39 Hairdressing Career Statistics You Have To See To Believe

Looking good is always fashionable. With the beauty industry booming, the sky continues to be the limit for licensed professionals. See the current state of hairdressing careers and the potential benefits they hold for you!

Hairdressers, Hair Stylists & Cosmetologists

Cut Out For Success

Learn about these creatively expressive professions that will never go out of style.

  • 1 out of 517 people in the US was a hairdresser, hair stylist, or cosmetologist in 2012, totaling 611,200.
  • Highest employment per capita: Vermont 1 in 281
  • Highest number of employed hairdressers, hair stylists, and cosmetologists of any state: Texas 45,100
    • Followed by: California (41,400), Florida (40,460), New York (40,160), Pennsylvania (40,160)

Average Earning Potential

  • Washington, D.C.: $22.85/hr
  • Hawaii: $17.16/hr
  • Washington: $16.52/hr
  • Connecticut: $14.39/hr
  • Vermont: $14.23/hr

Employment Growth Rate

  • Between 2012-2022, hairdresser, hair stylist, and cosmetologist jobs are expected to grow at 13%.
  • The national average growth rate for all jobs over this same time frame is 11%.

Projected Employment (2022)

  • 688,700 hairdresser, hair stylist, and cosmetologist jobs in the US in 2022.

Annual Job Openings

  • 220,600 annual job openings created for hairdressers, hair stylists, and cosmetologists.

Highest Employment Growth Rate By State

  • Utah: 28%
  • Georgia: 27%
  • Delaware: 26%
  • Massachusetts: 23%
  • Illinois: 22%

Highest Annual Job Openings By State

  • Texas: 1,800
  • California: 1,580
  • New York: 1,480
  • Florida: 1,260
  • Pennsylvania: 1,100

Education By The Numbers

Accreditation

  • 1,569 – Number of accredited beauty schools in the US
  • 160 – The number of accredited beauty schools in California, the most in the US
  • 0 – The number of accredited beauty schools in Alaska, the least in the US
  • 1:76,768 – Ratio of beauty schools to people in Idaho, the highest ratio of any state in the US
  • 1:982,516 – Ratio of beauty schools to people in Oregon, the lowest ratio of any state in the US

Program Length

  • 12.83 – Average monthly length of cosmetology programs in the US
  • 7-25 – Number of months most programs take in the US to complete
  • 1,594.12 – Average required clock hours for a beauty school student in the US
  • 2,100 – The number of pre-licensing clock hours required for beauty school students in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, the highest in the US
  • 1,000 – The number of pre-licensing clock hours required for beauty school students in Massachusetts and New York, the fewest in the US

Tuition

  • $13,715.18 – Average tuition for a beauty school in the US
  • $2,625-$24,650 – Most cosmetology programs in the US cost within this range

Sources

Is A Hairdressing Career Right For You?

Learn how to get started toward a rewarding career as a hairdresser, hair stylist, or cosmetologist at a TONI&GUY Hairdressing Academy near you!