Gitnux/Report 2026

Barbering Industry Statistics

The U.S. barber-shop baseline is $5.07 billion in nonemployer revenue for 2024, explore companies and 2025–2026 trends in software, AI use, and appointment behavior.
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12Sections
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November 11, 2026Updated
Barbering Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Before any source is gathered, an editor locks the question, what qualifies, and how the piece will be judged.

02Source Research

Search agents collect the source set and pull each data point out with its provenance attached.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The barbering industry at a glance

U.S. barbering is a highly fragmented, mostly owner-operated industry: 154,456 nonemployer barber shops reported $5.07 billion in revenue in 2024, while barbers held 75,800 jobs in 2025.

$5.07B[19]
Nonemployer revenue, 2024
154,456[19]
Nonemployer shops, 2024
75,800[29]
Barber jobs, 2025
$18.37[29]
Median hourly pay, 2025
Market size
The latest official nonemployer data show 154,456 U.S. barber-shop establishments generating $5.07 billion in reported revenue in 2024. Separately, the Census Bureau’s 2021 Service Annual Survey estimated $1.471 billion in revenue for employer barber shops, although that estimate had a 15.0% coefficient of variation and is not directly additive without methodological adjustment.[19][17]
Forecast & CAGR
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects barber employment to increase 3% from 75,800 jobs in 2025 to 78,300 in 2035. For the narrower mobile-barber segment, Heimdall Insights forecasts a 9.5% CAGR from 2025 to 2030, reaching $2.4 billion; this is not a forecast for the total barbering industry.[29][65]
Market share & regions
Official 2024 nonemployer data report $5.071 billion nationally, but the cited Census table does not provide a regional revenue-share breakdown in the available result. No comparable, reliable regional market-share estimate was identified.[19]
Segmentation
The Census Bureau classifies barber shops under NAICS 812111, covering establishments primarily engaged in cutting, trimming, and styling men’s and boys’ hair and/or shaving and trimming men’s beards. In 2024, individual proprietorships accounted for 147,118 of the 154,456 nonemployer establishments, while partnerships accounted for 2,262.[17][19]
Key players & concentration
The market is structurally fragmented: 147,118 of 154,456 nonemployer barber shops were individual proprietorships in 2024. The available official data do not publish a reliable market-share percentage for leading barber brands.[19]
Pricing
The median hourly wage for U.S. barbers was $18.37 in May 2025, while the mean wage was $22.63. These are labor-market wage measures, not customer prices, and include reported tips.[29]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Demand is supported by recurring basic hair-care needs and continued interest in personal-appearance services. The main structural challenge is the industry’s dependence on small operators: 80% of barbers were self-employed in 2025, and BLS projects only 3% employment growth for barbers through 2035, below the 8% projected growth for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists.[29]
Consumer behavior & competition
A 2026 SQUIRE report covering 13.9 million appointments at about 7,000 U.S. shops found that digitally tracked barbershops compete through scheduling, customer experience, and repeat appointments. The report is an operational dataset from participating shops rather than a nationally representative consumer survey.[4]
Regulation
Barber shops are defined federally under NAICS 812111, but licensing and operating requirements are generally administered at the state level. The available sources establish the federal industry classification but do not provide a current, comparable national estimate of regulatory compliance costs or licensing volumes.[17]
Latest news
SQUIRE’s 2026 industry report analyzed activity from May 2025 through April 2026 across roughly 7,000 U.S. shops and 13.9 million appointments, highlighting the growing role of owners as managers, marketers, and customer-experience operators.[4]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Barbering Industry

The leading companies in the barbering industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

Great Clips stands out for franchised haircut-salon scale because more than 4,400 salons serve 1.7 million customers weekly, while Andis focuses on barber tools since it makes professional clippers and trimmers.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in barbershop chains

    Great Clips

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.8 · Barbershop chains

    Why we picked it: Scale comes from its franchised haircut-salon footprint across the United States and Canada.

    See in ranking ↓Visit greatclips.com ↗

  2. Leader in barber tools

    Andis

    US

    Ranked #2 · 9.3 · Barber tools

    Why we picked it: It sells professional barber clippers and trimmers as a focused tool category.

    See in ranking ↓Visit andis.com ↗

  3. #3 overall

    Floyd's 99 Barbershop

    US

    Ranked #3 · 9.1 · Barbershop chains

    Why we picked it: Its men’s grooming chain expands through location rollout in multiple states.

