Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,561
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$6,099
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,922
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$38,660
Kept after tax
$32,561
Worth in national money
$28,922
State rank
9
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays this job a middle wage of $38,660, ranking 9 of 50 states and sitting about 8.02% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in California, this one sits low: 470 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $38,660 the take-home is $32,561. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $28,922 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $48,290, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California's median for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists is $38,660, about 8.02% above the national figure and 9 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists occupies position 470 of 492 in California's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $32,561 for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists, from $38,660. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,922. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $48,290 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,660 |
| Top tenth earn over | $68,640 |
| This salary | $38,660 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in California | $32,561 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,243 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,287 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $37,811 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,394 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in California earn under $38,660 and half over. The published range runs $35,360 at the tenth percentile to $68,640 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $32,561 take-home in California comes from $38,660. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 470 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,922 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 470.
- Figures are distribution medians for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,360 to $68,640; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $32,561, from $38,660, assumes a single California filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 470 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 9 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,922, worked from $38,660, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular California address, on work sitting at 470 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $48,290, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $35,360 at the bottom tenth to $68,640 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $28,922 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $32,561 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in California is $48,290. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($35,360) and the ninetieth ($68,640) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $28,922 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $32,561 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.