Hairdressers and barbers salary in the UK
The median full-time salary for hairdressers and barbers in the UK is £24,279 (ONS, 2025). After tax and National Insurance at 2026/27 rates that is about £1,750 a month.
Pay range for hairdressers and barbers
This is the ONS occupation group "Hairdressers and barbers" (SOC 2020 code 6221). ONS figures for 2025 show that a quarter earn less than £19,408, half earn less than £24,279 and a quarter earn more than £27,762.
| Point in the pay range | Gross a year | Gross a month | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 25th percentile | £19,408 | £1,617 | £17,493 | £1,458 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £24,279 | £2,023 | £21,000 | £1,750 |
| 75th percentile | £27,762 | £2,314 | £23,508 | £1,959 |
| 90th percentile | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
Take-home at England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates. Not published means ONS did not publish that figure because the estimate is not reliable enough. ONS rates the median for hairdressers and barbers as reasonably precise: its sampling error (coefficient of variation) is 5.4%. ONS estimates about 15,000 full-time employee jobs in this occupation. ONS says job counts like this are indicative only.
Where hairdressers and barbers rank
The median for hairdressers and barbers ranks 349th of 362 occupations on this site, in the bottom quarter, and 22nd of 25 in caring, leisure and other service occupations. It is £14,760 (37.8%) lower than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs. ONS change on the previous year: the median for hairdressers and barbers rose 11.4%, more than the 4.3% rise in the UK median for all full-time jobs. 41 of 358 occupations had a change this large in either direction. ONS figures for one occupation come from a sample, so they can move a lot from one year to the next.
Jobs with the nearest medians: Early education and childcare assistants (£24,742), Receptionists (£24,678), Retail cashiers and check-out operators (£24,622), Cooks (£24,228), Cleaners and domestics (£24,130) and Beauticians and related occupations (£24,124).
How spread out pay is
The middle half of full-time hairdressers and barbers earn between £19,408 and £27,762, a gap of £8,354, or 34.4% of the median. That is £16,393 narrower than the £24,747 gap for all UK jobs, and the 185th widest of the 223 jobs where ONS published both figures, one of the narrower middle ranges.
The mean for hairdressers and barbers (total pay divided by the number of employees) is £24,075, which is £204 (0.8%) lower than the median. The two are close, so very high or very low salaries are not pulling the average far from the middle. For all UK full-time jobs the mean is 24.3% above the median, so the gap for hairdressers and barbers is smaller.
Hairdressers and barbers and related jobs
Among these 4 jobs in the same or nearby ONS occupation groups, this one has the 3rd highest median. The highest median among them is £46,062 (rail travel assistants) and the lowest £24,124 (beauticians and related occupations).
| Job | SOC code | Median salary | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rail travel assistants | 6214 | £46,062 | £3,057 |
| Leisure and travel service occupations n.e.c. | 6219 | £26,656 | £1,893 |
| Hairdressers and barbers | 6221 | £24,279 | £1,750 |
| Beauticians and related occupations | 6222 | £24,124 | £1,741 |
Take-home pay against all jobs
At the median, hairdressers and barbers take home about £1,750 a month, against £2,636 on the UK median for all jobs. Scotland has its own income tax bands, so take-home pay on the same salary is different there.
| Group | Median a year | Take-home a month | Take-home a month in Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hairdressers and barbers | £24,279 | £1,750 | £1,753 |
| All full-time employee jobs, UK | £39,039 | £2,636 | £2,631 |
Related pages
All jobs in the Caring, leisure and other service occupations table, average salary by area, the take home pay calculator, salary to hourly calculator and pay rise calculator.
How this is worked out
Pay: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), 2025 provisional, SOC 2020 unit group 6221. Take-home: 2026/27 rates, tax code 1257L, no pension or student loan. How to read these figures.
Sources
- ASHE Table 14: earnings by occupation (4-digit SOC), 2025 provisional (ONS)
- ASHE Table 7: earnings by place of work, local authority, 2025 provisional (ONS)
- SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions of unit groups (ONS)
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK)
- Scottish Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- National Insurance: how much you pay (GOV.UK)
Figures checked on 12 October 2026. ONS plans to publish its next ASHE figures on 22 October 2026. Read how we calculate or tell us about a mistake.
Frequently asked questions
On the median full-time salary of £24,279, take-home pay is about £1,750 a month (£21,000 a year) after 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance, with tax code 1257L and no pension or student loan. In Scotland, where income tax is different, it is about £1,753 a month.
ONS figures for full-time jobs (2025) show that a quarter earn less than £19,408, half earn less than £24,279 and a quarter earn more than £27,762. ONS did not publish every point in the range because some estimates are not reliable enough.
No. The median for hairdressers and barbers is £24,279, which is £14,760 (37.8%) lower than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs (ONS, 2025). It ranks 349th of 362 occupations on this site.