    See in ranking ↓Visit floydsbarbershop.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Pick 2 is the highest-ranked company in the top 5 that adds a new segment; no further segment places in the top 5, so pick 3 follows rank.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the barbering industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Great Clips

Barbershop chains · US

9.8
2

Andis

Barber tools · US

9.3
3

Floyd's 99 Barbershop

Barbershop chains · US

9.1
4

Boardroom Salon

Barbershop chains · US

8.9
5

Wahl Clipper

Barber tools · US

8.8
6

jRL Professional

Professional barber clippers, trimmers and styling tools · US

8.7
7

Regis

Salon and barbershop franchisor, North America and UK · US

8.7
8

Conair

Professional hair tools through BaBylissPRO and other brands · US

8.5
9

Sport Clips

Men's and boys' haircut franchises, US and Canada · US

8.2
10

Fantastic Sams

Franchised haircut and color salons, North America · US

7.6

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 10, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Top 10 companies in the barbering industry. In Barbering Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/barbering-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Projection

U.S. barber shops revenue, all establishments

U.S. barber shops revenue, all establishments grew from 1,061,737 thousands of U.S. dollars in 2020 to 2,252,395 thousands of U.S. dollars in 2024.

$1.1M
Start
+20.69%
CAGR · 4y
$2.3M
Projected
20202024
source-verifiedalfred.stlouisfed.org2024

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI and management software adoption show up in shop telemetry, including 57.98% of SQUIRE barbershops using AI features in May 2025–April 2026.

AI in the barbering industry

  • 19.8% of U.S. firms with four or fewer employees reported using AI on May 3, 2026; the source identifies small barber shops as an example of this business group.[1]
  • 141,000 people worked as barbers in the United States in 2025, up from 116,000 in 2015, according to figures cited in an AI-and-barbering analysis.[1]
  • 14% of surveyed UK hairdressing and barbering professionals were neutral about using AI as part of their job in 2026.[2]
  • 40 out of 100 was the official AI-exposure score cited for hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists in a 2026 barbering analysis, categorized as moderate.[3]
  • 57.98% of SQUIRE barbershops used the platform’s AI features during May 2025–April 2026, according to SQUIRE telemetry.[4]
  • 54% of surveyed UK hairdressing and barbering professionals were not confident using AI as part of their job in 2026.[2]

Automation in the barbering industry

  • Approximately two-thirds of SQUIRE barbershop appointments were booked through customer self-service in the 2026 platform data.[4]
  • 84% more Google reviews were received by shops using automated review systems, according to SQUIRE’s 2026 barbershop data.[5]
  • 46% of surveyed barbershop clients had booked online at some point in the Zenoti survey.[6]
  • 34% was the average revenue lift reported by SQUIRE after barbershops adopted management software.[4]
  • 72–77% of U.S. barbershops used management software in the SQUIRE data window from May 2025 through April 2026.[4]
  • 75% of barbershop online-booking appointments were booked through an online booking site in Square’s 2023 customer data.[7]

Digital Transformation in the home and personal services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. service-based SMBs, 69% used at least one operational automation to save time in data collected in December 2025.[8]
  • Among England adult social care providers, 63% used digital rostering tools in February–March 2025.[9]
  • Among England adult social care providers, 73% used digital social care records in February–March 2025.[9]
  • Across U.S. service-based SMBs, 42% said they could not survive without their digital tools in data collected in December 2025.[8]

Technology Adoption in the home and personal services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among England adult social care providers, 73% used at least one care technology for care and support in February–March 2025.[9]
  • Among surveyed homecare businesses, 94% used auditing and compliance software in 2024.[10]
  • Among surveyed homecare businesses, 98% used care-management software in 2024.[10]
  • Among surveyed homecare businesses, 96% used rostering software in 2024.[10]
  • Among surveyed homecare businesses, 92% used finance software in 2024.[10]

Cloud Computing in the home and personal services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU small and medium-sized enterprises, 44% bought cloud-computing services in 2023.[11]
  • Across EU businesses, 45% bought cloud-computing services in 2023.[11]
  • Across EU large businesses, 78% bought cloud-computing services in 2023.[11]
  • Among EU businesses using cloud computing, 68% used it for file storage in 2023.[11]
  • Among EU businesses using cloud computing, 83% used it to host email systems in 2023.[11]

Big Data in the home and personal services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among surveyed homecare providers, 57% reported improved visibility of care after adopting smart technology in 2024.[10]
  • Among surveyed homecare agencies with reporting tools, 22% were not using their data to inform business decisions or benefit clients in 2025.[12]
  • Among surveyed homecare providers, 64% said smart technology helped them better audit care quality in 2024.[10]
  • Among surveyed homecare providers, 76% said smart technology helped them better evidence care quality in 2024.[10]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Operational KPIs connect software use to outcomes, with SQUIRE reporting a 34% average revenue lift for barbershops using management software in 2026.

