Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Median Annual Pay
$38,210
Median Hourly Pay
$18.37
10th to 90th Percentile
$28,600 to $76,460
On Payrolls Nationally
15,000
How Much Do Barbers Make in 2026?
Barbers make a median salary of $38,210 a year in 2026, or $18.37 an hour, across 15,000 people on a payroll nationally in the May 2025 OEWS release, which is the most recent published. The mean is $47,070, 23% above the median, and the gap between the two is the first thing worth noticing: an average pulled that far above the midpoint means a minority earning a great deal more than the middle.
Barber pay has the second-widest spread of the roles here, and the top of it is high: the top tenth earns roughly twice the median. Chair rental is the norm rather than the exception in this trade, which is why the payroll figures below cover so few people.
What Is the Full Salary Range for Barbers in 2026?
The full salary range for barbers in 2026 runs from $28,600 at the bottom tenth to $76,460 at the top tenth, a factor of 2.7. Half of them earn between $31,570 and $58,960, which is the band a reader should plan around rather than the single median figure.
- Bottom 10% $28,600 $28,600
- Lower quarter $31,570 $31,570
- Median $38,210 $38,210
- Upper quarter $58,960 $58,960
- Top 10% $76,460 $76,460
Annual figures are hourly wages multiplied by 2,080 hours, which assumes full-time year-round work. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Which States Pay Barbers the Most in 2026?
The states paying barbers the most in 2026 are Colorado at $61,500, Washington at $61,150, and Iowa at $58,900. Across every state that publishes a figure, the best-paying is 142% above the worst, and none of it is adjusted for what living there costs.
| State | Median | Bottom 10% | Top 10% | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | $61,500 | $33,130 | $81,060 | 480 |
| Washington | $61,150 | $52,540 | $76,480 | 1,220 |
| Iowa | $58,900 | $31,200 | $81,710 | 130 |
| Minnesota | $53,990 | $39,000 | $59,170 | 260 |
| Florida | $49,410 | $31,000 | $79,490 | 1,240 |
| North Dakota | $48,540 | $28,760 | $59,070 | 80 |
| Missouri | $47,880 | $36,710 | $80,950 | 580 |
| Virginia | $46,730 | $37,270 | $75,860 | 160 |
| Louisiana | $44,430 | $22,340 | $56,110 | 40 |
| Connecticut | $41,400 | $38,500 | $48,600 | 330 |
The median barber salary by state comes from OEWS state estimates for 39-5011, and is not adjusted for cost of living.
At the other end, the lowest published medians are Utah at $25,370, Arkansas at $25,640, Georgia at $30,750, Texas at $30,760, North Carolina at $31,050.
BLS publishes a median for this occupation in 24 states. A state missing from it is one BLS withheld for a small sample, not one paying nothing.
Do These Figures Include Self-Employed Barbers?
These figures do not include self-employed barbers. The OEWS survey collects from employers, so everyone who works for themselves is outside its scope, and BLS says so plainly in its own footnote: estimates do not include self-employed workers.
That exclusion matters more in this field than in most. Renting a chair or a booth makes a stylist self-employed for this purpose even though they work in someone else's salon every day, and it is a normal way to work rather than an edge case. So read every figure on this page as the pay of barbers on a salon's payroll, and treat the trade as a whole as unmeasured by it.
How Does Barber Pay Compare With Other Beauty Careers?
Barber pay ranks 4 of the 6 roles this site covers, at $38,210. The roles paying more at the median are makeup artists, salon managers, estheticians.
Median pay for all six rows is BLS national figures from the same May 2025 release, so they are comparable with each other.
| Role | Median | Top 10% | On Payrolls |
|---|---|---|---|
| makeup artist | $97,150 | $167,470 | 2,340 |
| salon manager | $48,590 | $75,330 | 114,110 |
| esthetician | $45,330 | $82,050 | 72,890 |
| barber (this page) | $38,210 | $76,460 | 15,000 |
| cosmetologist | $35,790 | $71,190 | 305,710 |
| nail technician | $35,760 | $50,140 | 152,770 |
Common Questions About Barber Pay
How Much Does a Barber Make an Hour in 2026?
Which State Pays Barbers the Most in 2026?
Do These Figures Include Self-Employed Barbers?
Every figure in the answers above is from the May 2025 OEWS release for 39-5011, and describes barbers on a payroll rather than the trade as a whole.
Where Do the Figures in This Barber Salary Guide Come From?
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. National and state medians, percentiles and employment for 39-5011.
- OEWS questions and answers. Survey scope, the exclusion of self-employed workers, and how annual figures are derived from hourly ones.