Personal Care
Barbers
SOC 39-5011
Cut hair and groom beards, often building a steady regular clientele.
The job
Median pay
$38k
$32k to $59k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing
+3.3% projected
Openings a year
7k
BLS projection
Typical education
Postsecondary plus license
Our model
AI displacement risk
Very low
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
21/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
16th pct
More exposed than 16% of occupations · modeled estimate · 32nd pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
54/100
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Learning
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 2,580 | 0.2 | 1.9× | $31k |
| California | 1,390 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $38k |
| Florida | 1,240 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $49k |
| Washington | 1,220 | 0.3 | 3.6× | $61k |
| New York | 970 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $39k~ |
| Illinois | 599 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $65k~ |
| Missouri | 580 | 0.2 | 2.0× | $48k |
| Georgia | 550 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $31k |
| New Jersey | 549 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $55k~ |
| Pennsylvania | 530 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $37k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 480 | 0.2 | 1.7× | $62k |
| Wisconsin | 450 | 0.2 | 1.6× | $37k |
| Ohio | 437 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $34k~ |
| Massachusetts | 388 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $45k~ |
| Michigan | 377 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $35k~ |
| Indiana | 370 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $34k |
| Connecticut | 330 | 0.2 | 2.0× | $41k |
| North Carolina | 330 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $31k |
| Utah | 320 | 0.2 | 1.9× | $25k |
| Arizona | 315 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $34k~ |
| Maryland | 307 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $35k~ |
| Nevada | 296 | 0.2 | 2.0× | $34k~ |
| Oregon | 265 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $77k~ |
| Tennessee | 265 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $25k~ |
| Minnesota | 260 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $54k |
| South Carolina | 220 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $33k |
| Alabama | 170 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $29k~ |
| Arkansas | 170 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $26k |
| Oklahoma | 170 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $35k |
| Virginia | 160 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $47k |
| Kentucky | 149 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $33k~ |
| Kansas | 144 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $32k~ |
| Idaho | 130 | 0.2 | 1.6× | $36k |
| Iowa | 130 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $59k |
| Nebraska | 115 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $39k~ |
| Mississippi | 108 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $38k~ |
| Hawaii | 82 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $43k~ |
| North Dakota | 80 | 0.2 | 1.9× | $49k |
| New Hampshire | 74 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $39k~ |
| Montana | 65 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $36k~ |
| South Dakota | 55 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $37k~ |
| West Virginia | 55 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $31k~ |
| Washington DC | 54 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $42k~ |
| Delaware | 52 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $36k~ |
| Maine | 50 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $35k |
| New Mexico | 50 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $39k |
| Rhode Island | 49 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $35k~ |
| Louisiana | 40 | 0.0 | 0.2× | $44k |
| Alaska | 39 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $43k~ |
| Vermont | 32 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $41k~ |
| Wyoming | 27 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $35k~ |
Top metro areas
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX790 jobs · $33k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX630 jobs · $31k median
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA470 jobs · $38k median
- Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX400 jobs · $33k median
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA360 jobs · $31k median
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX350 jobs · $29k median
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL340 jobs · $36k median
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD340 jobs · $38k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Barbers interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.