Business intelligence in the barbering industry

  • Barbershops using management software achieved a 34% average revenue lift in 2026, according to SQUIRE data.[4]
  • 37% of barbershops across the 25 largest U.S. markets had ratings between 4.9 and 5.0 stars in 2026.[4]
  • 72–77% of U.S. barbershops used management software in 2026, according to SQUIRE platform data.[4]
  • 117% more reviews were accumulated by automated-review barbershops in the 10 largest U.S. metropolitan markets in 2026.[4]
  • 3 or more customer-facing channels were used by the average SQUIRE barbershop in 2026.[4]
  • 57.98% of SQUIRE barbershops used the platform’s AI features in 2026.[4]

Data analytics in the barbering industry

  • 5.74% of barbering appointments started at 6 p.m. in Mangomint’s 2024 appointment sample.[13]
  • 11.11% of barbering appointments started at 10 a.m. in Mangomint’s 2024 appointment sample.[13]
  • 11.61% of barbering appointments started at 1 p.m. in Mangomint’s 2024 appointment sample.[13]
  • 9.76% of barbering appointments started at 2 p.m. in Mangomint’s 2024 appointment sample.[13]
  • 10.55% of barbering appointments started at 4 p.m. in Mangomint’s 2024 appointment sample.[13]
  • 10.79% of barbering appointments started at 3 p.m. in Mangomint’s 2024 appointment sample.[13]

Data Quality in the home and personal services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across organizations in APQC cross-industry research, 43% reported already using data-quality assessments within data governance in 2024.[14]
  • Across supply-management organizations, 49% reported that their data quality was good or excellent in 2024, based on a survey of more than 121 respondents.[15]
  • Across supply-management organizations, 23% reported spending at least 21% of their time cleaning data in 2024.[15]
  • Across supply-management organizations, 67% said their data quality was better or significantly better than two years earlier in 2024.[15]

Data Governance in the home and personal services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among organizations surveyed globally, 47% reported housing their data-governance function in a center of excellence in 2024.[15]
  • Among organizations surveyed globally, 61% reported having a dedicated data-governance function in 2024.[15]
  • Among consumer-services companies, 31% reported having a formal data-governance organization in 2024, making this a relevant benchmark for personal-services businesses.[16]
  • Among organizations surveyed globally, 81% considered their data-governance program useful in 2024.[15]
  • Among organizations surveyed globally, 53% of companies with more than 10,000 employees reported a formal data-governance organization in 2024.[16]

KPIs in the barbering industry

  • 94.2 appointments per month was the average barber workload on SQUIRE in 2026.[4]
  • 30 minutes was the average barbershop service length in SQUIRE’s 2026 KPI data.[4]
  • $1.132 billion was estimated revenue for U.S. employer barber shops in 2020, according to the Census Bureau.[17]
  • 5–10 hours per week was the administrative time lost by pen-and-paper barbershops in SQUIRE’s 2026 analysis.[4]
  • $43 was the average U.S. barbershop haircut price reported by SQUIRE for 2026.[4]
  • More than $4,300 per month was protected on average by barbershops using Book & Pay in 2025.[4]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Retention and online conversion remain measurable, including a 48.5-day average interval between visits for returning clients in SQUIRE’s May 2025–April 2026 cohort.

Growth in the barbering industry

  • U.S. barber shops recorded $1.471 billion in estimated revenue in 2021, compared with $1.132 billion in 2020.[17]
  • $2.252 billion was the 2024 revenue of U.S. employer barber shops, up from $1.920 billion in 2023.[18]
  • 154,456 U.S. nonemployer barber-shop establishments generated $5.071 billion in receipts in 2024.[19]
  • 48.5 days was the average interval between visits for returning clients in SQUIRE’s May 2025–April 2026 U.S. cohort.[4]
  • 76% of clients rated booking convenience as equal in importance to service quality in SQUIRE’s 2026 U.S. report.[4]
  • U.S. employer barber-shop revenue rose from $1.663 billion in 2022 to $1.920 billion in 2023.[18]

Differentiation in the barbering industry

  • 46% of regular salon and barbershop customers had booked online in Zenoti’s 2024 survey.[6]
  • 83% of barbershops in America’s 25 largest markets rated at least 4.5 stars in SQUIRE’s 2026 report.[4]
  • 73% of surveyed consumers considered themselves regular customers of a hair or beauty salon in Zenoti’s 2024 survey.[6]
  • 78% of regular salon and barbershop customers checked online reviews before deciding to visit in Zenoti’s 2024 survey.[6]
  • 97% of surveyed salon and barbershop customers considered personalization during in-person visits important in 2024.[6]
  • 48% of SQUIRE clients were one-and-done customers during the May 2025–April 2026 U.S. period.[4]

Mergers and acquisitions in the barbering industry

  • 11 Fellow Barber locations were operating across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco before its merger with Rudy’s Barbershop.[20]
  • 105 Famous Hair, Chicago Hair and Hair Inc. salons were acquired by Regis according to the company’s transaction history.[21]
  • 199 Cost Cutters salons operating in Walmart stores were acquired by Regis in a transaction described in its corporate history.[21]
  • 2 barbershop brands—Fellow Barber and Rudy’s Barbershop—were combined in the 2022 merger announced by Sortis Holdings.[20]

