How Much Do Nail Techs Make? 2026 Pay by Hour, Day and Year
How much do nail techs make? Latest BLS pay per hour and year, top states, earnings per client and per day, and take-home math for commission vs booth rent.
· 7 min read · BeautiDock
How much do nail techs make? The median nail tech in the US makes $17.19 an hour, or $35,760 a year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data for May 2025 ("Manicurists and Pedicurists"). The top 10% of employees earn more than $24.10 an hour ($50,140 a year). Self-employed nail techs aren't in those figures, and for them income comes down to three numbers: average ticket, clients per day and what you pay for your chair.
Key takeaways
- Median pay: $17.19 an hour, $35,760 a year for manicurists and pedicurists (BLS, May 2025). Mean: $18.54 an hour, $38,570 a year.
- A narrow range for employees: the top 10% of employed nail techs earn just over $24.10 an hour. To earn much more, most techs need higher prices, a full book or their own business.
- Best-paying states: Nebraska ($60,560 mean), Maine ($55,930), Hawaii ($52,220) and Washington ($51,700). Omaha leads the metro areas at $65,810.
- Per client: on a $50 service, a commission tech at 45% earns $22.50 plus the tip; a booth renter keeps about $41 plus the tip, before rent.
- Take-home example: 5 clients a day at $50 comes to about $33,000 kept on commission versus about $40,000 as a booth renter, before income tax.
How much do nail techs make an hour, a day and a year?
BLS data for "Manicurists and Pedicurists" (occupation code 39-5092), May 2025. The day column assumes an 8-hour day; the month column is the annual figure divided by 12.
| Percentile | Per hour | Per day (8 h) | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $13.90 | $111 | $2,410 | $28,920 |
| 25th | $16.35 | $131 | $2,834 | $34,010 |
| Median | $17.19 | $138 | $2,980 | $35,760 |
| 75th | $20.03 | $160 | $3,471 | $41,650 |
| 90th | $24.10 | $193 | $4,178 | $50,140 |
| Mean | $18.54 | $148 | $3,214 | $38,570 |
BLS annual figures assume a full-time year of 2,080 hours (hourly wage × 40 hours × 52 weeks). The Occupational Outlook Handbook notes that part-time work is common for nail techs, and that some work more than 40 hours a week, so real annual income can land on either side of this table.
Notice how compressed it is: the 90th percentile is only about $7 an hour above the median. For hair stylists, the same gap is about $17. BLS places 76% of nail tech jobs in personal care services (mostly salons), where the menu prices are set by the owner, so the main way to pull far ahead is usually to set your own prices.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook counts about 201,800 manicurist and pedicurist jobs in 2025 and projects 9% growth from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the 3% average for all occupations.
How much do nail techs make a year by state?
Top-paying states by mean annual wage, May 2025:
| State | Mean hourly | Mean annual | Employed nail techs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | $29.12 | $60,560 | 310 |
| Maine | $26.89 | $55,930 | 200 |
| Hawaii | $25.11 | $52,220 | 40 |
| Washington | $24.86 | $51,700 | 5,570 |
| Oregon | $23.61 | $49,100 | 2,210 |
The employment column matters. Hawaii's figure is based on about 40 employed techs, so treat it with caution. Washington and Oregon are the most meaningful high-pay states, because thousands of techs work there.
Where most nail techs actually work: California (39,210 employed, mean $39,730), New York (19,710, mean $35,280), New Jersey (11,520, mean $37,190), Pennsylvania (9,610, mean $29,550) and Washington (5,570, mean $51,700). The lowest state means are Utah ($29,330) and Pennsylvania ($29,550).
Top metro areas: Omaha, NE-IA ($65,810 mean), Portland-South Portland, ME ($59,490), Grand Forks, ND-MN ($58,120), Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($53,570) and Fairbanks-College, AK ($50,290).
What the BLS numbers leave out
BLS wage data comes from the OEWS survey of employers, which does not cover the self-employed. For manicurists and pedicurists, BLS counts 23% as self-employed; the OEWS wage figures are based on about 152,770 employed techs. Mobile techs, home-studio techs, booth renters and suite renters are not in the table.
Tips are part of the OEWS definition of wages, but an employer survey only sees tips that go through the salon's records. IRS rules require employees to report cash tips of $20 or more a month to their employer; tips that are never reported can't show up. For tax years 2025 through 2028, the IRS also allows a deduction of up to $25,000 of qualified tips for workers in occupations on its tipped-occupation list (phase-out above $150,000 of modified AGI, other rules apply). Recording your tips properly helps you claim it.
How much do nail techs make per client and per day?
Here's a worked model. These are assumptions for illustration; swap in your own menu and schedule.
Assumptions: average ticket $50 (a mix of gel manicures, fills and pedicures), 5 clients a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year = 1,200 clients and $60,000 in service sales. Tips average 15% ($9,000 a year, $7.50 per client).
Per client:
| Commission (45%) | Booth renter | |
|---|---|---|
| Service price | $50 | $50 |
| Your share | $22.50 | $50 |
| Supplies (15%) and card fees (3%) | Paid by salon | −$9.00 |
| Tip | $7.50 | $7.50 |
| You earn per client | $30.00 | $48.50, before rent |
Per day (5 clients): $150 on commission, or $242.50 as a renter before your share of rent. At $175 a week in rent, that's $35 a day, leaving about $207.
