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Salary data from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists Salary: South Dakota vs Vermont

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists earn a median of $49,050 in South Dakota and $49,640 in Vermont. That is a nominal gap of $590 (-1.2%), with Vermont 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.

$49,050
South Dakota median
$55,370 after COL
$49,640
Vermont median
$50,675 after COL
-1.2%
Nominal gap
Vermont leads
+9.3%
Adjusted gap
South Dakota leads after COL

The story behind the numbers

On raw wages, Vermont pays $590 more per year than South Dakota for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists, a gap of +1.2%.

After adjusting for cost of living, the picture flips. South Dakota actually offers more purchasing power, effectively paying $4,695 more in national-price-level terms (a +9.3% real gap). The higher nominal wage in the other location is eaten up by higher local prices.

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

South Dakota

Median salary
$49,050
Mean salary
$48,310
Employment
530
Location quotient
0.62
Jobs per 1,000
1.2
COL-adjusted median
$55,370
Regional Price Parity
88.6%

Exact state RPP match.

Full Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists page for South Dakota →

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists

Vermont

Median salary
$49,640
Mean salary
$55,290
Employment
520
Location quotient
0.89
Jobs per 1,000
1.7
COL-adjusted median
$50,675
Regional Price Parity
98.0%

Exact state RPP match.

Full Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists page for Vermont →

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.