Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,823
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$5,737
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,807
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — 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
$34,560
Kept after tax
$28,823
Worth in national money
$29,807
State rank
29
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Georgia sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $34,560, ranking 29 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Georgia, this one sits low: 450 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Georgia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $34,560 you keep $28,823, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $29,807 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $42,830, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Georgia occupies the middle band for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists: a median of $34,560, ranking 29 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists occupies position 450 of 492 in Georgia'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.
- After federal, FICA and Georgia income tax, retained pay for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists on $34,560 is $28,823. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $29,807 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $42,830 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 | $17,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,170 |
| This salary | $34,560 |
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 Georgia | $28,823 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,949 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,012 |
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 | $33,159 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,224 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $34,560 as a midpoint for Georgia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $17,310 and the ninetieth is $79,170 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Georgia the take-home figure of $28,823, from $34,560, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 450 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Georgia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $29,807, the adjusted value of that $34,560 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 450 of 492 in the state.
- The Georgia median of $34,560 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $17,310 to $79,170. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Georgia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $28,823 from $34,560. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 450 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Georgia, so $29,807 — the adjusted value of that $34,560 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 450 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 $42,830, 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 $17,310 at the bottom tenth to $79,170 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Georgia sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $29,807 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Georgia then takes its own share, leaving $28,823.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 Georgia is $42,830. 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 ($17,310) and the ninetieth ($79,170) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $29,807 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $28,823 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia 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.