Per year:
| Commission employee | Booth renter | Suite renter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your share of service sales | 45% = $27,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 |
| Rent (52 weeks) | — | $175/wk = $9,100 | $300/wk = $15,600 |
| Supplies (15%) | Paid by salon | $9,000 | $9,000 |
| Card fees (3%) | Paid by salon | $1,800 | $1,800 |
| Insurance, license, software, marketing | — | $2,100 | $2,100 |
| Tips | $9,000 | $9,000 | $9,000 |
| Before payroll / SE tax | $36,000 | $47,000 | $40,500 |
| Social Security and Medicare | 7.65% = $2,754 | ~14.13% = $6,641 | ~14.13% = $5,722 |
| Kept before income tax | ≈ $33,200 | ≈ $40,400 | ≈ $34,800 |
Sources for the assumptions: Booksy reports 40% to 50% commission for nail technicians in 2026; Vagaro's 2025 booth rental guide reports $100 to $300 a week for nail techs and products at 15% to 25% of revenue (we used the low end). The suite rent is our own assumption. Self-employment tax is 15.3% on 92.35% of net earnings (Schedule SE), about 14.13% of profit; employees pay 7.65% and the salon pays the other 7.65%.
The commission result (about $36,000 before payroll tax) lands right next to the BLS median of $35,760, which is a good sanity check.
The salon owner version: you plus three techs who each bring in $55,000 a year = $225,000 in sales. Pay $74,250 in commissions, $5,680 in employer payroll tax, $33,750 in supplies, a $3,000 monthly lease ($36,000), $1,500 a month of other overhead ($18,000) and $6,750 in card fees, and you're left with about $59,600 including your own tips, or roughly $51,200 after self-employment tax. More than renting, but with a lease, payroll and three schedules to fill. For the full comparison, see booth rent vs commission.
How to make more as a nail tech
1. Raise your average ticket
Add-ons (nail art, chrome, cuticle treatments, paraffin) take minutes and raise the ticket. Moving from a $50 to a $55 average over 1,200 clients is $6,000 a year. Our guide to how to price salon services shows how to price by the hour.
2. Shorten the gap between fills
A client who comes every 2 weeks instead of every 3 brings 26 visits a year instead of about 17. Book the next fill before she leaves the table.
3. Protect your schedule from no-shows
One no-show a day at $50, 5 days a week for 48 weeks, is $12,000 a year of empty table time. Email reminders plus a deposit on long services (full sets, nail art) fix most of it. See how to reduce no-shows.
4. Work for yourself when your book is full
Renting only pays when you have the clients. In the example, the renter comes out ahead at 5 clients a day; at 3 a day, the rent eats most of the difference.
5. Consider your own space
Some nail techs work from a home studio or a suite once they have a loyal clientele. Rules for home salons vary by state, so check your state board first. Our guide to starting a nail business at home covers the steps.
Where BeautiDock fits
When you rent a booth or go independent, your clients need a way to book you that isn't the salon's front desk. BeautiDock gives you your own booking site, 24/7 online booking, email reminders, optional deposits paid straight to your Stripe account and a client list with visit history. Free to start, then $0.50 per online booking, capped at $19 a month, with no commission. See what's included.
The bottom line
A typical employed nail tech makes about $17 an hour, $138 a day and $36,000 a year, tips included. Going independent can add several thousand dollars a year, but only with a full book: run the per-client and per-day math with your own prices before you sign a rental agreement.
Sources
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Manicurists and Pedicurists (2025 data, page modified August 27, 2026)
- BLS OEWS profile: Manicurists and Pedicurists, 39-5092 (May 2025)
- BLS OEWS data tables, May 2025 national, state and metro estimates
- BLS OEWS technical notes, May 2025
- IRS: Tip recordkeeping and reporting
- IRS: Tax deductions for working Americans and seniors ("No Tax on Tips")
- IRS: Self-employment tax
- IRS: Schedule SE (Form 1040)
- IRS Topic 751: Social Security and Medicare withholding rates
- Booksy: Salon commission structures, 2026 pay and scale guide
- Vagaro: Salon booth rental pricing guide (December 2025)
Frequently asked questions
How much do nail techs make a year?
The median annual wage for manicurists and pedicurists was $35,760 in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The top 10% earned more than $50,140. These figures cover employees only, not self-employed nail techs.
How much do nail techs make an hour?
The BLS median hourly wage for manicurists and pedicurists was $17.19 in May 2025. The lowest 10% earned less than $13.90 an hour and the highest 10% more than $24.10.
How much do nail techs make a day?
At the BLS median of $17.19 an hour, an 8-hour day is about $138 before taxes. A self-employed nail tech doing 5 clients at a $50 average ticket takes in $250 in services plus tips, before rent and supplies.
How much does a nail tech make per client?
It depends on the setup. On a $50 service at 45% commission you earn $22.50 plus the tip. As a booth renter you keep about $41 after supplies and card fees, plus the tip, but you still have to pay your weekly rent.
Which state pays nail techs the most?
In May 2025 BLS data, Nebraska had the highest mean annual wage for manicurists and pedicurists ($60,560), followed by Maine ($55,930), Hawaii ($52,220) and Washington ($51,700). Several of these states employ few nail techs, so their averages can move a lot year to year.
Keep reading
- PricingBooth Rent vs Commission: Break-Even Math for Stylists (2026)Booth rent vs commission: what booth rent costs in a salon, a break-even table, W-2 vs self-employed taxes and a contract checklist to pick the model that pays.
- PricingHow Much Do Hair Stylists Make? 2026 Pay Data and Real Take-HomeHow much do hair stylists make? Latest BLS pay by hour, month and state, what it misses on tips, and take-home math for commission, booth rent and suites.
- PricingHow Much Do Lash Techs Make? 2026 Income Estimate and MathHow much do lash techs make? BLS has no lash category, so we build it from real lash prices and clients per day to estimate your income per day, month and year.