Manicures, pedicures and nail art. A few hundred hours of school, a state license, then you build a client list.
Click through it
Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
Or read the whole thing here
What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Typical
$35,760
New technician
$28,920
Top tenth
$50,140
The national median is $35,760 a year, the bottom tenth start near $28,920 and the top tenth reach $50,140. Those figures include tips where employers report them, and tips are a real part of the money in this job. The earnings gap between a technician on commission and one with a full book of regular clients is large.
Commission, usually 40% to 60%
Your cut of what each service is billed at, plus tips
A salon taking 50% supplies the space, the products, the booking system and the walk-in customers. Early on that trade is worth it, because without a client list you have nothing to rent a chair with.
$150 to $400 a week
Booth rental, where you keep everything you charge
This is the step that changes the money. You pay the rent whether or not anyone books, you buy your own products and insurance, and you file your own taxes. Only worth it once your regulars fill most of your week.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
Every state licenses this work, so there is no free door. The low end is a $2,000 nail school course, the state written and practical exams, which are $15 each in New York, a $40 licence application and a basic kit. The high end is a $6,000 course and a fuller kit of files, lamps, drills, gels and polish at up to $1,500. Many nail schools accept federal aid, and a Pell Grant, which does not have to be repaid, can cover most of a course this short.
Many nail schools take federal aid, so file the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) first. A Pell Grant does not have to be paid back and can cover most of a short course like this one.
Tips
A meaningful share of take-home pay, and higher when you have regular clients.
Flexible scheduling
Part-time and split shifts are normal, which suits parents and students.
Product discounts
Trade pricing through the salon's suppliers.
Rarely benefits
Commission staff sometimes get them at a chain. Booth renters are self-employed and get none.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
Short and cheap by any standard, and every state runs its own version of it.
High school
Grade 12
Finish it. Most states require a diploma or an equivalent, and a minimum age of 16 or 17.
Nail school
2 to 6 months
A state approved course. New York requires 250 hours; other states set their own number and some are considerably higher.
Pass the state exams
One day each
A written exam on sanitation, anatomy and state law, plus a practical exam where you perform services on a hand model.
Get licensed and hired
Weeks
Apply to your state board, then start on commission at a salon that has walk-in traffic.
Build a book, then rent a station
2 to 5 years
Once your regulars fill your week, booth rental or your own small salon is where the money is.
Art
Nail art is drawing on a very small curved surface, and it is what people pay extra for.
Biology
Skin, nails and infection control are on the written exam for good reason.
Chemistry
Acrylics, gels and solvents are chemicals you handle every day.
Business
Almost everyone in this trade ends up self-employed.
Every state licenses this work, and the rules are set state by state, not nationally. New York calls it a nail specialty license and requires a 250 hour approved course plus written and practical exams, with a trainee route for people already working. California licenses manicurists through its Board of Barbering and Cosmetology and sets a written exam of 60 scored questions in 90 minutes. The exams many states use are written by the NIC (National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology), which makes moving between states easier but never automatic: you apply to the new board, and it decides whether your hours and exam transfer.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Nail art
Hand painting, chrome, encapsulation. The service clients photograph and the one with the best margin.
Hard gel and acrylic extensions
Longer appointments at a higher price, and they bring clients back on a fixed cycle.
Full cosmetology license
More hours of school, but it lets you do hair and skin as well and widens where you can work.
Medical or advanced pedicure training
Working alongside podiatrists with diabetic and older clients, a careful and better paid niche.
Photography and social media
In this trade your portfolio is an account full of photographs, and it is how new clients find you.
A second language
Useful in a lot of salons, both with clients and with colleagues.
Steady hands and good eyes
The work is millimeters wide and hours long.
Conversation
Clients rebook with the person they enjoyed sitting with for an hour.
Two ways around salon rent. A mobile technician travels to clients, charges more per appointment and carries the kit in a bag, which suits weddings, care homes and people who cannot easily get out. A home studio cuts overhead almost to nothing. Both depend on your state and your local rules: some states license the premises as well as the person, and a home salon may need a separate establishment license and an inspection. Check with your state board before you set one up, not after.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Open at 10, set up the station, disinfect everything. First client is a gel fill, 50 minutes. Then a pedicure, then a walk-in who wants art on two fingers and is in a hurry. You are bent over a hand most of the day with a lamp on it, talking the whole time. Sanitize between every client, because that is what the inspector checks. Saturday is the busiest day of the week and December is the busiest month of the year.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
State boards send inspectors into salons unannounced to check licenses, sanitation and equipment. Fines fall on the salon and on the individual technician, which is why implements are disinfected between every single client.
New York requires a 250 hour course for a nail specialty license. Other states set a completely different number, and some require more than double that. There is no national standard, so check your own state before enrolling anywhere.
Acrylic monomers, solvents and filing dust are the real occupational hazard here. Good salons run local exhaust at each station and technicians wear proper masks, because the exposure adds up over years rather than showing up in a day.
This is one of the personal service trades with a bright outlook in federal projections, meaning new openings are considered very likely. Demand is growing faster than pay is, which is worth knowing before you count on the trade alone.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in United States dollars, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data and published pay scales. They vary by state, employer and experience. Tuition is for in-state students at public schools unless the card says otherwise.