | Median | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | $43,500 | 10,910 |
| San Jose, CA | $43,410 | 2,030 |
| San Francisco, CA | $42,400 | 3,370 |
| Vallejo, CA | $38,640 | 170 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $38,280 | 370 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $38,100 | 4,190 |
| Salinas, CA | $37,970 | 170 |
| Lebanon, PA | $37,920 | 200 |
| Allentown, PA | $37,690 | 1,350 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $37,320 | 9,960 |
| Rochester, NY | $36,830 | 730 |
| State College, PA | $36,540 | 240 |
| Reading, PA | $36,350 | 620 |
| New York, NY | $36,120 | 27,660 |
| York, PA | $36,050 | 510 |
| Kiryas Joel, NY | $35,010 | 730 |
| Syracuse, NY | $34,810 | 390 |
| Kingston, NY | $34,720 | 140 |
| Albany, NY | $34,670 | 660 |
| Chicago, IL | $34,260 | 12,000 |
| Champaign, IL | $33,840 | 180 |
| Binghamton, NY | $33,620 | 160 |
| Buffalo, NY | $32,950 | 820 |
| Peoria, IL | $32,280 | 340 |
| Springfield, IL | $31,200 | 280 |
Sources
How this page was made
- Wage data
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. Public domain.
- Employment
- 305,710 employed in this occupation nationally (BLS estimate; excludes the self-employed).
- Occupation
- SOC 39-5012, Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists. Mapped to our taxonomy as hairdressers-hairstylists-and-cosmetologists.
Percentiles are reported exactly as released and are never interpolated between published values. We take no payment from employers, recruiters or anyone else for how any figure is presented.