Nail salon industrystatistics
How many nail salons there are in the US, how many have employees, what they pay and take in, and how many manicurists and pedicurists work in the field. Official numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, each with its source and year.
Updated October 28, 2026 · NAICS 812113 (Nail Salons) · SOC 39-5092 (Manicurists and Pedicurists)
The industry at a glance
NAICS 812113 (Nail Salons) · SOC 39-5092 (Manicurists and Pedicurists)
- 34,417nail salons with paid employees.
2023Census, County Business Patterns[1]
- 318,382nail salon businesses without paid employees.
2024Census, Nonemployer Statistics[2]
- 148,059people worked at nail salons with employees.
2023Census, County Business Patterns[1]
- 201,800jobs as manicurists and pedicurists, including self-employed.
2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[3]
- 9%projected job growth for manicurists and pedicurists, much faster than average.
2025–2035BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[3]
Nail salons with employees
County Business Patterns counts every nail salon location that has at least one paid employee. Both the number of salons and the number of employees grew from 2022 to 2023, and most salons stay small.
34,417 nail salon locations with paid employees, up from 33,802 in 2022.
2023Census, County Business Patterns; Census, County Business Patterns 2022[1][4]
+1.8% more nail salons with employees than a year earlier (+615 locations).
2022–2023CalculationLuvira calculation from Census, County Business Patterns; Census, County Business Patterns 2022: (34,417 − 33,802) ÷ 33,802, rounded to one decimal[1][4]
148,059 employees in mid-March, up from 145,402 a year earlier.
2023Census, County Business Patterns; Census, County Business Patterns 2022[1][4]
$3,912,509,000 in annual payroll at nail salons with employees.
2023Census, County Business Patterns[1]
65.6% of nail salons with employees had fewer than 5 employees: 22,572 of 34,417. Another 8,403 had 5 to 9 and 2,919 had 10 to 19.
2023CalculationLuvira calculation from Census, County Business Patterns: 22,572 ÷ 34,417, rounded to one decimal[1]
$26,425 payroll per employee at nail salons.
2023CalculationLuvira calculation from Census, County Business Patterns: annual payroll $3,912,509,000 ÷ 148,059 mid-March employees, rounded to the dollar; part-time jobs count as one employee[1]
Nail businesses without employees
Most nail businesses have no employees at all. The Census Bureau counts them separately in Nonemployer Statistics, which is published one year later than County Business Patterns, so the years differ.
318,382 nail salon businesses without paid employees, up from 295,977 in 2023.
2024Census, Nonemployer Statistics; Census, Nonemployer Statistics 2023[2][5]
+7.6% more nail businesses without employees than a year earlier (+22,405).
2023–2024CalculationLuvira calculation from Census, Nonemployer Statistics; Census, Nonemployer Statistics 2023: (318,382 − 295,977) ÷ 295,977, rounded to one decimal[2][5]
$13,147,338,000 in receipts of nail businesses without employees.
2024Census, Nonemployer Statistics[2]
$41,294 average receipts per nail business without employees.
2024CalculationLuvira calculation from Census, Nonemployer Statistics: $13,147,338,000 ÷ 318,382 businesses, rounded to the dollar[2]
Receipts are what the business took in before costs, not what the owner earned.
Manicurists and pedicurists
The Occupational Outlook Handbook counts all jobs, including self-employed nail techs. OEWS counts only wage and salary jobs, which is why its number is lower.
201,800 jobs as manicurists and pedicurists, including self-employed workers.
2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[3]
152,770 manicurists and pedicurists on payrolls (wage and salary jobs only).
May 2025BLS, OEWS May 2025[6]
76% of manicurists and pedicurists work in personal care services; 23 percent are self-employed.
2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook[3]
$35,760 median annual pay for manicurists and pedicurists, or $17.19 an hour.
May 2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook; BLS, OEWS May 2025[3][6]
BLS writes the self-employed share without a percent sign in its table; it is the share of all jobs.
Job outlook for nail techs
BLS expects jobs for manicurists and pedicurists to grow much faster than the average for all occupations over the next decade.
