How much donail techs make?
Manicurists and pedicurists earned a median of $35,760 a year in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here is the full range, the hourly rate, how pay compares with other jobs and what nail techs earn in each state.
Updated October 28, 2026 · SOC 39-5092 (Manicurists and Pedicurists)
Pay at a glance
SOC 39-5092 (Manicurists and Pedicurists)
- $35,760median annual pay for manicurists and pedicurists, or $17.19 an hour.
May 2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook; BLS, OEWS May 2025[1][2]
- $50,140or more for the highest-paid 10% (90th percentile).
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
- $38,570mean (average) annual pay, or $18.54 an hour.
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
- $60,790median annual pay in Hawaii, the highest of any state.
May 2025CalculationLuvira calculation from BLS, OEWS May 2025: highest of the state medians BLS released[2]
What nail techs earn, from lowest to highest
The gap between a new nail tech and an experienced one is narrower than for the other jobs on these pages: the 90th percentile is well under double the 10th.
$35,760 median annual pay: half of manicurists and pedicurists earned more, half less. The 10th percentile was $28,920, the 25th $34,010, the 75th $41,650 and the 90th $50,140.
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
$17.19 median hourly pay. The 10th percentile was $13.90 an hour, the 25th $16.35, the 75th $20.03 and the 90th $24.10.
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
$38,570 mean annual pay, $2,810 above the median of $35,760: the highest earners pull the average above the middle.
May 2025CalculationLuvira calculation from BLS, OEWS May 2025: mean minus median[2]
70.1% of the median for all occupations: $35,760 compared with $50,980.
May 2025CalculationLuvira calculation from BLS, OEWS May 2025: $35,760 ÷ $50,980, rounded to one decimal[2]
152,770 manicurists and pedicurists on payrolls — the workers these pay figures describe.
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[2]
OEWS pay covers 152,770 manicurists and pedicurists on payrolls. It leaves out self-employed workers.
Salon pay and self-employment
Nearly all nail techs on a payroll work in personal care services, so the industry median is the occupation median. Many others work for themselves, and their earnings are not part of these numbers.
$17.19 median hourly pay in personal care services, compared with $17.48 for all personal appearance workers and $24.51 for all occupations.
May 2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
76% of manicurists and pedicurists work in personal care services; 23 percent are self-employed.
2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[1]
Where nail techs earn the most
State medians for nail techs range widely. The states with the most nail techs on payrolls are not the best paying ones.
$60,790 in Hawaii, the highest state median. The top five: Hawaii ($60,790), Nebraska ($56,940), Washington ($49,900), Maine ($48,540), Alaska ($47,890).
May 2025CalculationLuvira calculation from BLS, OEWS May 2025: state medians sorted from highest; states without a released estimate left out[2]
$25,720 in New Mexico, the lowest state median. The lowest three: New Mexico ($25,720), Georgia ($26,910), Arkansas ($27,690).
May 2025CalculationLuvira calculation from BLS, OEWS May 2025: state medians sorted from lowest[2]
39,210 manicurists and pedicurists on payrolls in California, the most of any state. The top five: California (39,210), New York (19,710), New Jersey (11,520), Pennsylvania (9,610), Washington (5,570).
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.
Nail techs pay by state
Median annual pay and the number of manicurists and pedicurists on payrolls, for every state.
| State | Median annual payMay 2025 · BLS, OEWS May 2025 [2] | Nail techs on payrollsMay 2025 · BLS, OEWS May 2025 [2] |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $30,300 | 920 |
| Alaska | $47,890 | 180 |
| Arizona | $35,290 | 2,440 |
| Arkansas | $27,690 | 230 |
| California | $36,630 | 39,210 |
| Colorado | $37,110 | 3,970 |
| Connecticut | $34,720 | 4,490 |
| Delaware | $31,200 | 780 |
| District of Columbia | $36,620 | — |
| Florida | $37,840 | 4,470 |
| Georgia | $26,910 | 1,710 |
| Hawaii | $60,790 | 40 |
| Idaho | $34,910 | 160 |
| Illinois | $37,050 | 2,470 |
| Indiana | $36,140 | 510 |
| Iowa | $45,420 | 190 |
| Kansas | $30,930 | 1,510 |
| Kentucky | $45,310 | 240 |
| Louisiana | $28,170 | 2,210 |
| Maine | $48,540 | 200 |
| Maryland | $37,300 | 2,080 |
| Massachusetts | $35,470 | 4,660 |
| Michigan | $36,890 | 1,020 |
| Minnesota | $36,040 | 3,260 |
| Mississippi | $37,300 | 520 |
| Missouri | $39,100 | 1,630 |
| Montana | $33,660 | 110 |
| Nebraska | $56,940 | 310 |
| Nevada | $41,880 | 1,020 |
| New Hampshire | $35,100 | 490 |
| New Jersey | $36,370 | 11,520 |
| New Mexico | $25,720 | — |
| New York | $34,660 | 19,710 |
| North Carolina | $34,740 | 1,900 |
| North Dakota | $33,430 | 270 |
| Ohio | $35,590 | 3,680 |
| Oklahoma | $31,330 | 480 |
| Oregon | $46,080 | 2,210 |
| Pennsylvania | $27,990 | 9,610 |
| Rhode Island | $34,910 | — |
| South Carolina | $33,810 | 710 |
| South Dakota | $45,310 | 250 |
| Tennessee | $34,810 | 1,200 |
| Texas | $34,040 | 5,340 |
| Utah | $28,820 | 1,150 |
| Vermont | — | 100 |
| Virginia | $36,630 | 4,230 |
| Washington | $49,900 | 5,570 |
| West Virginia | $38,260 | 120 |
| Wisconsin | $36,680 | 2,350 |
| Wyoming | — | — |
“—” means BLS did not release the estimate for that state. Self-employed workers are not included.
Related numbers
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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: Manicurists and PedicuristsNumber 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 and booth-renting nail techs, because no official source publishes them by occupation.
- Salary figures from job boards, because they are self-reported and not checked.
Common questions
About nail tech pay
The median annual pay for manicurists and pedicurists was $35,760 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS). The middle half earned between $34,010 and $41,650.
The median was $17.19 an hour in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $13.90 and the 90th percentile $24.10 an hour.
Hawaii had the highest state median for manicurists and pedicurists in May 2025, at $60,790. The table above lists every state with a released estimate.
They cover the 152,770 manicurists and pedicurists on payrolls. Self-employed nail techs are not included; BLS counts 23 percent of the occupation as self-employed.
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