The federal pay figure that covers lash work is $45,330 a year at the median. That is $9,540 more than the median hairstylist.
There is no official lash tech salary. The government does not count lash artists as their own job, so most pay figures you find are estimates built from job listings.
Below is the closest federal number, what it covers and what it misses, then that pay set against rent in every state. It ends with what the numbers mean for a salon owner thinking about adding lash and brow services.
The short answer
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, skincare specialists earned a median of $45,330 a year, or $21.79 an hour, in May 2025. The average was $51,850. Skincare specialists is the federal category that includes eyelash and eyebrow tinting.
That works out to about $3,778 a month before tax at the median, about $4,975 a month for the top quarter, and about $6,838 a month for the top 10 percent.
| Where you sit | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest 10 percent | $29,580 | $2,465 |
| Lowest 25 percent | $36,040 | $3,003 |
| Median (half earn more) | $45,330 | $3,778 |
| Top 25 percent | $59,700 | $4,975 |
| Top 10 percent | $82,050 | $6,838 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, occupation 39-5094 (skincare specialists), covering 72,890 employed workers. Pulled from the BLS public data API on October 23, 2026. Monthly figures are the annual figures divided by 12.
Why there is no lash-only number
Lash techs share a job code. The federal job list puts tinting eyelashes and eyebrows under skincare specialists, code 39-5094, next to facials and waxing. Every number on this page describes that whole group. Someone doing only lash extensions may sit above or below it.
It only counts people on a payroll. The wage survey covers employees. A lash artist renting a room or running a studio alone is not in it.
Tips are hard to count. Payroll records see tips unevenly, so read the figure as a floor on what employed lash and skin workers take home.
Small states are thin. BLS counted 80 workers in West Virginia and 100 in Wyoming. A few high earners can move a median that small, so treat the small-state figures as rough.
Lash pay after rent, in every state
The same paycheck means one thing in Cheyenne and another in Los Angeles. So I took each state's median skincare specialist pay from the BLS and subtracted twelve months of that state's median gross rent from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
The result is a rough measure of how far a typical employed lash or skin worker's pay stretches. It is before tax, and the rent is the median for every renting household in the state, not anyone's own lease.
What stands out:
- Washington leaves the most. Median pay is $79,320 and median rent is $1,824 a month, leaving $57,432.
- Wyoming has the lightest rent. A year of median rent takes 19 percent of median pay, the smallest share in the country. It is also one of the smallest samples, 100 workers.
- California leaves the least. It has the most lash and skin workers, 11,360, but median pay is $38,770 and median rent is $2,104 a month. A year of rent takes 65 percent of pay.
- The next two biggest markets split. Texas has 6,160 lash and skin workers and rent takes 36 percent of median pay. Florida has 5,270 and rent takes 50 percent.
- In 3 places, median rent takes more than half of median pay. In 26 it takes less than 35 percent.
| Rank | State | Median pay | Median rent a month | Rent share of pay | Left after rent | Workers counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $79,320 | $1,824 | 27.6% | $57,432 | 2,200 |
| 2 | District of Columbia | $77,480 | $1,931 | 29.9% | $54,308 | 200 |
| 3 | Wyoming | $62,400 | $998 | 19.2% | $50,424 | 100 |
| 4 | North Dakota | $58,160 | $980 | 20.2% | $46,400 | 190 |
| 5 | Nebraska | $58,420 | $1,102 | 22.6% | $45,196 | 550 |
| 6 | Montana | $58,500 | $1,177 | 24.1% | $44,376 | 280 |
| 7 | Maine | $55,850 | $1,210 | 26.0% | $41,330 | 260 |
| 8 | New Mexico | $47,230 | $1,117 | 28.4% | $33,826 | 370 |
| 9 | Oregon | $52,110 | $1,597 | 36.8% | $32,946 | 1,070 |
| 10 | Kansas | $45,760 | $1,079 | 28.3% | $32,812 | 420 |
| 11 | Colorado | $54,500 | $1,822 | 40.1% | $32,636 | 1,510 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | $46,220 | $1,142 | 29.6% | $32,516 | 1,190 |
| 13 | Delaware | $50,820 | $1,530 | 36.1% | $32,460 | 130 |
