Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$22,651
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$3,379
13.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,639
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$26,030
Kept after tax
$22,651
Worth in national money
$25,639
State rank
50
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $26,030, ranking 50 of 50 states — about 27.27% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Louisiana, this one sits low: 469 of 484 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $26,030 you keep $22,651 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $25,639 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $27,600, since top earners drag the number up.
- Louisiana ranks 50 of 50 for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists, with a median of $26,030 — about 27.27% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists occupies position 469 of 484 in Louisiana'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 in Louisiana is $22,651 after the full tax stack, from $26,030. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $25,639 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $27,600 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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 | $21,590 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $26,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $33,900 |
| This salary | $26,030 |
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 Louisiana | $22,651 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $23,046 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,924 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $25,551 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,270 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $26,030 as a midpoint for Louisiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $21,590 and the ninetieth is $33,900 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Louisiana's $22,651, worked from $26,030. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 469 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $25,639 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 469.
- The Louisiana median of $26,030 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $21,590 to $33,900. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Louisiana take-home of $22,651, on $26,030 for work ranking 469 of 484 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 469 of 484 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $25,639, worked from $26,030, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 469 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $27,600, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $21,590 at the bottom tenth to $33,900 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $25,639 in national terms.
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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $22,651.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Louisiana is $27,600. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($21,590 to $33,900) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $25,639 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 $22,651 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.