Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,611
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$6,179
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,396
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$36,790
Kept after tax
$30,611
Worth in national money
$31,396
State rank
16
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $36,790, which ranks 16 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 2.79% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Pennsylvania, this one sits low: 441 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $36,790 the take-home is $30,611, which is worth about $31,396 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $43,000, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Pennsylvania ranks 16 of 50 states publishing a median for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists, at $36,790 — about 2.79% 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.
- Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists occupies position 441 of 492 in Pennsylvania'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.
- Pennsylvania's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists on its $36,790 median: $30,611 retained after tax becomes $31,396 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $43,000 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 | $23,700 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $68,750 |
| This salary | $36,790 |
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 Pennsylvania | $30,611 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,741 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,267 |
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 | $35,384 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,533 |
| 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 Pennsylvania earn less than $36,790. The published range is $23,700 up to $68,750, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $30,611 take-home in Pennsylvania comes from $36,790. 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 441 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $31,396, the adjusted value of that $36,790 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 441 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $23,700 to $68,750. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $30,611, from $36,790, assumes a single Pennsylvania 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 441 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 16 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $31,396 — the adjusted value of that $36,790 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 441 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 $43,000, 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 $23,700 at the bottom tenth to $68,750 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $31,396.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Pennsylvania's own levy, $30,611 remains.
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 Pennsylvania is $43,000. 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 ($23,700) and the ninetieth ($68,750) 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?
Pennsylvania'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 $31,396 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 $30,611 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.