Nail artist vs hair stylist

The differences between nail artists and hair stylists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a nail artist has an average salary of $43,369, which is higher than the $38,221 average annual salary of a hair stylist.

The top three skills for a nail artist include beauty services, customer service and nail art. The most important skills for a hair stylist are cosmetology, clips, and kids.

Nail artist vs hair stylist overview

	Nail Artist	Hair Stylist
Yearly salary	$43,369	$38,221
Hourly rate	$20.85	$18.38
Growth rate	22%	11%
Number of jobs	4,559	49,578
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	High School Diploma, 31%
Average age	43	40
Years of experience	-	2

Nail artist vs hair stylist salary

Nail artists and hair stylists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Nail Artist	Hair Stylist
Average salary	$43,369	$38,221
Salary range	Between $14,000 And $127,000	Between $27,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Scottsdale, AZ
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between nail artist and hair stylist education

There are a few differences between a nail artist and a hair stylist in terms of educational background:

	Nail Artist	Hair Stylist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	High School Diploma, 31%
Most common major	Cosmetology	Cosmetology
Most common college	-	-

Nail artist vs hair stylist demographics

Here are the differences between nail artists' and hair stylists' demographics:

	Nail Artist	Hair Stylist
Average age	43	40
Gender ratio	Male, 15.0% Female, 85.0%	Male, 9.2% Female, 90.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.4% Unknown, 2.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 52.1% White, 30.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 7.6% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	5%	12%

Differences between nail artist and hair stylist duties and responsibilities

Nail artist example responsibilities.

Achieve all sales goals through close client contact and upselling techniques.
Conceptualize and develop terrain models using Maya and partner with director and animators to correspond and produce effective shots.
Freelance artist for Dior cosmetics, left to obtain more work elsewhere
Work directly for Christian Dior to locally work spa days and events.

Hair stylist example responsibilities.

Manage beautiful hairstyles with the use of flat irons, curling irons, blow dryers, and other hair products.
Manage product inventory for cosmetology products, place product orders, maintain the inventory.
Commission stylist, assist other stylists as well as cleaning and greeting guests.
Work extremely quickly and efficiently as a hairstylist to reach sales and productivity goals while maintaining exceptional customer service
Bleach, dye, or tint, using applicator or brush.
Specialize in braids, sew-ins, glue-ins, dreads, wraps, twist, and curls.

Nail artist vs hair stylist skills

Common nail artist skills

Beauty Services, 66%
Customer Service, 15%
Nail Art, 6%
Nail Services, 6%
Nail Care, 3%
Front Desk, 3%

Common hair stylist skills

Cosmetology, 31%
Clips, 20%
Kids, 7%
Makeup, 6%
Retail Sales, 5%
Cleanliness, 4%

Updated January 8, 2025

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