Strategic partnerships in the barbering industry

  • 22% audience engagement was reported for Jerry Wayne Longmire in Outlaws & Gents’ partnership announcement.[22]
  • 5 emerging barbers with fewer than 25,000 Instagram followers were selected for Booksy and SharpFade’s 2023 initiative.[23]
  • 1 Wahl Barber Academy was planned in Chicago through Wahl Clipper Corporation’s partnership with Pivot Point Academy in 2023.[24]
  • 30-plus barbershop locations were operated by brands owned by Outlaws & Gents co-founder Shayne Brown when the company partnered with Jerry Wayne Longmire.[22]
  • 1 first-of-its-kind Cuts & Checks Scholarship partnership was created between NxNΕ Community Health Center and Champions Barbershop’s barbering school.[25]
  • 1.5 million-plus followers were reached through Outlaws & Gents’ partnership with comedian and creator Jerry Wayne Longmire.[22]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Supply remains shaped by self-employment, with BLS projecting only 3% employment growth between 2025 and 2035 for barbers through 2035.

Hiring in the barbering industry

  • The U.S. barber workforce grew 3.61% in one year in 2024.[26]
  • 0.467% of U.S. barbers worked in other personal services in 2024.[26]
  • 8.49% of U.S. barbers worked in beauty salons in 2024.[26]
  • U.S. barber employment is projected to grow 3% between 2025 and 2035.[27]
  • 75,800 people were employed as barbers in the United States in 2025.[27]

Employee retention in the barbering industry

  • Chain-salon service providers had median tenure of 2.3 years with their current employer in the 2024 Qnity study.[28]
  • Chain-salon employees with 1–5 years of tenure averaged $32,701 in annual W-2 earnings.[28]
  • Chain-salon employees with 16–20 years of tenure averaged $49,969 in annual W-2 earnings.[28]
  • Chain-salon service providers with 6–10 years of tenure averaged $35.35 per hour.[28]
  • Chain-salon employees with 6–10 years of tenure averaged $42,245 in annual W-2 earnings.[28]

Remote Work in the home and personal services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. service occupations, 6.5% of workers did some work at home on average in 2024–2025.[29]
  • Across U.S. other-services industries, 32.6% of workers did some work at home on average in 2024–2025.[29]
  • Across U.S. education and health-services industries, 28.1% of workers did some work at home on average in 2024–2025.[29]
  • Across U.S. leisure and hospitality industries, 7.2% of workers did some work at home on average in 2024–2025.[29]

Hybrid Work in the home and personal services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among U.S. full-time employees able to work from home, 44.4% were hybrid during December 2023–March 2024.[30]
  • Across U.S. health-care and social-assistance industries, 30% of full-time employees were hybrid during December 2023–March 2024.[30]
  • Across U.S. professional and business services, 22% of full-time employees were hybrid during December 2023–March 2024.[30]
  • Across U.S. education industries, 44% of full-time employees were hybrid during December 2023–March 2024.[30]
  • Across U.S. full-time wage-and-salary employees, 28% worked in a hybrid arrangement during December 2023–March 2024.[30]

Upskilling in the barbering industry

  • California’s barber apprenticeship program requires 3,200 hours over a two-year period.[31]
  • A California task force discussed reducing barber apprenticeship requirements from 3,200 to 2,000 hours.[31]
  • 9.8% of surveyed California barbers in 2018 did not report their years licensed.[31]
  • 24.1% of surveyed California barbers reported holding a cosmetologist license in addition to their barber license.[31]
  • Approximately 40% of California’s documented apprenticeship training facilities were enrolling apprentices under their own business names in 2024.[31]

Employee Engagement in the home and personal services sector (sector benchmark)

  • In the United States, 32% of employees were engaged at work in 2025.[32]
  • Across 183,000 business units in 53 industries and 90 countries, top-quartile engagement teams achieved 23% higher profitability than bottom-quartile teams in Gallup’s meta-analysis.[32]
  • Globally, 27% of managers were engaged at work in 2025, down from 30% in 2024.[32]
  • Across the United States and Canada, 31% of employees were engaged at work in 2025.[32]

DEI in the barbering industry

  • 85% of California Board licensee survey respondents identified as female in 2024.[31]
  • 19.2% of U.S. barbers identified with two or more races in 2024.[26]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Booking convenience and communication drive repeat behavior, including 82% of clients saying easy rescheduling would increase return likelihood in 2024.

