Skip to content

An independent salary reference. Not affiliated with BLS or any U.S. government agency.

Salary data from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists Salary: Illinois vs Hawaii

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists earn a median of $34,800 in Illinois and $52,000 in Hawaii. That is a nominal gap of $17,200 (-33.1%), with Hawaii paying more before any cost-of-living adjustment.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2024 estimates. Cost-of-living adjustment uses BEA Regional Price Parities, most recent release.

$34,800
Illinois median
$34,815 after COL
$52,000
Hawaii median
$47,294 after COL
-33.1%
Nominal gap
Hawaii leads
-26.4%
Adjusted gap
Hawaii leads after COL

The story behind the numbers

On raw wages, Hawaii pays $17,200 more per year than Illinois for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists, a gap of +33.1%.

After adjusting for cost of living, Hawaii still comes out ahead, with roughly $12,479 of extra purchasing power (+26.4% real gap). Local prices do not reverse the nominal advantage.

Full breakdown by location

Detailed wage, employment, and cost-of-living figures for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in each location. Click through to the full local salary page for percentiles, outlook, and peer areas.

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists

Illinois

Median salary
$34,800
Mean salary
$42,050
Employment
13,770
Location quotient
1.18
Jobs per 1,000
2.3
COL-adjusted median
$34,815
Regional Price Parity
100.0%

Exact state RPP match.

Full Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists page for Illinois →

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists

Hawaii

Median salary
$52,000
Mean salary
$50,460
Employment
1,000
Location quotient
0.84
Jobs per 1,000
1.6
COL-adjusted median
$47,294
Regional Price Parity
110.0%

Exact state RPP match.

Full Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists page for Hawaii →

Related pages

Keep digging into hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists from a different angle.

Common questions about this comparison

What does the cost-of-living adjustment actually do? +

It divides each location's nominal median wage by its Regional Price Parity (RPP), which measures how local prices compare to the national average (100 = national). A wage of $100,000 in an area with RPP 120 has the same purchasing power as roughly $83,000 nationally.

Why would the nominal and adjusted winners disagree? +

High-cost metros often pay higher salaries, but not by enough to fully offset the higher cost of housing, goods, and services. When that happens, the location with the lower nominal wage actually offers more real purchasing power.

What is a location quotient? +

The location quotient measures how concentrated an occupation is in a given area versus the national average. A value of 2.0 means the occupation is twice as common there as nationally. It is a signal of what a state specializes in.