Daniel Slotta
Research expert covering Greater China
Nail salons in the U.S. - statistics & facts
The nail salon industry in the U.S. is comprised of nail care services including manicures, pedicures and false nails, as well as the sale of nail care products like nail polish and nail care accessories. Predominantly these products and services are provided by nail salons, but they may also be offered through other businesses such as hotels, health & personal care stores, and department stores. As of 2018, there were almost 395,600 nail technicians and just over 56,300 individual nail salons in the United States. In the same year, the average annual wage of manicurists and pedicurists was 25,860 U.S. dollars.
Overall the industry has seen inconsistent growth in the ten years to 2018. Total spending on nail salon services in the U.S. was 8.36 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, only a small increase on the 8.28 billion dollars in 2013. However, the 2013 figure is a significant increase on the 2008 figure of 6.3 billion dollars. This trend is reversed for employment growth though, with the period 2013 to 2018 seeing growth from 364,247 to 395,658 nail technicians.
Over the same 10-year period the average prices of the main services provided by nail salons also saw inconsistent growth. In 2018, the average cost of a manicure was just over 21 U.S. dollars, an increase from 19 dollars in 2008 and 19.90 dollars in 2013. Likewise, the cost of pedicures increased from 31.88 dollars in 2008 to 32.63 dollars in 2013, and 33.72 dollars in 2018. Conversely, the average cost of an acrylic fill fell from 28.96 U.S. dollars in 2008 to 26.18 dollars in 2013, before increasing to 29.71 dollars in 2018, whereas the cost of a full set of gels significantly increased to 48.53 U.S. dollars in 2018 after a drop to 29.41 U.S. dollars in 2017.
Overall the industry has seen inconsistent growth in the ten years to 2018. Total spending on nail salon services in the U.S. was 8.36 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, only a small increase on the 8.28 billion dollars in 2013. However, the 2013 figure is a significant increase on the 2008 figure of 6.3 billion dollars. This trend is reversed for employment growth though, with the period 2013 to 2018 seeing growth from 364,247 to 395,658 nail technicians.
Over the same 10-year period the average prices of the main services provided by nail salons also saw inconsistent growth. In 2018, the average cost of a manicure was just over 21 U.S. dollars, an increase from 19 dollars in 2008 and 19.90 dollars in 2013. Likewise, the cost of pedicures increased from 31.88 dollars in 2008 to 32.63 dollars in 2013, and 33.72 dollars in 2018. Conversely, the average cost of an acrylic fill fell from 28.96 U.S. dollars in 2008 to 26.18 dollars in 2013, before increasing to 29.71 dollars in 2018, whereas the cost of a full set of gels significantly increased to 48.53 U.S. dollars in 2018 after a drop to 29.41 U.S. dollars in 2017.