Customer experience in the barbering industry

  • 82% of clients said easy rescheduling would make them more likely to return to a previous stylist or barber in 2024.[7]
  • 75% of clients said better communication before or between appointments would encourage them to return to a previous stylist or barber in 2024.[7]
  • 34% of clients in an open relationship cited a personality mismatch with their stylist or barber in 2024.[7]
  • 83% of barbershops in the 25 largest U.S. markets had ratings of at least 4.5 stars in 2026.[4]
  • 53% of clients said online booking options would encourage them to return to a previous stylist or barber in 2024.[7]

Customer retention in the barbering industry

  • 48.5 days was the average interval between visits for SQUIRE clients with more than one appointment in 2026.[4]
  • Programs that incentivized repeat visits increased the number of guests visiting five or more times annually by 9% in the 2025 benchmark analysis.[6]
  • 68% of consumers in committed provider relationships had visited the same stylist or barber for at least three years in 2024.[7]
  • About 48% of SQUIRE clients had only one appointment during the May 2025–April 2026 measurement period.[4]
  • Repeat guests who visit five or more times annually increased by 10% when repeat visits were emphasized in the 2025 benchmark analysis.[6]

Customer acquisition in the barbering industry

  • 61% of clients who explored another stylist or barber regretted doing so in 2024.[7]
  • 30% of surveyed barbershop clients wanted simultaneous booking for multiple services in 2023, supporting bundled-service acquisition offers.[6]
  • 30% of clients who tried another stylist or barber stayed with the new provider in 2024.[7]
  • 83% of barbershops in the 25 largest U.S. markets had ratings of 4.5 stars or higher in 2026, making reputation a common acquisition prerequisite.[4]
  • 13% of clients who explored another stylist or barber planned to keep trying providers in 2024.[7]

Customer loyalty in the barbering industry

  • 59% of consumers in committed hair-care relationships valued stylist or barber recommendations for products or additional services in 2024.[7]
  • 86% of consumers in committed hair-care relationships cited a good price as a relationship motivator in 2024.[7]
  • 87% of consumers in committed hair-care relationships said they looked forward to catching up with their stylist or barber in 2024.[7]
  • 85% of consumers in committed hair-care relationships cited easy booking as a relationship motivator in 2024.[7]
  • 75% of consumers in committed hair-care relationships cited better communication between appointments as a motivator in 2024.[7]

Lead generation in the barbering industry

  • 30% of barbershop clients wanted simultaneous booking of multiple services in 2023, providing a lead-capture opportunity through bundled online booking.[6]
  • 83% of barbershops in America’s 25 largest markets had ratings of at least 4.5 stars in 2026, strengthening the role of review visibility in lead generation.[4]
  • 75% of beauty and personal-care appointments were booked through online booking sites in 2023 transaction data, creating a measurable digital lead-to-booking channel.[7]
  • 53% of clients said online booking would encourage them to return to a previous stylist or barber in 2024, showing the importance of digital conversion paths.[7]
  • 84% more reviews were accumulated on average by SQUIRE barbershops using automated review requests than by manually operating shops in 2026.[4]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Local discovery ties to digital booking preferences, including 83% of U.S. salon and barbershop clients searching through local listings such as Google and Yelp.

Marketing in the barbering industry

  • 83% of U.S. salon and barbershop clients search for businesses through local listings such as Google and Yelp, survey year not stated.[33]
  • 33% of U.S. consumers cite availability as the top consideration when selecting a new barber or stylist, survey year not stated.[33]
  • 27% of U.S. consumers primarily rely on friends’ recommendations when selecting a new barber or stylist, survey year not stated.[33]
  • 18% of U.S. consumers choosing a new salon or barbershop cite name brand and reputation as their top consideration, survey year not stated.[33]
  • 45% of U.S. barbershop clients would consider only businesses rated between 4.5 and 5 stars, 2023.[6]

Digital marketing in the barbering industry

  • 37% of U.S. barbershop clients are most likely to choose a shop offering online or mobile booking, 2023.[6]
  • 42% of U.S. salon and barbershop consumers prefer to self-book appointments online, survey year not stated.[33]
  • 77% of U.S. barbershop clients want to pay their bill using their mobile device, 2023.[6]
  • 82% of U.S. barbershop clients are interested in booking appointments by smartphone, 2023.[6]
  • 24% of U.S. salon and barbershop consumers say poor online booking is the main reason they would not return, survey year not stated.[33]

Branding in the barbering industry

  • 78% of U.S. barbershop clients buy a barber-recommended product at least sometimes, 2023.[6]
  • 26% of U.S. consumers surveyed consider themselves regular customers at a barbershop, 2023.[6]
  • 63% of U.S. male salon and barbershop clients are highly motivated to buy a product after a stylist’s professional recommendation, survey year not stated.[33]
  • 67% of U.S. salon and barbershop clients book multiple services in one visit, among male clients, survey year not stated.[33]
  • 68% of U.S. male salon and barbershop clients visit at least once a month, survey year not stated.[33]

Social media in the barbering industry

  • 62% of participating U.S. barbers reported discussing the intervention topic with at least six clients per week, 2025.[34]
  • 44,609.8 was the estimated average monthly Instagram reach per barber in the U.S. intervention cohort, 2025.[34]
  • 7% of U.S. consumers selecting a new barber or stylist cite the stylist’s social-media following as their top consideration, survey year not stated.[33]
  • 37.5% of 2026 salon-business survey respondents identify social media or digital marketing as a successful business strategy, including barbering businesses covered by the report.[35]
  • 4,464 client encounters were estimated across 50 participating U.S. barbers during the 24-week intervention, 2025.[34]

