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Salary · Esthetician · United States

Esthetician salary: $45,330 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$45,330median ($21.79/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for skincare specialists in the United States was $45,330 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $29,580 and the top 10% earned more than $82,050. That median is 0.9 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was Washington ($79,320).

Data Government data groups this job as Skincare Specialists (O*NET-SOC 39-5094.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

10th percentile
$29,580
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$36,040
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$59,700
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$82,050
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Esthetician salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 49 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. Washington$79,320
  2. District of Columbia$77,480
  3. Wyoming$62,400
  4. Montana$58,500
  5. Nebraska$58,420
Most people employed
  1. California11,360
  2. Texas6,160
  3. Florida5,270
  4. New York3,510
  5. Illinois2,960
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
Washington$79,320$48,620–$119,0402,200
District of Columbia$77,480$57,660–$120,730200
Wyoming$62,400$39,490–$81,790100
Montana$58,500$35,130–$96,780280
Nebraska$58,420$44,300–$122,250550
North Dakota$58,160$35,710–$89,270190
Maine$55,850$34,520–$100,190260
Colorado$54,500$31,940–$99,7201,510
Oregon$52,110$35,900–$105,6601,070
Delaware$50,820$31,200–$96,650130
Arizona$50,470$38,650–$103,9501,710
Texas$49,250$27,390–$84,1806,160
Georgia$48,660$32,670–$68,6302,230
Massachusetts$47,310$36,610–$60,3201,360
New Mexico$47,230$30,010–$90,770370
New Hampshire$46,890$27,560–$83,200430
Maryland$46,590$35,580–$79,9401,130
Wisconsin$46,220$22,830–$65,5901,190
New Jersey$45,870$35,180–$80,9802,660
Kansas$45,760$28,880–$65,180420
Utah$45,490$26,810–$62,9901,160
Illinois$45,330$31,200–$63,9202,960
Michigan$45,240$28,810–$77,9401,510
Missouri$45,200$29,790–$81,7101,390
Indiana$44,450$24,440–$66,6701,120
Minnesota$44,430$23,990–$79,520920
Florida$43,880$27,860–$83,9905,270
Rhode Island$43,880$33,710–$62,400120
Connecticut$43,680$34,010–$87,240660
Pennsylvania$43,620$22,870–$69,8202,560
New York$42,910$33,510–$77,5503,510
Alaska$41,240$33,600–$47,980120
Mississippi$41,160$20,960–$140,920320
South Carolina$39,670$22,530–$80,4301,210
Virginia$39,350$31,530–$67,5201,970
Alabama$39,260$26,540–$73,180590
Ohio$39,150$28,350–$74,0301,700
North Carolina$39,120$25,570–$96,6602,680
California$38,770$34,650–$77,16011,360
Nevada$38,660$28,070–$73,1101,540
Kentucky$38,580$26,340–$81,610830
South Dakota$38,230$24,450–$52,350150
West Virginia$38,030$25,650–$60,55080
Oklahoma$37,340$22,140–$77,020680
Iowa$37,080$22,830–$191,910710
Louisiana$36,890$20,340–$64,650600
Tennessee$36,590$22,200–$77,8301,710
Arkansas$36,520$23,580–$57,770340
Idaho$34,130$21,630–$55,560720
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA$91,000
  2. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$80,510
  3. Portland-South Portland, ME$64,370
  4. Naples-Marco Island, FL$63,630
  5. Lincoln, NE$61,560
  6. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$58,930
  7. Omaha, NE-IA$58,430
  8. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA$57,930
  9. Fort Collins-Loveland, CO$55,970
  10. Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX$54,850
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Dermatologist$328,730
  2. Surgical Tech$64,650
  3. Massage Therapist$58,450
  4. Dental Assistant$48,070
  5. Medical Assistant$45,690
  6. Esthetician$45,330
  7. Cosmetologist$35,790
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. 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.
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