Nail salons and nail techs by state
Salons with employees, nail businesses without employees, and manicurists and pedicurists on payrolls, for every state.
| State | Salons with employees2023 · Census, County Business Patterns [1] | Businesses without employees2024 · Census, Nonemployer Statistics [2] | Nail techs on payrollsMay 2025 · BLS, OEWS May 2025 [6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 290 | 5,978 | 920 |
| Alaska | 61 | 212 | 180 |
| Arizona | 661 | 8,251 | 2,440 |
| Arkansas | 131 | 2,754 | 230 |
| California | 6,750 | 18,570 | 39,210 |
| Colorado | 739 | 3,130 | 3,970 |
| Connecticut | 781 | 1,273 | 4,490 |
| Delaware | 145 | 477 | 780 |
| District of Columbia | 63 | 188 | — |
| Florida | 1,742 | 50,549 | 4,470 |
| Georgia | 847 | 24,295 | 1,710 |
| Hawaii | 86 | 1,244 | 40 |
| Idaho | 98 | 1,272 | 160 |
| Illinois | 968 | 12,993 | 2,470 |
| Indiana | 194 | 5,725 | 510 |
| Iowa | 154 | 2,094 | 190 |
| Kansas | 258 | 1,291 | 1,510 |
| Kentucky | 117 | 3,383 | 240 |
| Louisiana | 537 | 5,134 | 2,210 |
| Maine | 73 | 528 | 200 |
| Maryland | 591 | 6,199 | 2,080 |
| Massachusetts | 1,100 | 3,703 | 4,660 |
| Michigan | 244 | 9,868 | 1,020 |
| Minnesota | 672 | 919 | 3,260 |
| Mississippi | 164 | 3,336 | 520 |
| Missouri | 399 | 5,520 | 1,630 |
| Montana | 39 | 546 | 110 |
| Nebraska | 52 | 2,264 | 310 |
| Nevada | 235 | 4,883 | 1,020 |
| New Hampshire | 172 | 276 | 490 |
| New Jersey | 2,126 | 2,851 | 11,520 |
| New Mexico | 75 | 1,388 | — |
| New York | 4,329 | 7,954 | 19,710 |
| North Carolina | 570 | 13,468 | 1,900 |
| North Dakota | 61 | 247 | 270 |
| Ohio | 757 | 7,749 | 3,680 |
| Oklahoma | 189 | 4,357 | 480 |
| Oregon | 430 | 1,539 | 2,210 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,846 | 3,806 | 9,610 |
| Rhode Island | 112 | 705 | — |
| South Carolina | 314 | 6,364 | 710 |
| South Dakota | 44 | 278 | 250 |
| Tennessee | 314 | 8,969 | 1,200 |
| Texas | 1,881 | 55,628 | 5,340 |
| Utah | 260 | 3,073 | 1,150 |
| Vermont | 39 | 93 | 100 |
| Virginia | 930 | 8,473 | 4,230 |
| Washington | 1,234 | 1,463 | 5,570 |
| West Virginia | 55 | 900 | 120 |
| Wisconsin | 465 | 1,960 | 2,350 |
| Wyoming | 23 | 262 | — |
“—” means BLS did not release the estimate for that state. State counts of nail techs leave out self-employed workers and do not add up to the national figure.
Pay in this field
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As text
Luvira, “Nail Salon Industry Statistics 2026 (US)”, October 28, 2026, https://luvira.io/statistics/nail-salon-industry. Based on U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
As a link (HTML)
<a href="https://luvira.io/statistics/nail-salon-industry">Nail Salon Industry Statistics 2026 (US)</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. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (U.S. and state files)Establishments with paid employees only. Employment as of mid-March; payroll for the full year.
- [2]U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024 (U.S. and state files)Businesses without paid employees. Receipts are published in thousands of dollars; the totals here are written out.
- [3]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.
- [4]U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (U.S. file)
- [5]U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2023 (U.S. file)
- [6]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
- Market-size estimates from paid research firms, because their methods cannot be checked.
- A total that adds salons with and without employees, because the two counts come from different programs and years.
Common questions
About nail salon industry
The Census Bureau counted 34,417 nail salons with paid employees in 2023 (County Business Patterns, NAICS 812113) and 318,382 nail businesses without employees in 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics). The two counts come from different programs and years, so they are shown side by side, not added.
Yes, by the official counts. Nail salons with employees grew from 33,802 in 2022 to 34,417 in 2023, nail businesses without employees from 295,977 in 2023 to 318,382 in 2024, and BLS projects 9% job growth for manicurists and pedicurists from 2025 to 2035.
Nail salons with employees had 148,059 employees in mid-March 2023. BLS counts 201,800 jobs as manicurists and pedicurists in 2025, including the self-employed.
California has the most nail salons with employees (6,750 in 2023). Texas has the most nail businesses without employees (55,628 in 2024). The table above lists every state.
Yes. Every number links to the agency that published it, so you can cite the original source. A link back to this page as the place you found the numbers is appreciated.
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