Influencer Marketing in the home and personal services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among U.S. home-services businesses, 33% expected to try influencer marketing for the first time in 2026.[36]
  • Globally, 40% of brands engaged influencers on an extended basis in 2025, up from 29% previously.[37]
  • Across surveyed brands, 83% perceived influencer marketing as effective in 2023.[38]
  • Across surveyed brands, 54.3% used views, reach, or impressions as their primary influencer-marketing success metric in 2024.[38]
  • Among U.S. Gen Z beauty shoppers, 90% bought a beauty product based on an influencer recommendation during the previous year.[39]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Automation reduces missed appointments, with SQUIRE reporting 89% fewer no-shows when automated reminders were used in 2026 platform data.

Process optimization in the barbering industry

  • 18.18% of appointments occurred on Thursdays among barbering businesses in Mangomint’s 2026 benchmark.[40]
  • 72–77% of barbershops used management software in SQUIRE’s 2026 industry data.[4]
  • 89% fewer no-shows were recorded when automated reminders were used by barbershops in SQUIRE’s 2026 platform data.[4]
  • About two-thirds of bookings occurred through customer self-service in SQUIRE’s 2026 barbershop data.[4]
  • 20.47% of appointments occurred on Fridays among barbering businesses in Mangomint’s 2026 benchmark.[40]

Operational efficiency in the barbering industry

  • 33.5% of surveyed California barbers reported working 40 or more hours per week in the state’s occupational analysis.[31]
  • Senopati Barbershop recorded 55% performance efficiency in an Indonesian operational-effectiveness study.[41]
  • 53% of surveyed California barbers reported seeing 0–10 clients per day in the state’s occupational analysis.[31]
  • 30 minutes was the average service length reported for barbershops in SQUIRE’s 2026 data.[4]
  • Software adoption was associated with a 34% revenue lift among barbershops in SQUIRE’s 2026 report.[4]

Quality management in the barbering industry

  • 30% of California barber occupational-analysis content concerned prevention activities, including sanitation and infection prevention.[31]
  • 309 California barber respondents contributed ratings for knowledge of products used to sanitize supplies in the occupational analysis.[31]
  • 4.86 out of 5 was the reported frequency rating for disinfecting barber equipment in California’s occupational analysis.[31]
  • 4.84 out of 5 was the reported frequency rating for sanitizing barber supplies after each client in California’s occupational analysis.[31]
  • 4.87 out of 5 was the reported importance rating for sanitizing barber supplies after each client in California’s occupational analysis.[31]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the home and personal services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 37% of facility organizations worldwide reported increasing their use of outsourcing or contractors in the October–December 2025 survey period.[42]
  • 32% of building-service contractors expected a trend toward increased outsourcing of cleaning tasks, according to a 2024 U.S. market study.[43]
  • 33% of facilities-maintenance activities were contracted out on average by hospitals in the United States, according to a 2024 operations survey.[44]
  • 91% of 200 leading food-services and facility-management buyers in the United States and Europe expected their outsourcing budgets to increase over the five years to 2030, based on a 2024 survey.[45]
  • 18% of facility organizations worldwide reported decreasing their use of outsourcing or contractors during October–December 2025.[42]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Prices and deal economics remain constrained by small-operator economics, with a $357,000 median barbershop revenue per location in 2025 reported by Zenoti.

Pricing strategy in the barbering industry

  • $40 was the average haircut price in the Northeast U.S. during May 2025–April 2026.[4]
  • $43 was the average U.S. haircut price across SQUIRE shops during May 2025–April 2026.[4]
  • $25–$45 was the average adult Afro haircut price in Connecticut in 2025.[46]
  • $25–$45 was the average hot-towel-shave price in Connecticut in 2025.[46]
  • $25–$35 was the average taper-cut price in Connecticut in 2025.[46]

Cost reduction in the barbering industry

  • 4% was the barbershop cancellation rate reported for 2025 in Zenoti’s 2026 benchmark summary.[6]
  • 30 minutes was the average barbershop service length in SQUIRE’s 2026 report.[4]
  • 5–10 hours per week were estimated to be lost to manual administrative work at paper-based barbershops in 2026.[4]
  • 95% was the maximum reported reduction in no-shows and cancellations after booking deposits were introduced by Zenoti Payments operators.[6]
  • $357,000 was the median barbershop revenue per location in 2025, according to Zenoti.[6]

Profitability in the barbering industry

  • $352,979 was the median revenue of hair salon and barber-shop businesses sold through BizBuySell in 2023.[47]
  • $92,000 was the median owner discretionary earnings for hair salon and barber-shop businesses sold through BizBuySell in 2025.[47]
  • 20.5% was the 2023 median discretionary-earnings margin for hair salon and barber-shop businesses sold through BizBuySell.[47]
  • 24.9% was the five-year median discretionary-earnings margin for hair salon and barber-shop businesses sold through BizBuySell from 2021–2025.[47]
  • $1.471 billion was estimated U.S. barber-shop employer-firm revenue in 2021.[17]

