Tattoo artist vs body piercer

The differences between tattoo artists and body piercers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a body piercer has an average salary of $52,170, which is higher than the $51,867 average annual salary of a tattoo artist.

The top three skills for a tattoo artist include customer service, tattooing and scheduling appointments. The most important skills for a body piercer are customer service, safety procedures, and CPR.

Tattoo artist vs body piercer overview

	Tattoo Artist	Body Piercer
Yearly salary	$51,867	$52,170
Hourly rate	$24.94	$25.08
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	3,642	5,358
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 39%	High School Diploma, 49%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Tattoo artist vs body piercer salary

Tattoo artists and body piercers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Tattoo Artist	Body Piercer
Average salary	$51,867	$52,170
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $108,000	Between $25,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	-
Highest paying state	Pennsylvania	-
Best paying company	HairClub	-
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between tattoo artist and body piercer education

There are a few differences between a tattoo artist and a body piercer in terms of educational background:

	Tattoo Artist	Body Piercer
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 39%	High School Diploma, 49%
Most common major	Graphic Design	Cosmetology
Most common college	-	-

Tattoo artist vs body piercer demographics

Here are the differences between tattoo artists' and body piercers' demographics:

	Tattoo Artist	Body Piercer
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 75.0% Female, 25.0%	Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 5.9% White, 57.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between tattoo artist and body piercer duties and responsibilities

Tattoo artist example responsibilities.

Manage light grounds keeping work such as mowing and watering plants.
Work with restaurant manager in maintaining server/host POS percentages and overall performance.
Keep up with household duties while family is away, babysit child.
Feed and water the guinea pigs as well as clean their cages every week.
Have been a baby sitter for Kaleb Munday for almost 4 years and currently babysit for him.
Provide in-home pet care including; leash walks, an essential amount of exercise and playtime and clean up after pets.

Body piercer example responsibilities.

Transport discharged patients from various departments using wheelchair assistance including operating rooms, trauma, labor and delivery, and cardiovascular.
Apply quality temporary tattoo art to theme park customers, ensuring customer satisfaction according to their specifications.

Tattoo artist vs body piercer skills

Common tattoo artist skills

Customer Service, 27%
Tattooing, 8%
Scheduling Appointments, 7%
Body Art, 7%
Sterile Environment, 7%
CPR, 5%

Common body piercer skills

Customer Service, 41%
Safety Procedures, 23%
CPR, 9%
Appointment Scheduling, 6%
Front Desk, 6%
Tattooing, 6%

Updated January 8, 2025

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