Barbers Salary
In St. Louis, MO-IL, barbers earn $57,960 at the median, or about $27.86 an hour. The range runs from $37K at the entry level to $82K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $60,953 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,218/month, about 32% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $58K get you in St. Louis?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by St. Louis’s Regional Price Parity (95.09). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About barbers
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What this looks like in St. Louis
St. Louis sits well above the national pay line for barbers, local pay runs about 52% higher than the U.S. median of $38K. Rent runs $1,218/month for a 2-bedroom (HUD FMR), taking 31.3% of the median take-home. That's within the 30% rule, though not by much. Cost of living (RPP 95.09) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for barbers in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | $42K | $46K |
| Springfield | $57K | $64K |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | $50K | $48K |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway | $24K | $27K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, St. Louis, MO-IL
Entry-level barbers (10th percentile) start around $37K. Mid-career wages sit at $58K. Top earners bring in $82K or more, a $45K spread from bottom to top.
Barbers pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Barbers salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | $77K | +103% | N/A |
| Illinois | $65K | +71% | N/A |
| Colorado | $62K | +61% | 480 |
| Washington | $61K | +60% | 1,220 |
| Iowa | $59K | +54% | 130 |
| New Jersey | $55K | +44% | N/A |
| Minnesota | $54K | +41% | 260 |
| Florida | $49K | +29% | 1,240 |
| North Dakota | $49K | +27% | 80 |
| Missouri | $48K | +25% | 580 |
| Virginia | $47K | +22% | 160 |
| Louisiana | $44K | +16% | 40 |
| Connecticut | $41K | +8% | 330 |
| New Mexico | $39K | +2% | 50 |
| Nebraska | $39K | +2% | N/A |
| New York | $39K | +1% | N/A |
| Mississippi | $38K | +1% | N/A |
| California | $38K | +0% | 1,390 |
| Pennsylvania | $37K | -3% | 530 |
| Wisconsin | $37K | -4% | 450 |
| Idaho | $36K | -6% | 130 |
| Michigan | $35K | -7% | N/A |
| Maryland | $35K | -7% | N/A |
| Maine | $35K | -8% | 50 |
| Rhode Island | $35K | -9% | N/A |
| Oklahoma | $35K | -9% | 170 |
| Arizona | $34K | -10% | N/A |
| Indiana | $34K | -12% | 370 |
| South Carolina | $33K | -14% | 220 |
| North Carolina | $31K | -19% | 330 |
| Texas | $31K | -19% | 2,580 |
| Georgia | $31K | -20% | 550 |
| Alabama | $29K | -24% | N/A |
| Arkansas | $26K | -33% | 170 |
| Utah | $25K | -34% | 320 |
| Tennessee | $25K | -35% | N/A |
Showing 1–10 of 36 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track barbers salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when St. Louis numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a barber afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $58K, rent takes 31.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,218/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,200/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for barbers in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new barbers typically earn — is $37K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,203/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 55% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is barber a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Local pay is 52% above the national median — $58K here vs. $38K nationally.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for barbers?
St. Louis pays $58K median vs. the U.S. average of $38K — that’s +52%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $61K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do barbers make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $57,960 a year, that works out to about $28 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $36,710, and experienced barbers can clear $81,780. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $58K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,887/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 31.3% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a barbers salary go in St. Louis?
St. Louis has a Regional Price Parity of 95.09 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median barbers salary is worth about $60,953 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do barbers get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.