How much dobarbers make?
Barbers on a payroll earned a median of $38,210 a year in May 2025. But 80% of barbers are self-employed, and their earnings are not in the official pay data. Here is what the numbers cover, the full range and pay by state.
Updated October 28, 2026 · SOC 39-5011 (Barbers)
Pay at a glance
SOC 39-5011 (Barbers)
- $38,210median annual pay for barbers, or $18.37 an hour.
May 2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook; BLS, OEWS May 2025[1][2]
- $76,460or more for the highest-paid 10% (90th percentile).
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
- $47,070mean (average) annual pay, or $22.63 an hour.
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
- $77,430median annual pay in Oregon, the highest of any state.
May 2025CalculationLuvira calculation from BLS, OEWS May 2025: highest of the state medians BLS released[2]
What barbers earn, from lowest to highest
Barber pay rises steeply above the median: the 75th percentile is far above the middle, and the mean sits well above the median.
$38,210 median annual pay: half of barbers earned more, half less. The 10th percentile was $28,600, the 25th $31,570, the 75th $58,960 and the 90th $76,460.
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
$18.37 median hourly pay. The 10th percentile was $13.75 an hour, the 25th $15.18, the 75th $28.35 and the 90th $36.76.
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
$47,070 mean annual pay, $8,860 above the median of $38,210: the highest earners pull the average above the middle.
May 2025CalculationLuvira calculation from BLS, OEWS May 2025: mean minus median[2]
75.0% of the median for all occupations: $38,210 compared with $50,980.
May 2025CalculationLuvira calculation from BLS, OEWS May 2025: $38,210 ÷ $50,980, rounded to one decimal[2]
15,000 barbers on payrolls — the workers these pay figures describe.
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
OEWS pay covers 15,000 barbers on payrolls. It leaves out self-employed workers.
Most barbers work for themselves
Barbers are the most self-employed group in hair. That makes the official pay numbers a picture of the minority on a payroll — read them with that in mind.
80% of barbers are self-employed; the other 20% work in personal care services.
2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
75,800 jobs as barbers in all, against 15,000 barbers on payrolls in the OEWS count.
2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook; BLS, OEWS May 2025[1][2]
$18.26 median hourly pay for barbers in personal care services.
May 2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
$35,790 median annual pay for hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists, for comparison with the barber median of $38,210.
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
3% projected job growth for barbers, from 75,800 to 78,300 (+2,500).
2025–2035BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
Where barbers earn the most
Because few barbers are on payrolls, BLS releases barber pay for fewer states than for other beauty jobs.
$77,430 in Oregon, the highest state median. The top five: Oregon ($77,430), Illinois ($65,430), Colorado ($61,500), Washington ($61,150), Iowa ($58,900).
May 2025CalculationLuvira calculation from BLS, OEWS May 2025: state medians sorted from highest; states without a released estimate left out[2]
$24,690 in Tennessee, the lowest state median. The lowest three: Tennessee ($24,690), Utah ($25,370), Arkansas ($25,640).
May 2025CalculationLuvira calculation from BLS, OEWS May 2025: state medians sorted from lowest[2]
2,580 barbers on payrolls in Texas, the most of any state. The top five: Texas (2,580), California (1,390), Florida (1,240), Washington (1,220), Missouri (580).
May 2025CalculationLuvira calculation from BLS, OEWS May 2025: state employment sorted from highest[2]
State medians are not adjusted for living costs. “—” in the table below means BLS did not release the estimate.
Barbers pay by state
Median annual pay and the number of barbers on payrolls, for every state.
| State | Median annual payMay 2025 · BLS, OEWS May 2025 [2] | Barbers on payrollsMay 2025 · BLS, OEWS May 2025 [2] |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $29,120 | — |
| Alaska | — | — |
| Arizona | $34,380 | — |
| Arkansas | $25,640 | 170 |
| California | $38,380 | 1,390 |
| Colorado | $61,500 | 480 |
| Connecticut | $41,400 | 330 |
| Delaware | — | — |
| District of Columbia | — | — |
| Florida | $49,410 | 1,240 |
| Georgia | $30,750 | 550 |
| Hawaii | — | — |
| Idaho | $36,040 | 130 |
| Illinois | $65,430 | — |
| Indiana | $33,600 | 370 |
| Iowa | $58,900 | 130 |
| Kansas | — | — |
| Kentucky | — | — |
| Louisiana | $44,430 | 40 |
| Maine | $35,300 | 50 |
| Maryland | $35,400 | — |
| Massachusetts | — | — |
| Michigan | $35,490 | — |
| Minnesota | $53,990 | 260 |
| Mississippi | $38,480 | — |
| Missouri | $47,880 | 580 |
| Montana | — | — |
| Nebraska | $39,090 | — |
| Nevada | — | — |
| New Hampshire | — | — |
| New Jersey | $54,850 | — |
| New Mexico | $39,100 | 50 |
| New York | $38,580 | — |
| North Carolina | $31,050 | 330 |
| North Dakota | $48,540 | 80 |
| Ohio | — | — |
| Oklahoma | $34,860 | 170 |
| Oregon | $77,430 | — |
| Pennsylvania | $36,920 | 530 |
| Rhode Island | $34,900 | — |
| South Carolina | $32,900 | 220 |
| South Dakota | — | — |
| Tennessee | $24,690 | — |
| Texas | $30,760 | 2,580 |
| Utah | $25,370 | 320 |
| Vermont | — | — |
| Virginia | $46,730 | 160 |
| Washington | $61,150 | 1,220 |
| West Virginia | — | — |
| Wisconsin | $36,540 | 450 |
| Wyoming | — | — |
“—” means BLS did not release the estimate for that state. Self-employed workers are not included.
Related numbers
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Luvira, “How Much Do Barbers Make? Pay by State (BLS)”, October 28, 2026, https://luvira.io/statistics/how-much-do-barbers-make. Based on U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
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<a href="https://luvira.io/statistics/how-much-do-barbers-make">How Much Do Barbers Make? Pay by State (BLS)</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: Barbers, Hairstylists, and CosmetologistsNumber 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
- Earnings of self-employed barbers, because no official source publishes them by occupation.
- Chair-rent and commission figures, because there is no official source for them.
Common questions
About barber pay
Barbers on payrolls earned a median of $38,210 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS), and a mean of $47,070. Self-employed barbers, 80% of the occupation, are not in these numbers.
The median was $18.37 an hour in May 2025, ranging from $13.75 at the 10th percentile to $36.76 at the 90th.
On payrolls, yes: the barber median was $38,210 against $35,790 for hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists in May 2025.
Oregon had the highest state median for barbers in May 2025, at $77,430. Many states have no released estimate.
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