How Much Do Lash Techs Make?
BLS has no lash technician line. It files lash techs with estheticians as skincare specialists, and its handbook says they "also may provide eyelash services". The pay figures count employees only, and 29% of that group's jobs are self-employed.
We found no lash tech who published a full year's income without also selling courses or training, so this page uses official figures and published price lists. Below: three figures side by side, a ZIP code tool and a calculator.
Which of these you would be depends on whether you draw a wage, take a commission, or rent your own space and set your prices.
Employed lash techs and estheticians in Seattle earn a median of $80,510, against $45,330 nationally
Enter a ZIP code and the tool shows pay for that area. Every US ZIP code is matched. 254 of 528 BLS areas report a median for this group; the other 274 use the state figure, and the tool says which it shows.
Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 39-5094, by area; the Census ZIP-to-county file; USDA rural-urban codes. BLS counts employees only. No agency publishes self-employed pay by area, so with a ZIP code the calculator moves your price in line with that area's employed pay level. Your full ZIP code is not sent or stored.
Washington pays employed lash techs and estheticians a median of $79,320; Idaho pays $34,130
California has the most employed skincare specialists of the four large states, 11,360, then Texas with 6,160, Florida with 5,270 and New York with 3,510. The second column is a different group: one-person businesses in a Census catch-all, not lash techs alone.
| State | Employed skincare specialists, median a year (BLS May 2025) | One-person other personal care business, average gross (Census 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $45,330 | $34,963 |
| Highest five | ||
| Washington | $79,320 | $40,344 |
| District of Columbia | $77,480 | $21,718 |
| Wyoming | $62,400 | $46,172 |
| Montana | $58,500 | $32,913 |
| Nebraska | $58,420 | $36,421 |
| Lowest five | ||
| Idaho | $34,130 | $35,258 |
| Arkansas | $36,520 | $30,488 |
| Tennessee | $36,590 | $36,501 |
| Louisiana | $36,890 | $24,882 |
| Iowa | $37,080 | $38,244 |
| Most people employed in this job | ||
| California | $38,770 | $35,822 |
| Texas | $49,250 | $33,146 |
| Florida | $43,880 | $40,407 |
| New York | $42,910 | $36,481 |
| Illinois | $45,330 | $30,686 |
| North Carolina | $39,120 | $33,197 |
First column: BLS OEWS May 2025 state medians for SOC 39-5094, skincare specialists. BLS files lash techs with estheticians in this group and counts employees only. Second column: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024, NAICS 81219, Other personal care services, a catch-all that holds estheticians, lash and brow, tattoo, tanning and day spas. Census receipts are before rent, products, insurance and tax and cover the whole catch-all.
Lash techs are paid a wage, a commission, or rent their own space, and only the wage has official figures
No official or trade source we could read publishes a lash commission rate or a booth rent, so this page prints neither.
A higher price or more clients a day moves the number. The calculator below shows both arrangements, a salon commission and a booth.
Work out what a year of full sets and fills brings in before tax
Put in your own price, services, days, weeks and tips. Pick a preset for a salon commission or a booth.
- Services you do in a year$84,480
- Your share$42,240
- Tips+ $12,672
Checked November 2026. Rent, products and insurance are not deducted, so subtract your own. Every input is an example. With a ZIP code, the price follows that area's pay level.
The IRS lists eyelash technicians as a tipped job, entry 606
Four facts: the IRS list, the tips deduction, the reporting rule for employees, and what we could not find in any survey.
Entry 606 reads: "Eyebrow and eyelash technicians. Enhance and maintain clients' eyebrows using threading, waxing, or tweezing. Enhance clients' eyelashes using tinting or applying extensions. Eyebrow waxer 39-5012". The IRS files lash technicians under 39-5012, hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists, while BLS pay for them sits under 39-5094, so the tip code and the pay code differ.
The IRS sets the deduction at up to $25,000 of qualified tips. It phases out above $150,000 modified AGI ($300,000 joint) and covers employees and the self-employed. For the self-employed it cannot exceed the net income of the business, and the tips must be voluntary.