Financial planning in the barbering industry

  • $89,000 was the median sale price of hair salon and barber-shop businesses sold through BizBuySell in 2022.[47]
  • $165,000 was the median sale price of hair salon and barber-shop businesses sold through BizBuySell in 2025.[47]
  • 0.92 was the average sale-to-asking-price ratio for hair salon and barber-shop businesses sold through BizBuySell in 2025.[47]
  • $105,000 was the median sale price of hair salon and barber-shop businesses sold through BizBuySell in 2024.[47]
  • $129,000 was the median sale price of hair salon and barber-shop businesses sold through BizBuySell in 2023.[47]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Membership and retail attach appear in tracked metrics, including 20% year-over-year growth in barbershop membership sales in 2025.

Product development in the barbering industry

  • 14.7% was the increase in men’s skincare product launches globally over the three years to 2025, according to Mintel GNPD data.[48]
  • 12.3% was the increase in men’s hair-treatment and colourant launches globally over the three years to 2025, according to Mintel GNPD data.[48]
  • 8.31% was the forecast CAGR for natural and organic men’s grooming products from 2027 to 2032.[49]
  • 80.71% of global men’s grooming-product revenue came from conventional products in 2026.[49]
  • 26.04% was the global men’s grooming products market share held by skincare products in 2026.[49]

Product lifecycle in the barbering industry

  • 20% was the year-over-year growth in barbershop membership sales in 2025.[6]
  • Two retail items were typically added at checkout by beauty customers making online or in-person purchases in the first quarter of 2024.[7]
  • 2% was same-store revenue growth for barbershops in 2025.[6]
  • 57% more annual sales were recorded by Square sellers offering both services and products than by sellers offering services only.[7]
  • 57% of U.S. and Canadian beauty customers who tried another stylist or barber returned to their original provider, based on Square’s 2024 survey.[7]

After-sales in the barbering industry

  • 82% of U.S. and Canadian beauty customers said easy rescheduling would encourage them to return to a previous stylist or barber in 2024.[7]
  • 25% of U.S. and Canadian beauty customers said retail-item sales would encourage them to return to a previous stylist or barber in 2024.[7]
  • 72% of global beauty customers expected communication from beauty businesses, especially loyalty-program and appointment reminders, in 2024.[50]
  • 52% of U.S. and Canadian beauty customers said loyalty discounts would encourage them to return to a previous stylist or barber in 2024.[7]
  • 75% of U.S. and Canadian beauty customers said better communication before or between appointments would encourage a return in 2024.[7]

Value proposition in the barbering industry

  • 70% of barbershop clients reported a high level of trust in their barber or service provider in Zenoti’s survey.[6]
  • 35% of barbershop clients considered online reviews when choosing a shop.[6]
  • 40% of barbershop clients usually or always bought a product recommended by their barber.[6]
  • 40% of barbershop clients chose a particular shop because of referrals from friends or family.[6]
  • 33% of consumers cited availability as the top consideration when selecting a new barber or stylist in Boulevard’s survey.[33]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Some sustainability programs scale outcomes with measurable logistics, including 484,970 meals provided through salon-recycling partnerships by 2026.

Sustainability in the barbering industry

  • 484,970 meals had been provided through salon-recycling partnerships with OzHarvest and KiwiHarvest by 2026.[51]
  • More than 90,000 hours of employment for people with disabilities had been created through salon recycling by 2026.[51]
  • 79,948 appointment-booking clicks were generated through the Sustainable Salons directory in 2026.[51]
  • 2,455,040 kilograms of salon waste had been diverted from landfill across Australia and New Zealand by 2026.[51]
  • 64% of respondents rated sustainability as extremely important in Green Circle Salons’ salon-industry survey.[52]

CSR in the barbering industry

  • 484,970 meals had been provided to hunger-relief charities through salon recycling in Australia and New Zealand by 2026.[51]
  • 310,387 ponytails had been donated for charitable wig-making through the Sustainable Salons network by 2026.[51]
  • Every Sustainable Salons depot employed people with disabilities across Australia and New Zealand in 2026.[51]
  • More than 90,000 hours of meaningful employment had been created for people with disabilities through salon recycling by 2026.[51]

Circular economy in the barbering industry

  • 310,387 ponytails had entered charitable wig-making streams through the Sustainable Salons network by 2026.[51]
  • Recycled salon plastics were being converted into combs, plant pots, hair clips, furniture, shelving and salon fit-outs in 2026.[51]
  • 70% of salon professionals did not know about clean recycling streams for hair color or the greenhouse-gas impact of hair waste.[52]
  • 110,000 pounds of metal were discarded daily by salons in the United States and Canada, according to Green Circle Salons.[52]
  • 42,000 pounds of excess hair color were thrown away daily by salons in the United States and Canada, according to Green Circle Salons.[52]

