Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

561k

Average Age

39.8

Estimated Job Growth

−2.18%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$27,042

Average Male Salary

$38,554

Average Female Salary

$25,896

About

Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are most often employed by the Beauty salons industry. The average yearly wage for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists was $27,042 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists by wage are Janitors & building cleaners, Massage therapists, and Other grounds maintenance workers.

Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are part of the Personal Care & Service Occupations, along with Supervisors of personal care and service workers, Animal trainers, Nonfarm animal caretakers, Gaming services workers, Ushers, lobby attendants, & ticket takers, and 15 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are Flushing, Murray Hill & Whitestone PUMA, NY, Litchfield County PUMA, CT, and Washington Heights, Inwood & Marble Hill PUMA, NY. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are Ocean County (Northwest) PUMA, NJ, Babylon Town (Northwest) PUMA, NY, and Hawthorne Borough & Clifton City (Northwest) PUMA, NJ.

Photo by David Merrigan

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists and on wages and locations for those in the field. Beauty salons is the industry that employs the most Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists, by average wage, is Motion pictures & video industries. Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are paid most in Peninsula Region & Tacoma City (West) PUMA, WA but are relatively concentrated in Ocean County (Northwest) PUMA, NJ.

Yearly Wage

$27,042

AVERAGE SALARY

± $860

In 2020, Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists earned an average of $27,042, $28,912 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Massage therapists make somewhat more than Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists while Janitors & building cleaners make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.393

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.393, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists, by number of employees, are Beauty salons, Barber shops, Nail salons & other personal care services, Amusement & Recreation, Clothing stores, Nursing Care Facilities, Health & personal care, except drug, stores , Department stores, Other personal services, Residential care facilities, except skilled nursing facilities, and General merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists, by average wage, are Motion pictures & video industries, Broadcasting (except internet), and Child day care services.

Industries by Share

561k

2020 Workforce

± 18,357

−2.7%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 4.72%

The number of people employed as Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists has been declining at a rate of −2.7%, from 576,728 people in 2019 to 561,180 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists employed by various industries. Beauty salons employs the largest share of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists at 95.6%, followed by Barber shops with 0.76% and Nail salons & other personal care services with 0.454%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists in the US. The average age of male Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists in the workforce is 43.6 and of female Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists is 39.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

50.8k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 5,532

510k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 17,510

90.9% of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

62.6% of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 10.6% of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists.

Age by Sex

43.6

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.57

39.4

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.475

The median age of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists is 39.8, and Male employees are generally 4.14 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists is Business but a relatively high number of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists hold a major in Personal & Culinary Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and Active Listening. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists need more than the average amount of Service Orientation, Operations Analysis, and Learning Strategies.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists are expected to see a growth of −2.18% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

For growth projections, the closest comparible industry reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists.

−2.18%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists. This profession is expected to grow less than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.