A Cosmetologist's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors.
Below, we'll explore how geographic location
and company size
can directly affect your earning potential.
How Do Cosmetologist Salaries Vary from State to State?
Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Cosmetologists. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
Salaries can also vary between different cities.
Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay.
Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:
San Jose: $38,701
San Francisco: $38,301
Oakland: $37,501
San Jose, CA$38,701
San Francisco, CA$38,301
Oakland, CA$37,501
New York, NY$35,301
Paramus, NJ$34,901
Queens Village, NY$34,901
Passaic, NJ$34,901
Bergenfield, NJ$34,901
Huntington, NY$34,801
Stamford, CT$34,801
Newark, NJ$34,601
Bridgeport, CT$34,501
Vallejo, CA$34,501
New Brunswick, NJ$34,401
Petaluma, CA$34,401
Middlesex, NJ$34,401
Santa Cruz, CA$34,301
Somerset, NJ$34,301
Boston, MA$34,101
Monterey, CA$34,001
Seattle, WA$33,901
Santa Rosa, CA$33,901
Los Angeles, CA$33,901
Juneau, AK$33,801
Washington, DC$33,801
Orange, CA$33,701
Anaheim, CA$33,601
Anchorage, AK$33,601
Santa Ana, CA$33,601
Long Beach, CA$33,601
Santa Maria, CA$33,501
Everett, WA$33,501
Danbury, CT$33,401
Bremerton, WA$33,301
Santa Barbara, CA$33,201
Tacoma, WA$33,201
New Suffolk, NY$33,201
Sacramento, CA$33,201
Brockton, MA$33,101
San Diego, CA$33,101
Trenton, NJ$33,101
Fairbanks, AK$33,001
Lompoc, CA$32,901
Lowell, MA$32,901
Ventura, CA$32,901
Nashua, NH$32,901
Stockton, CA$32,901
Modesto, CA$32,701
Olympia, WA$32,601
Poughkeepsie, NY$32,601
Kennewick, WA$32,601
New Haven, CT$32,501
New Bedford, MA$32,401
Riverside, CA$32,401
Richland, WA$32,401
Lawrence, MA$32,401
Hartford, CT$32,401
Portsmouth, NH$32,301
Norwich, CT$32,301
New London, CT$32,301
San Bernardino, CA$32,301
New Britain, CT$32,301
Bakersfield, CA$32,301
Atlantic City, NJ$32,301
Boulder, CO$32,201
Portland, OR$32,201
Worcester, MA$32,201
Minneapolis, MN$32,101
Philadelphia, PA$32,001
Honolulu, HI$31,901
Saint Paul, MN$31,901
Vineland, NJ$31,901
Providence, RI$31,801
Bellingham, WA$31,701
Springfield, MA$31,701
Chicago, IL$31,701
Baltimore, MD$31,701
Chico, CA$31,601
Pittsfield, MA$31,501
Manchester, NH$31,401
Spokane, WA$31,301
Denver, CO$31,301
Albany, NY$31,201
Schenectady, NY$31,101
Wilmington, DE$31,101
Troy, NY$31,101
Nassau, NY$31,101
Burlington, VT$31,001
Salem, OR$31,001
Portland, ME$30,901
Yakima, WA$30,901
Rochester, MN$30,801
Reno, NV$30,801
Fresno, CA$30,801
Allentown, PA$30,701
Ann Arbor, MI$30,701
Detroit, MI$30,701
Milwaukee, WI$30,701
Colorado Springs, CO$30,601
Syracuse, NY$30,601
Carson City, NV$30,601
Houston, TX$30,601
Eugene, OR$30,601
Gary, IN$30,501
Springfield, OR$30,501
Bismarck, ND$30,501
Galveston, TX$30,501
Medford, OR$30,401
Fort Collins, CO$30,401
Concord, NH$30,401
Austin, TX$30,401
Saint Cloud, MN$30,301
Dallas, TX$30,301
Madison, WI$30,301
Reading, PA$30,301
Mesa, AZ$30,301
Phoenix, AZ$30,301
Utica, NY$30,201
Rochester, NY$30,101
Des Moines, IA$30,101
Raleigh, NC$30,101
Atlanta, GA$30,101
Battle Creek, MI$30,101
Salt Lake City, UT$30,101
Lancaster, PA$30,001
Harrisburg, PA$30,001
Cleveland, OH$29,901
Richmond, VA$29,901
Pittsburgh, PA$29,901
Boca Raton, FL$29,901
Indianapolis, IN$29,901
Fort Worth, TX$29,901
Champaign, IL$29,901
Kansas City, KS$29,901
Kansas City, MO$29,901
Columbus, OH$29,901
Las Vegas, NV$29,801
Cincinnati, OH$29,801
Petersburg, VA$29,801
Elkhart, IN$29,701
York, PA$29,701
Saint Louis, MO$29,701
Charlotte, NC$29,701
Racine, WI$29,701
Dayton, OH$29,701
Appleton, WI$29,701
Pueblo, CO$29,701
Lebanon, PA$29,701
Lansing, MI$29,701
Huntsville, AL$29,701
Buffalo, NY$29,701
Rockford, IL$29,601
Fargo, ND$29,601
Elyria, OH$29,601
Springfield, IL$29,601
Binghamton, NY$29,601
Rock Hill, SC$29,601
Benton Harbor, MI$29,601
Toledo, OH$29,601
Lorain, OH$29,601
Beaumont, TX$29,601
Billings, MT$29,601
Gastonia, NC$29,601
Flagstaff, AZ$29,501
Fort Lauderdale, FL$29,501
Duluth, MN$29,501
Miami, FL$29,501
Grand Forks, ND$29,501
Cheyenne, WY$29,501
Hialeah, FL$29,401
Louisville, KY$29,401
Grand Rapids, MI$29,401
Cedar Rapids, IA$29,401
Bangor, ME$29,401
Durham, NC$29,401
Casper, WY$29,301
Scranton, PA$29,301
New Orleans, LA$29,301
Virginia Beach, VA$29,301
