Health & Beauty
Cosmetologist / Hair Stylist
Cut, color, and style hair. Salon owners and master stylists in HCOL cities regularly earn $80–150k+. Tips significantly boost reported salary.
no-degree-requiredquick-startself-employmentcreativehands-on
Salary progression
What you'll earn over your career
$28k
$45k
$85k
Entry
Mid-career
Senior
10-yr outlook
+8%
+8% (Faster than avg)
Open positions
73,000
Estimated nationwide
Entry paths
How to get here
Multiple paths lead to this career. Compare time, cost, online vs in-person delivery, and program links.
Fastest ROI
Trade School In Person
Cosmetology License (state)
Time
9–15 months
Cost
$6,000 – $20,000
Booth-rental stylists keep most of their revenue and write off everything.
Affiliate disclosure: Some of the program links above may be affiliate partnerships. If you enroll, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only link to programs we have actually reviewed against our methodology. See our methodology for how we evaluate schools.
Attainability breakdown
What are the odds
you actually get there?
Six factors weighted to estimate the realistic probability a motivated person reaches this outcome. Higher = more attainable.
78
Composite
Attainability Score
Editorial estimate
Editorial estimate — based on best-available qualitative info. We're upgrading individual factors to published statistics where available.
- Educational difficultyHow hard the required schooling is to complete8520%
- Licensing & examsPass rates and difficulty of required exams8015%
- Entry-job competitionHow many applicants per open entry-level role8520%
- Career stay-rateInverse of early-career attrition / industry exit5515%
- Market demandOpenings vs available workforce7015%
- Alternative pathsHow many viable ways exist to enter the field8515%
Quick math
If you took the fastest path…
You'd train for
9–15 months
You'd spend (avg)
$13,000
Starting salary
$28,000
Mid-career
$45,000
Read more
Articles & resources
Sources: BLS OOH 2024