Since salons generally have dedicated nail care specialists working as manicurists and pedicurists, both Louisiana and the federal government consider them to be a separate occupation from cosmetologists and provide salary information for both types of professions.
Salary data from the Louisiana Workforce Commission indicates that the 2013 cosmetologist salaries in Louisiana were higher than those for manicurists in all salary brackets. The difference was especially pronounced for professionals in the 90th percentile.
These figures are likely to underestimate the actual take home pay, since most customers tip their cosmetologists and manicurists.
Cosmetology Salaries in Louisiana’s Labor Market Regions
The 2013 average cosmetologist salary in Louisiana was highest in the New Orleans region. The highest average salary in the 90th percentile bracket was in the Lake Charles region:
Hair and Nail Professional Employment Levels in Louisiana
In 2013, 3,090 hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists practiced in Louisiana. Fewer numbers of manicurists were employed in Louisiana that year. There were 690 such professionals in the state.
The greatest concentration of cosmetologists working as hairdressers and hairstylists were in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge regions. Together, these regions held 62.8% of these hair professionals. The Shreveport region had the third greatest concentration of these beauticians, with 12.3% of the state’s total.
Job Growth Rates of Louisiana’s Hair and Nail Professionals
The number of manicurist jobs is expected to increase at a higher rate than hairdresser and hairstylist cosmetologist jobs. A job growth rate of 17.7% is expected for manicurists between 2012 and 2022, as compared to 14.3% growth for cosmetologists. Most of the new manicurist jobs will come from growth in the field, while cosmetologist positions will become available as professionals leave the workforce.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides an analysis of 2013 cosmetology salary levels in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan regions of Louisiana:
The BLS also provides 2013 salary information for Louisiana’s manicurists and pedicurists in selected regions of the state: