Barber: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of barbers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $28,600
- Hourly
- $13.75
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of barbers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $31,570
- Hourly
- $15.18
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of barbers earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $38,210
- Hourly
- $18.37
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of barbers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $58,960
- Hourly
- $28.35
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of barbers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $76,460
- Hourly
- $36.76
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Barbers provide barbering services, such as cutting, trimming, shampooing, and styling hair; trimming beards; or giving shaves. The median pay is $38,210 a year ($18.37 an hour) (BLS, May 2025).
- Median pay
- $38,210
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 15,000
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- medium preparation
Barbers at a glance
Barbers in the United States earned a median annual wage of $38,210 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a postsecondary nondegree award as the typical entry-level education for barbers in the United States.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS projects employment of barbers in the United States to grow 3.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,900 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS estimated that 15,000 people were employed as barbers in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Every page for Barbers
What barbers do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Clean and sterilize scissors, combs, clippers, and other instruments.
- Cut and trim hair according to clients' instructions or current hairstyles, using clippers, combs, hand-held blow driers, and scissors.
- Question patrons regarding desired services and haircut styles.
- Clean work stations and sweep floors.
- Drape and pin protective cloths around customers' shoulders.
- Apply lather and shave beards or neck and temple hair contours, using razors.
- Record services provided on cashiers' tickets or receive payment from customers.
- Shape and trim beards and moustaches, using scissors.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Sales and Marketing, Education and Training, Public Safety and Security, Law and Government.
Software barbers use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
- Point of sale POS payment softwarePoint of sale POS software
- YouTubeVideo creation and editing software
- LinuxOperating system softwareHot technology
- Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
- Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
- Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareHot technology
- Microsoft WindowsOperating system softwareHot technology
- Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
- Appointment scheduling softwareCalendar and scheduling software
- Customer information databasesData base user interface and query software
Also called: Barber Shop Operator, Barber Stylist, Hair Stylist, Stylist.
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.