Esthetician and skin careindustry statistics
How many estheticians work in the US, where they work — salons and spas, their own business, physician offices — and how fast the field is growing. Official numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, each with its source and year.
Updated October 28, 2026 · SOC 39-5094 (Skincare Specialists)
The industry at a glance
SOC 39-5094 (Skincare Specialists)
- 104,200jobs as skincare specialists, including self-employed.
2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
- 9%projected job growth, much faster than average.
2025–2035BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
- 14,200openings projected each year, on average.
2025–2035BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
- 29%of skincare specialists are self-employed.
2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
Skincare specialists in numbers
BLS groups estheticians under skincare specialists. The Occupational Outlook Handbook counts all jobs including the self-employed; OEWS counts only jobs on a payroll.
104,200 jobs as skincare specialists, including self-employed workers.
2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
72,890 skincare specialists on payrolls (wage and salary jobs only).
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
$45,330 median annual pay, or $21.79 an hour.
May 2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook; BLS, OEWS May 2025[1][2]
Where estheticians work
Half work in personal care services; nearly a third run their own business. A smaller group works in physician offices, which is the closest official number to med spa work.
52% work in personal care services; 29% are self-employed, 6% work in offices of physicians, 3% in health and personal care retailers and 3% in traveler accommodation.
2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
$24.81 median hourly pay in offices of physicians — the highest of the industries BLS lists, ahead of traveler accommodation ($21.75), personal care services ($21.10) and health and personal care retailers ($20.15).
May 2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
BLS writes only the first share with a percent sign in its table; all are shares of skincare specialist jobs. There is no official category for med spas, so these numbers do not count med spas as businesses.
Job outlook for estheticians
BLS expects skincare specialist jobs to grow much faster than the average for all occupations over the next decade.
Skincare specialists by state
Skincare specialists on payrolls in every state, with the state’s median annual pay.
| State | Skincare specialists on payrollsMay 2025 · BLS, OEWS May 2025 [2] | Median annual payMay 2025 · BLS, OEWS May 2025 [2] |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 590 | $39,260 |
| Alaska | 120 | $41,240 |
| Arizona | 1,710 | $50,470 |
| Arkansas | 340 | $36,520 |
| California | 11,360 | $38,770 |
| Colorado | 1,510 | $54,500 |
| Connecticut | 660 | $43,680 |
| Delaware | 130 | $50,820 |
| District of Columbia | 200 | $77,480 |
| Florida | 5,270 | $43,880 |
| Georgia | 2,230 | $48,660 |
| Hawaii | 140 | — |
| Idaho | 720 | $34,130 |
| Illinois | 2,960 | $45,330 |
| Indiana | 1,120 | $44,450 |
| Iowa | 710 | $37,080 |
| Kansas | 420 | $45,760 |
| Kentucky | 830 | $38,580 |
| Louisiana | 600 | $36,890 |
| Maine | 260 | $55,850 |
| Maryland | 1,130 | $46,590 |
| Massachusetts | 1,360 | $47,310 |
| Michigan | 1,510 | $45,240 |
| Minnesota | 920 | $44,430 |
| Mississippi | 320 | $41,160 |
| Missouri | 1,390 | $45,200 |
| Montana | 280 | $58,500 |
| Nebraska | 550 | $58,420 |
| Nevada | 1,540 | $38,660 |
| New Hampshire | 430 | $46,890 |
| New Jersey | 2,660 | $45,870 |
| New Mexico | 370 | $47,230 |
| New York | 3,510 | $42,910 |
| North Carolina | 2,680 | $39,120 |
| North Dakota | 190 | $58,160 |
| Ohio | 1,700 | $39,150 |
| Oklahoma | 680 | $37,340 |
| Oregon | 1,070 | $52,110 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,560 | $43,620 |
| Rhode Island | 120 | $43,880 |
| South Carolina | 1,210 | $39,670 |
| South Dakota | 150 | $38,230 |
| Tennessee | 1,710 | $36,590 |
| Texas | 6,160 | $49,250 |
| Utah | 1,160 | $45,490 |
| Vermont | — | — |
| Virginia | 1,970 | $39,350 |
| Washington | 2,200 | $79,320 |
| West Virginia | 80 | $38,030 |
| Wisconsin | 1,190 | $46,220 |
| Wyoming | 100 | $62,400 |
“—” means BLS did not release the estimate. Self-employed estheticians are not included in state counts.
Pay in this field
How to cite this page
You are welcome to use these numbers in articles, reports and presentations. Please name the original agency, and link to this page as the place you found them.
As text
Luvira, “Esthetician & Skin Care Industry Statistics”, October 28, 2026, https://luvira.io/statistics/esthetics-industry. Based on U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
As a link (HTML)
<a href="https://luvira.io/statistics/esthetics-industry">Esthetician & Skin Care Industry Statistics</a> (Luvira, based on Census Bureau and BLS data)
Sources and method
All sources accessed October 28, 2026. Each number above links to its source by number.
- [1]U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Skincare SpecialistsNumber of jobs includes self-employed workers; projections cover 2025 to 2035. Pay is the May 2025 OEWS estimate for wage and salary workers.
- [2]U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025: national and state estimatesRead through the BLS Public Data API (series OEUN… for the nation, OEUS… for states). OEWS counts wage and salary jobs only, so self-employed workers are not included. Estimates BLS does not release are shown as “—”.
How we built this page
- Only official sources: the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. No paid market research, no trade-group surveys, no job-board salaries.
- Numbers are written exactly as the agency published them. Numbers we worked out, such as shares, changes and averages per business, are labeled “Calculation” and show how they were calculated.
- Pay figures cover workers on a payroll. The self-employed are counted in the number of jobs but not in the pay data.
Left out on purpose
- A count of skin care businesses or med spas, because no official industry class covers them on their own.
- Med spa revenue and counts from trade-group surveys, because they are not official statistics.
- Job counts for lash techs, because BLS does not track them as a separate occupation.
Common questions
About esthetics industry
BLS counts 104,200 jobs as skincare specialists in 2025, the occupation that includes estheticians. OEWS, which counts payroll jobs only, found 72,890 in May 2025; the Handbook count also includes self-employed workers.
Not as businesses. There is no official industry class for med spas. The closest official number: 6% of skincare specialists work in offices of physicians, where their median pay was $24.81 an hour in May 2025.
No. BLS has no separate occupation for eyelash extension specialists; the Handbook only says skincare specialists may also provide eyelash services. Any “lash tech” job count you see elsewhere is an estimate, not an official figure.
BLS projects 9% growth in skincare specialist jobs from 2025 to 2035, from 104,200 to 113,300, with 14,200 openings a year on average.
Still have questions?
Write to us — a real person reads every email.