What is the average barber salary in the U.S.?

According to BLS data from May 2024, the median hourly wage for barbers is $18.73, roughly $38,957 a year for full-time salaried employees. When you include self-employed booth renters and shop owners, estimates from ZipRecruiter put the broader average closer to $52,000. The range is wide because pay model, location, and experience all move the number significantly.

Do barbers make more on commission or booth rent?

It depends on where they are in their career. Commission gives newer barbers stability and a client base to build from. Booth rent gives experienced barbers with a full book more take-home income, since they keep everything above the rental fee. Most barbers start on commission and transition to booth rent once their book can support the fixed weekly cost.

How much do barbers make in tips?

Tips vary by market, price point, and relationship. Industry estimates generally put tips in the range of 15 to 25 percent on top of service price. For a barber doing $400 in services on a strong day, that is $60 to $100 in tips on top of their cut.

Can barbers make six figures?

Yes, but it requires specific conditions: a full book, above-average pricing, a high-demand market, and usually an ownership stake. Glassdoor shows top earners at $111,575 nationally (90th percentile), and higher in major markets like New York.

How should shop owners structure barber pay?

Commission works well for teams you are building and managing. Booth rent is simpler operationally but trades control for predictability. Many shops run a hybrid: commission for newer barbers, booth rent available once a barber has earned it. The right structure keeps your chairs occupied and your best barbers from leaving.

How Much Does a Barber Make?

A trip to the barbershop is about more than a haircut. For a lot of men, it's one of the few places where they can slow down, catch up with people they know, and walk out looking sharp.

For barbers, that environment is part of the appeal. Working behind the chair means building real relationships, developing a craft, and running what is essentially your own business. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2024), the median barber wage is $18.73 an hour — roughly $39,000 a year for full-time hours. Barbers who own their chair, build a loyal book, and operate in high-demand markets regularly earn significantly more.

That said, we’ve all seen barbers on social media bragging about six-figure salaries. Below, we’ll break down some of the most common factors that determine a barber’s income and chat strategies to surge your paycheck as a professional barber.

What Affects a Barber’s Pay?

Before you put down your scissors and pull the trigger on that tattoo gun, it’s worth looking at three key elements that influence a professional barber’s take-home pay.

#1: Chair vs. Shop

If you’re just fresh out of barber school and starting out in your hair-cutting journey, you have a few options for breaking into the biz:

Working as a commissioned employee
Renting a chair in a shop

Commissioned-based barbering entails being paid out a percentage of any amount earned through your services. Commission splits typically range from 40/60 to 70/30 in the barber's favor depending on the shop. In other words, if you make $100 in a day, you’ll take home $60, and the rest will go back to the babrershop owner to cover supplies and rent.

Chair rental is just that: you rent a chair in an established barbershop and pay the owner a weekly or monthly fee. Rates typically start around $100/week and run higher in urban markets. The beauty of this setup is that once you’ve earned out the rental cost, everything else you make is yours.

Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. In terms of money, though, barbers with an existing client base can potentially make bank renting a chair. For those who are just starting out, working on commission is a safe way to learn the trade as an extension of barber training and establish a network. For a deeper look at how each model affects shop revenue, see rent vs. commission: what's better for your revenue.

#2: Location, Location, Location

Market matters. Glassdoor data for New York City barbers in 2026 shows a median salary of $89,075, with top earners clearing $160,000. That's nearly double the national median.

But the answer to the question, How much does a barber make in a major metropolitan area? can vary drastically from other parts of the country. While New York barber shops may enjoy a line out the door on most days, hair care professionals in small towns or the ‘burbs are going to experience less of an influx.

Barber cutting hair while client reads newspaper.

#3 Skill Level

Professionals who have dedicated hours of dedication to their craft by going to barber school or undergoing barber training are more likely to charge higher prices and keep clients coming through their doors. A master barber can also charge more for speciality barber services, like:

Relaxing hair
Permanent waves
Facial massage

Don’t discount the soft skills, either. Attention to detail, the ability to manage your time efficiently, and a warm chairside manner aren’t usually part of the job description. But, they are key when it comes to attracting repeat customers. Additionally, find out how to get a barber license if you haven’t done so already as this indicates that your barber skill is recognized professionally.

Climbing Into a Higher Salary Bracket

Ambitious individuals know there are always ways to make a little more on top of their barber salary, and surprisingly, many have nothing to do with the haircut itself. Here are our top tips for making big barber bucks that are not part of the usual barber job description:

Offer specialty retail products – With their head in your hands and your scissors on their hair, customers are primed to view you as the hair care expert, which means they’ll take your word on what texturizing spray or finish cream is king. Take a few moments to educate clients on the products you use, and they may end up spending a little more to take them home. Cha-ching!
Grow your social presence – Hair is a visual art, making your business perfect for swoon-worthy social posts. If your skills are truly share-worthy, why not start a social media account to spread the word? Uploading a haircut post daily is free, fast, and easy. Plus, you already created the content.
Get those tips – These days, hair care professionals make about 15 to 25 percent in tips on top of their average salary.3 Maximize your gratuity earnings by going the extra mile to make customers feel welcome. Some barbers sweeten their services with coffee, mints, or other refreshments. Some offer better listening skills than a therapist. Whatever your secret skill is, make sure to play to your strengths and leave a tip jar front and center.

Barber trimming client's hair in a barbershop.

Earn More with SQUIRE

The above tricks of the trade are a great place to start, but in reality, any master barber would know there are ways to turn small moments into dollar signs at every turn. Once you’ve mastered the straight-razor shave and eyebrow waxing, your time spent learning how to create a barber shop business plan, market your services, and reach out to clients via mass text will be time well spent.

If you Googled, how much do barbers make? and are stumped about which way to turn next, you won’t go wrong signing up for a platform built for barbershops like SQUIRE. The platform is a marketing engine designed to get you clients and keep them. Plus, its dashboards let you keep an eye on your business in real-time, so you know when it’s time to hustle.

By helping to attract customers and manage operations, SQUIRE helps barbers increase their revenue and take their business to the next level. Not convinced? Reach out today to request a demo.

FAQs

The Move

The average barber salary figure you find online is a starting point, not a ceiling. What a barber actually earns is shaped by how they are paid, where they work, and how intentionally they have built their book and pricing. For shop owners, the more useful question is not "what is the average" but "what am I paying per chair, and is my structure keeping my best barbers?"

See how SQUIRE helps shop owners track barber performance

Sources:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2024, 39-5011 Barbers. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/barbers-hairstylists-and-cosmetologists.htm
ZipRecruiter. Average Barber Salary, 2026. https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Barber-Salary 3. Glassdoor. Barber Salaries in the United States, 2026. https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/barber-salary-SRCH_KO0,6.htm 4. Glassdoor. Barber Salaries in New York City, NY, 2026. https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/new-york-city-ny-barber-salary-SRCH_IL.0,16_IM615_KO17,23.htm