Carbon footprint in the barbering industry

  • 63,000 pounds of hair were wasted daily by salons in the United States and Canada, according to Green Circle Salons.[52]
  • 95% of beauty waste could be diverted from landfills through Green Circle Salons’ waste-management solution.[52]
  • 3 percentage points was the increase in salons incorporating material recycling compared with Green Circle Salons’ 2020 survey.[52]
  • 877 pounds of waste were produced every minute by the salon industry in the United States and Canada, according to Green Circle Salons.[52]
  • 10% of stylists were uncertain about their salon’s recycling practices in Green Circle Salons’ survey.[52]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

International tool supply and cross-border brand presence show up alongside domestic workforce projections, including 78,300 U.S. barber jobs projected for 2035.

Globalization in the barbering industry

  • 6 locations were reported for Pall Mall Barbers in London and 1 in New York City.[21]
  • 78,300 U.S. barber jobs were projected for 2035.[29]
  • 4,530 locations were reported for Great Clips across the United States and Canada.[21]
  • 36% of U.S. barbers were self-employed in 2021, representing approximately 37,000 people.[59]
  • 13 locations were operated by No Grease Barbershop in 2022 across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Maryland, including 7 franchise operations.[60]

Cultural adaptation in the barbering industry

  • 11 years was the period in which Finland’s foreign-born population increased from 150,000 in 2001 to 250,000 in 2011, a demographic change linked to migrant-oriented barbershops.[61]
  • 400,000 foreign-born residents were recorded in Finland in 2019, compared with approximately 150,000 in 2001.[61]
  • 2 cultural service influences were specifically identified in New Zealand barbering: homegrown Māori and Pacific approaches and overseas influences.[62]
  • At least 3 overseas-influenced barbering developments were identified in New Zealand: renewed cut-throat shaves, chemical services such as perms, and Turkish shaves brought by migrants.[62]

Supplier management in the barbering industry

  • 50% of surveyed salon customers said product purchases were influenced by a stylist’s professional recommendation.[33]
  • 40% of barbershop clients usually or always bought a product recommended by a barber or stylist.[6]
  • 3 relationship-building mechanisms were promoted by the American Barber Association for suppliers: events, sponsorships and Industry Connect.[63]
  • 63% of male respondents were highly motivated to purchase a product because of a professional recommendation, compared with 37% of female respondents.[33]
  • 95.6% of surveyed salon clients bought beauty products from retailers outside their salon, including Amazon, Ulta, Sephora, Walmart or TJ Maxx.[5]

Stakeholder management in the barbering industry

  • 41 privately owned barber shops were identified as chain or franchise primary workplaces in California’s 2026 barbering workforce survey.[31]
  • 50 California respondents selected “other” as their primary barbering work setting in 2026.[31]
  • 57% of Mississippi Delta barbershop customers in a health-outreach program reported having no health insurance.[64]
  • 66% of barbers in a modified Delphi study reported being self-employed, while 28% reported owning a barbershop.[34]
  • 292 California respondents identified a privately owned barber shop as their primary work setting in 2026.[31]

Distribution channels in the barbering industry

  • 30% of surveyed consumers purchased beauty products through marketing emails.[5]
  • 154,456 U.S. nonemployer barber-shop establishments were recorded in 2024.[19]
  • 37% of surveyed consumers purchased beauty products through a beauty-business website.[5]
  • 3,912 U.S. S-corporation barber-shop establishments were recorded in 2024.[19]
  • 5% was the 24-hour rebooking rate reported for top-earning barbershops in Zenoti’s 2025 benchmark data.[6]

Key questions about the barbering industry

What is the size of the U.S. barbering market?
The latest official nonemployer data show 154,456 U.S. barber-shop establishments generating $5.07 billion in reported revenue in 2024.
How fast is barber employment expected to grow?
BLS projects barber employment to increase 3% from 75,800 jobs in 2025 to 78,300 in 2035.
Which companies lead the barbering industry?
Great Clips stands out for franchised haircut-salon scale because more than 4,400 salons serve 1.7 million customers weekly, while Andis focuses on barber tools since it makes professional clippers and trimmers.
What technology shifts matter for barber shops in 2026?
SQUIRE telemetry shows 57.98% of barbershops used AI features during May 2025–April 2026, and 72–77% used management software in the same window.
How fragmented is the barbering industry?
In 2024, 147,118 of 154,456 nonemployer barber shops were individual proprietorships, highlighting a mostly owner-operated structure.
What do booking and reviews data indicate about customer behavior?
SQUIRE reports that about two-thirds of appointments were booked through customer self-service, and it found 84% more Google reviews for shops using automated review systems.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Barbering Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/barbering-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Barbering Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/barbering-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Barbering Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/barbering-industry-statistics.

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