Median pay · Alabama
$29,150A year, or $14 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile1 in 10 earn less | $21,300 | $10 |
| 25th percentile | $23,610 | $11 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $29,150 | $14 |
| 75th percentile | $37,230 | $18 |
| 90th percentile1 in 10 earn more | $56,700 | $27 |
| MeanAll pay divided by all jobs | $33,700 | $16 |
Wage survey · BLS May 2025
How we got this
- Median wage in AlabamaBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of the people in this job were paid more than this, half less.$29,150
- Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$14.02
- Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$2,039 a month at an effective rate of 16.1%.$24,467 a year
- Worth at national average pricesPrices in Alabama sit at 88.8 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$32,818
- Against the national medianThe national median is $35,790.18.6% below
- Jobs countedA concentration of 0.79 against the nation's 1.00.3,300
What we assumed
- Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
- OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
- Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
- Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
What lands in the bank
Tax year 2026 · InteractiveEstimated on the median salary of $29,150 in Alabama, for a single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026. Explore other wage levels and filing statuses below.
Run the numbers on your own pay
Same U.S. tax tables as the rest of the site. Change the salary, state, or filing status.
What $29,150 is worth in Alabama
Prices in Alabama sit at 88.8 against a national average of 100, so $29,150 earned here buys what $32,818 buys at national average prices.
- Rents. 61.8 against 100, the component that moves most between states.
- Against local households. The median household in Alabama takes in $63,999, so this occupation's median is 0.46 times that, on one income.
- How common the job is here. 21% less concentrated in Alabama than in the country as a whole.
Reading the numbers
What stands out for hairdressers or cosmetologists in Alabama
Rents in Alabama index at 61.8 (U.S. = 100) while prices overall index at 88.8, a gap of -27 pts. For a renter, housing moves the local cost of living more than anything else.
Prices in Alabama index at 88.8 (U.S. = 100), so the $29,150 median buys roughly what $32,818 would at national prices, $3,668 more.
The gap between the ends is wide: the 90th percentile ($56,700) is 2.7 times the 10th ($21,300). The survey does not say who sits where in that range. It records no experience, shift or employer.
The average here is $33,700, well above the median of $29,150. A smaller group of high earners lifts the average, so the median is the better guide to what most hairdressers or cosmetologists in Alabama are paid.
Common questions
Hairdresser or Cosmetologist pay in Alabama, answered
How much does a hairdresser or cosmetologist make in Alabama?
The median wage for hairdressers or cosmetologists in Alabama is $29,150 a year, or $14.02 an hour.
Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.
What is the average hairdresser or cosmetologist salary in Alabama?
BLS’s mean (average) wage for hairdressers or cosmetologists in Alabama is $33,700 a year. The median is $29,150.
The mean sits higher when a smaller group of high earners pulls the average up. For a typical paycheck, the median is the better middle.
What is the hourly pay for a hairdresser or cosmetologist in Alabama?
The median hourly wage is $14.02. At a full-time year that lines up with about $29,150 a year.
BLS May 2025; hourly and annual figures come from the same survey.
What is the starting salary for a hairdresser or cosmetologist in Alabama?
BLS does not publish starting pay. The closest figure it does publish is the low end of the range: in Alabama, the lowest-paid 10% of hairdressers or cosmetologists earn under $21,300 a year and a quarter earn under $23,610 ($10.24 and $11.35 an hour).
New hires often start somewhere in that band, but the May 2025 survey does not record experience, so read it as a floor to compare an offer against rather than a typical first salary.
What is the salary range for a hairdresser or cosmetologist in Alabama?
The overall salary range for hairdressers or cosmetologists in Alabama spans from $21,300 for the bottom 10% to $56,700 for top earners.
The middle 50% earn between $23,610 and $37,230 a year, with the overall median at $29,150.
What is the take-home pay for a hairdresser or cosmetologist in Alabama?
On the median wage of $29,150, a single filer taking the 2026 standard deduction keeps an estimated $24,467 a year, or roughly $2,039 a month.
That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 16.1%.
Alabama takes $1,135 of it in state income tax.
How much does a hairdresser or cosmetologist make a month in Alabama?
On the median annual salary of $29,150, estimated take-home pay is roughly $2,039 a month after federal, state, and FICA taxes.
For workers paid on a standard biweekly schedule (26 pay periods per year), each paycheck is approximately $941 net.
Do hairdressers or cosmetologists earn more in Alabama than in the rest of the country?
No. The median in Alabama is 18.6% below the national median of $35,790.
Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in Alabama sit at 88.8 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.
Is $29,150 a good salary in Alabama?
It is 0.46 times the median household income of $63,999. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.
Prices in Alabama run at 88.8 against a national average of 100, with rents at 61.8, so $29,150 here buys about what $32,818 buys at national average prices.
What do the highest-paid hairdressers or cosmetologists earn in Alabama?
The top tenth earn $56,700 a year or more. The 10th-percentile wage is $21,300.
Experience, specialty, employer and the part of Alabama someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.
How many hairdressers or cosmetologists are there in Alabama?
The survey counted 3,300 of these jobs in Alabama for May 2025.
That makes the occupation 21% less concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.