Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,851
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$6,289
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,369
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$35,140
Kept after tax
$28,851
Worth in national money
$30,369
State rank
24
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Utah sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $35,140, ranking 24 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 Utah, this one sits low: 458 of 487 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $35,140 you keep $28,851 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $30,369 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $41,840, since top earners drag the number up.
- Utah occupies the middle band for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists: a median of $35,140, ranking 24 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 458 of 487 in Utah'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 Utah is $28,851 after the full tax stack, from $35,140. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $30,369 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $41,840 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,860 |
| This salary | $35,140 |
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 Utah | $28,851 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,415 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$930 |
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 | $33,194 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,125 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,140 as a midpoint for Utah, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $21,810 and the ninetieth is $75,860 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Utah the take-home figure of $28,851, from $35,140, 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 458 of 487 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $30,369, the adjusted value of that $35,140 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 458 of 487 in the state.
- The Utah median of $35,140 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $21,810 to $75,860. 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 Utah is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $28,851 from $35,140. 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 458 of 487 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $30,369 — the adjusted value of that $35,140 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 458 of 487 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 $41,840, 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $21,810 and the top tenth $75,860 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $30,369 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Utah adds its own income tax on top — which is why $28,851 of this wage survives to your account.
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 Utah is $41,840. 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 ($21,810) and the ninetieth ($75,860) 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?
Utah'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 $30,369 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 $28,851 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.