Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,077
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$6,343
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,930
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$36,420
Kept after tax
$30,077
Worth in national money
$28,930
State rank
17
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Maryland is 17 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $36,420. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Maryland this is lower-paid work. Of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 463. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Maryland is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $36,420 the take-home is $30,077; in national-average money that behaves like $28,930. The average comes to $45,350, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maryland ranks 17 of 50 for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists at $36,420. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Maryland reports, hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists ranks 463 of 489, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Take-home for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Maryland, on $36,420, is $30,077; deflated by the state's price level, $28,930. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $45,350 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $31,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,420 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,940 |
| This salary | $36,420 |
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 Maryland | $30,077 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,443 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,428 |
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 | $34,720 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,145 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
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 Maryland earn under $36,420 and half over. The published range runs $31,830 at the tenth percentile to $72,940 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Maryland the take-home figure of $30,077, from $36,420, 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 463 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $28,930, the adjusted value of that $36,420 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Maryland. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 463 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Maryland, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,830 to $72,940; 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.
- Take-home for Maryland is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,077 from $36,420. 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 463 of 489 locally.
- This $28,930 adjusted figure, worked from $36,420, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 463 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 463 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $45,350, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $31,830 and the top tenth $72,940 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $28,930 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; Maryland then takes its own share, leaving $30,077.
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 Maryland is $45,350. 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 ($31,830) and the ninetieth ($72,940) 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?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $28,930 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 $30,077 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.