Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists

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Total Workforce

582k

Average Age

39.6

Average Salary

$26,728

Average Male Salary

$40,605

Average Female Salary

$25,304

About

Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are most often employed by the Beauty salons industry. The average yearly wage for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists was $26,728 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists by wage are Janitors & building cleaners, Veterinary assistants & laboratory animal caretakers, and Bartenders.

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 St. Lucie County (South) PUMA, FL, Salem, Beverly, Gloucester & Newburyport Cities PUMA, MA, and Nashville-Davidson (Southeast) PUMA, TN. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are Ocean County (Northwest) PUMA, NJ, Washington (South) & Greene Counties PUMA, PA, and Memphis City (Central Midtown) PUMA, TN.

Photo by David Merrigan

Service Occupations Personal Care & Service Occupations Personal Care & Service Occupations

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 Funeral homes, & cemeteries & crematories . Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are paid most in Hollywood (South) & Pembroke Pines (East) Cities PUMA, FL but are relatively concentrated in Ocean County (Northwest) PUMA, NJ.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$26,728

AVERAGE SALARY

± $884

In 2018, Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists earned an average of $26,728, $27,161 less than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Janitors & building cleaners make somewhat more than Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists while Veterinary assistants & laboratory animal caretakers 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

0.389

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.389, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. 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.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists, by number of employees, are Beauty salons, Barber shops, and Nail salons & other personal care services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists, by average wage, are Motion pictures & video industries, Funeral homes, & cemeteries & crematories , Other personal services, Barber shops, Health & personal care, except drug, stores , and Department stores & discount stores.

Industries by Share

582k

2018 Workforce

± 18,697

0.731%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 4.52%

The number of people employed as Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists has been growing at a rate of 0.731%, from 577,992 people in 2017 to 582,219 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists employed by various industries. Beauty salons employs the largest share of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists at 94.9%, followed by Barber shops with 1.08% and Nail salons & other personal care services with 0.541%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists in the US. The average age of male Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists in the workforce is 41.8 and of female Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists is 39.3, and the most common race/ethnicity for Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

54.2k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 5,713

528k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 17,809

90.7% of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists.

Race & Ethnicity

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

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

63.7% of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 11.6% 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 Gender

41.8

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.49

39.3

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.469

The median age of Hairdressers, hairstylists, & cosmetologists is 39.6, and Male employees are generally 2.5 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 degree-majorss. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree-majors 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, Learning Strategies, and Operations Analysis.