Manicurists and Pedicurists
Human ServicesO*NET 39-5092.00United States
Clean and shape customers' fingernails and toenails. May polish or decorate nails.
- Median annual earnings
- $32,677
- Projected change
- +15.7%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 252.19K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
85% of the workforce
Growing to 291.7K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What manicurists and pedicurists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Clean and sanitize tools and work environment.
- Apply undercoat and clear or colored polish onto nails with brush.
- Maintain supply inventories and records of client services.
- Shape and smooth ends of nails, using scissors, files, or emery boards.
- Prepare nail cuticles with water and oil, using cuticle knives to push back cuticles and scissors or nippers to trim cuticles.
- Prepare customers' nails in soapy water, using swabs, files, and orange sticks.
- Remove previously applied nail polish, using liquid remover and swabs.
- Use rotary abrasive wheels to shape and smooth nails or artificial extensions.
- Schedule client appointments and accept payments.
- Assess the condition of clients' hands, remove dead skin, and massage hands.
- Roughen surfaces of fingernails, using abrasive wheel.
- Advise clients on nail care and use of products and colors.
- Treat nails to repair or improve strength and resilience by wrapping.
- Extend nails using powder, solvent, and paper forms attached to tips of customers' fingers to support and shape artificial nails.
- Polish nails, using powdered polish and buffer.
- Whiten underside of nails with white paste or pencils.
- Promote and sell nail care products.
- Decorate clients' nails by piercing or attaching ornaments or designs.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $21,820
- 25th percentile
- $27,774
- 50th percentile
- $32,677
- 75th percentile
- $41,674
- 90th percentile
- $58,285
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $32,677 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+15.7%much faster than average
2025252,185 jobs
2035 projected291,704 jobs
39,519 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 85%
- Certificate
- 14.8%
- Some college
- 0.3%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Nail Technicians2,800 postings
- 02Licensed Nail Technicians932 postings
- 03Wax Specialists190 postings
- 04Spa Nail Technicians185 postings
- 05Manicurists149 postings
- 06Pedicurists129 postings
- 07Salon Nail Technicians116 postings
- 08Nail Artists73 postings
- 09Nail Specialists33 postings
- 10Instructors24 postings
- 11Esthetics Instructors20 postings
- 12Luxury Specialists20 postings
- 13Hair Stylists/Nail Technicians15 postings
- 14Waxing Specialists15 postings
- 15Technology Instructors13 postings
- 16Tax Technicians11 postings
- 17Learning Leaders10 postings
- 18Spa Technicians10 postings
- 19Apprentice Technicians9 postings
- 20Ell Specialists9 postings
Top employers
- 01Herespa244 postings
- 02Colleyville Lifetime Fitness140 postings
- 03Resident Salon Services93 postings
- 04Salon PS California88 postings
- 05European Wax Center85 postings
- 06European Wax73 postings
- 07Life Time72 postings
- 08Omni Hotels & Resorts51 postings
- 09Pet Supplies Plus49 postings
- 10Arch Amenities Group43 postings
- 11Paul Mitchell Schools43 postings
- 12Marriott International35 postings
- 13Belk33 postings
- 14Hyatt32 postings
- 15Belle Corporation24 postings
- 16Hilton23 postings
- 17French Lick Resort22 postings
- 18Four Seasons15 postings
- 19Miniluxe15 postings
- 20Amarillo College14 postings
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