Akron, OH$29,301
Charleston, SC$29,201
Baton Rouge, LA$29,201
Green Bay, WI$29,201
Peoria, IL$29,201
Nashville, TN$29,201
Sarasota, FL$29,201
Omaha, NE$29,201
Evansville, IN$29,101
Port Arthur, TX$29,101
Tampa, FL$29,101
Bradenton, FL$29,101
Tucson, AZ$29,101
Jamestown, NY$29,101
Davenport, IA$29,101
Saint Petersburg, FL$29,101
Santa Fe, NM$29,001
Orlando, FL$29,001
Clearwater, FL$29,001
La Crosse, WI$28,901
Canton, OH$28,901
Albuquerque, NM$28,901
Newport News, VA$28,901
High Point, NC$28,901
Moline, IL$28,801
Salisbury, NC$28,801
Jacksonville, FL$28,801
Saginaw, MI$28,801
Boise, ID$28,801
Laramie, WY$28,801
Norfolk, VA$28,801
Corpus Christi, TX$28,801
Ogden, UT$28,801
Rock Island, IL$28,801
Fort Myers, FL$28,701
Memphis, TN$28,701
Tulsa, OK$28,701
Waterloo, IA$28,701
Spartanburg, SC$28,701
Lincoln, NE$28,701
South Bend, IN$28,601
Greensboro, NC$28,601
San Antonio, TX$28,601
Provo, UT$28,601
Fort Wayne, IN$28,601
Cedar Falls, IA$28,601
Savannah, GA$28,501
Muskegon, MI$28,501
Birmingham, AL$28,501
Winston Salem, NC$28,501
Wichita, KS$28,401
Springfield, OH$28,401
Tuscaloosa, AL$28,401
Lima, OH$28,401
Columbia, SC$28,401
Augusta, GA$28,401
Lexington, KY$28,401
Anderson, IN$28,401
Lake Charles, LA$28,401
Greenville, SC$28,401
Asheville, NC$28,301
Bloomington, IN$28,301
Shreveport, LA$28,201
Knoxville, TN$28,201
Wilmington, NC$28,101
Roanoke, VA$28,101
Topeka, KS$28,101
Frankfort, KY$28,101
Oklahoma City, OK$28,101
Mobile, AL$28,001
Altoona, PA$28,001
Sioux Falls, SD$28,001
Terre Haute, IN$28,001
Longview, TX$28,001
Chillicothe, OH$28,001
Melbourne, FL$28,001
Amarillo, TX$27,901
Killeen, TX$27,901
Fayetteville, AR$27,901
Chattanooga, TN$27,901
Sioux City, IA$27,901
Idaho Falls, ID$27,901
Youngstown, OH$27,801
Lafayette, LA$27,801
Little Rock, AR$27,801
Gainesville, FL$27,801
Lynchburg, VA$27,801
Portsmouth, OH$27,801
Daytona Beach, FL$27,701
Clarksville, TN$27,701
Pensacola, FL$27,701
Temple, TX$27,701
Charleston, WV$27,601
Florence, SC$27,601
Great Falls, MT$27,601
Hopkinsville, KY$27,601
Erie, PA$27,601
Macon, GA$27,501
Tallahassee, FL$27,501
Fayetteville, NC$27,501
Waco, TX$27,501
Helena, MT$27,501
Pine Bluff, AR$27,501
Rapid City, SD$27,401
Twin Falls, ID$27,401
Vincennes, IN$27,401
Lubbock, TX$27,401
Alamogordo, NM$27,401
Jackson, MS$27,301
Huntington, WV$27,301
Greenville, MS$27,301
Parkersburg, WV$27,301
Montgomery, AL$27,301
Johnstown, PA$27,201
Columbus, GA$27,201
Sumter, SC$27,201
Monroe, LA$27,201
Springfield, MO$27,201
Wichita Falls, TX$27,201
Biloxi, MS$27,201
Pascagoula, MS$27,101
Abilene, TX$27,101
Kingsport, TN$27,001
Albany, GA$27,001
Gulfport, MS$27,001
Alexandria, LA$26,901
Fort Smith, AR$26,801
El Paso, TX$26,701
Las Cruces, NM$26,601
Harlingen, TX$26,501
Pocatello, ID$26,501
Florence, AL$26,501
Brownsville, TX$26,501
Mcallen, TX$26,401
Dothan, AL$26,401
Columbus, MS$26,201
Altus, OK$26,001
Lawton, OK$26,001
Pierre, SD$25,901
Cosmetologist Salary by Company Size: Startups vs. Enterprise
Cosmetologist salary potential scales significantly with company size.
Data shows that Enterprise companies (5,000+ employees) pay the highest average salary at around $30,701.
While startup companies pay approximate $30,701.
Cosmetologist Salary by Company Size
Company Size
Employees
Average Salary
Startup
1~50
$30,701
Growth Stage
51~500
$30,701
Established
501~5000
$30,701
Enterprise
5000+
$30,701
Cosmetologist Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay
Understanding how a Cosmetologist's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting.
Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role.
Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.
For a Cosmetologist, the most direct path to higher earnings is advancing to the Spa Guest Services Assistant Manager - Casino role.
This promotion typically comes with a significant pay increase, bringing the average annual salary to
$47,000 - a projected growth of
53%
over your current level.
Ready to take the next step in your career? Browse thousands of current Cosmetologist job openings on our job board. Use the search bar below to find your perfect match.
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Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?
Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.