That is the IRS reporting rule for employees, from Topic no. 761. It is separate from the deduction above.
We found no official figure or survey for an average tip, or for tips as a share of lash tech pay. The tip field in the calculator is your own number, set at 15% as an example.
The lowest-paid tenth of employed lash techs and estheticians earn under $29,580
BLS does not publish pay by experience. For employed skincare specialists it reports $29,580 a year at the 10th percentile and $36,040 at the 25th (May 2025). Self-employed workers are not in either figure.
BLS puts the 25th percentile at $36,040 and the median at $45,330. Both describe the whole skincare specialist group, lash techs and estheticians together, and employees only.
The handbook gives the entry education as a postsecondary nondegree award and says skincare specialists "must complete a state-approved cosmetology or esthetician program and then pass a state exam for licensure". It describes the whole group, not lash techs alone.
The handbook calls 9% "much faster than average" and counts 104,200 jobs in 2025. These are figures for the whole group, so they say nothing on their own about lash work.
Of the four states we read, Texas and Tennessee license lash work separately, while California and New York treat it as cosmetology or esthetics work. Texas asks for a 320-hour course at a licensed school, then written and practical exams. Tennessee asks for no less than 300 hours of classroom instruction and practical experience. Check your state board.
Measured by us in November 2026. Lash courses and certification drew 117 phrasings, plus 92 that name a place; we measured it and left it off the chart.
Lash tech pay questions
If you rent your own booth or suite, take deposits and bookings online without chasing messages.
Clients book online, pay a deposit and get a reminder before each appointment.
- A booking page where clients pick a full set or a fill.
- A deposit at booking for a full set.
- Reminders that go out before each appointment.
- Clients can book their next fill online while you are with another client.
Sources
Where every number on this page comes from: the agency, studio or licensing board, with the date we read it.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Skincare Specialists (39-5094), national, state and area, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-05-15 Employees only; the self-employed are not surveyed. 254 of 528 areas report a median; the other 274 use the state figure.
- Nonemployer Statistics 2024: Other Personal Care Services (NAICS 81219), national, state and county, U.S. Census Bureau, 2026-09-29 Gross receipts of businesses with no paid employees, before costs and tax. A catch-all of estheticians, lash and brow, tattoo, tanning and day spas; NAICS 812199 is not published.
- Occupations that customarily and regularly received tips on or before Dec. 31, 2024, Internal Revenue Service, 2026-06-28 Entry 606 only: Eyebrow and eyelash technicians, filed by the IRS under 39-5012.
- One Big Beautiful Bill Act: tax deductions for working Americans and seniors (no tax on tips), Internal Revenue Service, 2026-11-09 The deduction for qualified tips, tax years 2025 through 2028.
- Topic no. 761, Tips: withholding and reporting, Internal Revenue Service, 2026-11-09 The rule for employees reporting cash tips to the employer.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Skincare Specialists, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-11-09 Whole group: jobs, self-employment share, growth, openings and entry education.
- Stripe pricing, standard US card rate, Stripe, 2026-10-25 the card processor kiwilaunch uses; quoted for the 3% card fee in the calculator
- Eyelash Extension Specialist license, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, 2026-11-09 A standalone license: a 320-hour course at a licensed school, then written and practical exams.
- Eyelash specialist license, Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, 2026-11-09 For people working on eyelash services only.
- Frequently asked questions, California State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, 2026-11-09 No separate eyelash extension license; a board license is required for the work unless exempt.
- Esthetics, New York Department of State, 2026-11-09 Lists eyelashes among esthetics procedures.
- Services and prices, Mi Vida Lash, Davenport, Iowa, Mi Vida Lash, 2026-11-09 One studio's own price list, not a survey.
- Pricing, Loan Lashes, Garden Grove, California, Loan Lashes, 2026-11-09 One studio's own price list, not a survey.
Not tax, legal or financial advice. Prices, pay and what you keep vary by state and city, licensing rules differ by state, and the tax rules on tips have conditions. A tax professional who knows your situation can answer for you.