| 14 | Missouri | $45,200 | $1,067 | 28.3% | $32,396 | 1,390 |
| 15 | Texas | $49,250 | $1,475 | 35.9% | $31,550 | 6,160 |
| 16 | Michigan | $45,240 | $1,168 | 31.0% | $31,224 | 1,510 |
| 17 | Indiana | $44,450 | $1,104 | 29.8% | $31,202 | 1,120 |
| 18 | Georgia | $48,660 | $1,506 | 37.1% | $30,588 | 2,230 |
| 19 | Arizona | $50,470 | $1,672 | 39.8% | $30,406 | 1,710 |
| 20 | Illinois | $45,330 | $1,322 | 35.0% | $29,466 | 2,960 |
| 21 | Mississippi | $41,160 | $990 | 28.9% | $29,280 | 320 |
| 22 | Minnesota | $44,430 | $1,291 | 34.9% | $28,938 | 920 |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | $43,620 | $1,252 | 34.4% | $28,596 | 2,560 |
| 24 | New Hampshire | $46,890 | $1,558 | 39.9% | $28,194 | 430 |
| 25 | West Virginia | $38,030 | $883 | 27.9% | $27,434 | 80 |
| 26 | Rhode Island | $43,880 | $1,418 | 38.8% | $26,864 | 120 |
| 27 | Kentucky | $38,580 | $998 | 31.0% | $26,604 | 830 |
| 28 | Utah | $45,490 | $1,593 | 42.0% | $26,374 | 1,160 |
| 29 | Alabama | $39,260 | $1,077 | 32.9% | $26,336 | 590 |
| 30 | South Dakota | $38,230 | $999 | 31.4% | $26,242 | 150 |
| 31 | Ohio | $39,150 | $1,090 | 33.4% | $26,070 | 1,700 |
| 32 | Maryland | $46,590 | $1,721 | 44.3% | $25,938 | 1,130 |
| 33 | Iowa | $37,080 | $981 | 31.7% | $25,308 | 710 |
| 34 | Massachusetts | $47,310 | $1,848 | 46.9% | $25,134 | 1,360 |
| 35 | Connecticut | $43,680 | $1,550 | 42.6% | $25,080 | 660 |
| 36 | Oklahoma | $37,340 | $1,044 | 33.6% | $24,812 | 680 |
| 37 | Arkansas | $36,520 | $982 | 32.3% | $24,736 | 340 |
| 38 | South Carolina | $39,670 | $1,272 | 38.5% | $24,406 | 1,210 |
| 39 | New Jersey | $45,870 | $1,800 | 47.1% | $24,270 | 2,660 |
| 40 | Louisiana | $36,890 | $1,064 | 34.6% | $24,122 | 600 |
| 41 | Alaska | $41,240 | $1,444 | 42.0% | $23,912 | 120 |
| 42 | New York | $42,910 | $1,634 | 45.7% | $23,302 | 3,510 |
| 43 | North Carolina | $39,120 | $1,338 | 41.0% | $23,064 | 2,680 |
| 44 | Florida | $43,880 | $1,812 | 49.6% | $22,136 | 5,270 |
| 45 | Tennessee | $36,590 | $1,284 | 42.1% | $21,182 | 1,710 |
| 46 | Virginia | $39,350 | $1,646 | 50.2% | $19,598 | 1,970 |
| 47 | Nevada | $38,660 | $1,709 | 53.0% | $18,152 | 1,540 |
| 48 | Idaho | $34,130 | $1,384 | 48.7% | $17,522 | 720 |
| 49 | California | $38,770 | $2,104 | 65.1% | $13,522 | 11,360 |
Sources: pay is BLS OEWS May 2025, occupation 39-5094, state median annual wage and employment. Rent is U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, table B25064, median gross rent, from the Census summary file. Hawaii and Vermont are left out because the BLS did not publish a median for them. The two surveys cover different years (2025 pay, 2024 rent), so the gaps are approximate. Calculated October 23, 2026.
Lash and skin pay vs hair pay
Nationally, the median lash and skin worker earned $9,540 more than the median hairstylist in May 2025. State by state, lash and skin pay came out higher in 44 of the 48 states where BLS published both medians.
The exceptions were South Dakota, Oregon, Idaho and Connecticut. In South Dakota, hairstylists out-earned lash and skin workers by $11,570 at the median.
The hair figures come from the same BLS survey (occupation 39-5012, broken down on our page on how much hairstylists make). The two groups are very different sizes. BLS counted 305,710 employed hairstylists and 72,890 skincare specialists.
If you own the salon
Lash and brow work pays its people more than hair does at the median, which makes it a real hiring question, not a side menu item.
Before adding the service, four questions are worth answering with real numbers.
Who is allowed to do it in your state? Licensing for lash extensions and tinting differs by state. Check your state board before anyone books a client.
What will you have to pay to hire? The state median above is the market. A lash artist can compare your offer against it.
Where does the room come from? A full set takes a client lying still for a long stretch. It needs a quiet treatment space, not a styling chair.
Who are the clients? Look at your own book first. If your hair clients already ask where to get lashes done, that is the demand.
The short version
There is no official lash tech salary. The closest federal figure, for skincare specialists, was a median of $45,330 in May 2025, $9,540 above the median hairstylist. After a year of median rent, Washington leaves the most and California the least.
