Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,376
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$6,794
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,897
Minnesota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Minnesota — 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
$39,170
Kept after tax
$32,376
Worth in national money
$32,897
State rank
8
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Minnesota is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $39,170, which ranks 8 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 9.44% above the national middle.
- Against 490 occupations Minnesota publishes, this job lands at 447. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $39,170, tax leaves $32,376, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $32,897 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $48,240, since top earners drag the number up.
- Minnesota ranks 8 of 50 states publishing a median for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists, at $39,170 — about 9.44% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Within Minnesota, this work ranks 447 of 490 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Because Minnesota sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists — median $39,170 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $32,376 retained, $32,897 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $48,240 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,590 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,880 |
| This salary | $39,170 |
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 Minnesota | $32,376 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,653 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,735 |
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 | $37,581 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,098 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Minnesota earn less than $39,170. The published range is $23,590 up to $78,880, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Minnesota's $32,376, worked from $39,170. 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 447 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,897 uses one figure for the whole of Minnesota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 490 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 447.
- Reported values are medians; for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Minnesota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $23,590 to $78,880. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Minnesota take-home of $32,376, on $39,170 for work ranking 447 of 490 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 447 of 490 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,897, worked from $39,170, 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 Minnesota address, on work sitting at 447 of 490 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 $48,240, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $23,590, the highest tenth $78,880, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Minnesota is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $32,897 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; Minnesota then takes its own share, leaving $32,376.
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 Minnesota is $48,240. 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 ($23,590) and the ninetieth ($78,880) 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?
Minnesota'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 $32,897 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 $32,376 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Minnesota 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.