Manicurists and Pedicurists
Also called: Manicurist, Nail Technician (Nail Tech), PedicuristClean and shape customers' fingernails and toenails. May polish or decorate nails.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 2 of its 18 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 9.2% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 2.1% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.7 hires for every 10 job openings in other services, which employs about 99% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.7 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $30,300 | $27,550 to $45,850 | 920 |
| Alaska | $47,890 | $38,570 to $57,060 | 180 |
| Arizona | $35,290 | $33,200 to $36,650 | 2,440 |
| Arkansas | $27,690 | $26,680 to $28,200 | 230 |
| California | $36,630 | $35,480 to $39,590 | 39,210 |
| Colorado | $37,110 | $34,870 to $46,490 | 3,970 |
| Connecticut | $34,720 | $34,010 to $35,510 | 4,490 |
| Delaware | $31,200 | $31,200 to $36,510 | 780 |
| District of Columbia | $36,620 | $36,400 to $48,690 | not published |
| Florida | $37,840 | $29,710 to $48,260 | 4,470 |
| Georgia | $26,910 | $22,620 to $36,130 | 1,710 |
| Hawaii | $60,790 | $30,910 to $62,510 | 40 |
| Idaho | $34,910 | $26,840 to $40,220 | 160 |
| Illinois | $37,050 | $31,200 to $46,410 | 2,470 |
| Indiana | $36,140 | $29,110 to $43,970 | 510 |
| Iowa | $45,420 | $30,210 to $57,770 | 190 |
| Kansas | $30,930 | $27,520 to $37,550 | 1,510 |
| Kentucky | $45,310 | $32,440 to $47,670 | 240 |
| Louisiana | $28,170 | $22,550 to $36,580 | 2,210 |
| Maine | $48,540 | $46,220 to $75,880 | 200 |
| Maryland | $37,300 | $36,020 to $45,560 | 2,080 |
| Massachusetts | $35,470 | $34,940 to $44,800 | 4,660 |
| Michigan | $36,890 | $33,140 to $59,210 | 1,020 |
| Minnesota | $36,040 | $30,840 to $44,840 | 3,260 |
| Mississippi | $37,300 | $30,350 to $45,800 | 520 |
| Missouri | $39,100 | $29,600 to $48,410 | 1,630 |
| Montana | $33,660 | $29,040 to $34,900 | 110 |
| Nebraska | $56,940 | $33,460 to $82,610 | 310 |
| Nevada | $41,880 | $36,810 to $59,990 | 1,020 |
| New Hampshire | $35,100 | $33,510 to $43,880 | 490 |
| New Jersey | $36,370 | $32,220 to $37,260 | 11,520 |
| New Mexico | $25,720 | $25,720 to $32,980 | not published |
| New York | $34,660 | $34,070 to $34,930 | 19,710 |
| North Carolina | $34,740 | $29,700 to $46,650 | 1,900 |
| North Dakota | $33,430 | $31,130 to $47,960 | 270 |
| Ohio | $35,590 | $28,390 to $45,240 | 3,680 |
| Oklahoma | $31,330 | $28,760 to $33,340 | 480 |
| Oregon | $46,080 | $36,080 to $48,650 | 2,210 |
| Pennsylvania | $27,990 | $21,510 to $33,180 | 9,610 |
| Puerto Rico | $22,900 | $22,230 to $22,900 | 190 |
| Rhode Island | $34,910 | $31,200 to $35,720 | not published |
| South Carolina | $33,810 | $20,240 to $43,260 | 710 |
| South Dakota | $45,310 | $36,120 to $53,970 | 250 |
| Tennessee | $34,810 | $28,130 to $40,000 | 1,200 |
| Texas | $34,040 | $30,780 to $38,900 | 5,340 |
| Utah | $28,820 | $21,480 to $38,940 | 1,150 |
| Vermont | not published | not published | 100 |
| Virginia | $36,630 | $34,070 to $47,430 | 4,230 |
| Washington | $49,900 | $46,310 to $58,120 | 5,570 |
| West Virginia | $38,260 | $36,490 to $46,790 | 120 |
| Wisconsin | $36,680 | $29,860 to $45,750 | 2,350 |
Nationally: $35,760. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 2 of its 18 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Clean and sanitize tools and work environment. | Not published |
| Not much | Apply undercoat and clear or colored polish onto nails with brush. | Not published |
| Not much | Shape and smooth ends of nails, using scissors, files, or emery boards. | Not published |
| Not much | Prepare customers' nails in soapy water, using swabs, files, and orange sticks. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove previously applied nail polish, using liquid remover and swabs. | Not published |
| Not much | Prepare nail cuticles with water and oil, using cuticle knives to push back cuticles and scissors or nippers to trim cuticles. | Not published |
See all 18 tasks
| Not much | Assess the condition of clients' hands, remove dead skin, and massage hands. | Not published |
| Not much | Advise clients on nail care and use of products and colors. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Maintain supply inventories and records of client services. | Not published |
| AI + software | Schedule client appointments and accept payments. | Not published |
| Not much | Use rotary abrasive wheels to shape and smooth nails or artificial extensions. | Not published |
| Not much | Treat nails to repair or improve strength and resilience by wrapping. | Not published |
| Not much | Extend nails using powder, solvent, and paper forms attached to tips of customers' fingers to support and shape artificial nails. | Not published |
| Not much | Roughen surfaces of fingernails, using abrasive wheel. | Not published |
| Not much | Polish nails, using powdered polish and buffer. | Not published |
| Not much | Promote and sell nail care products. | Not published |
| Not much | Whiten underside of nails with white paste or pencils. | Not published |
| Not much | Decorate clients' nails by piercing or attaching ornaments or designs. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 18 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 18 tasks fall under 10 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apply hygienic or cosmetic agents to skin or hair | |||
| Promote products, services, or programs | |||
| Advise patients or clients on medical issues | |||
| Schedule appointments | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Sell products or services | |||
| Evaluate patient or client condition or treatment options |
Show all 10 activities
| Administer therapeutic treatments | |||
| Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Advice or a recommendation43%
- An explanation or answer38%
- An email or message10%
- A plan or strategy10%
- An academic paper or thesis0%
How they worked with Claude
14% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for manicurists and pedicurists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 10,315 moves out
- 1 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 7%
- 2 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 5%
- 3 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 5%
- 4 Health Education Specialists Very high +5.6% 4%
- 5 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 6,558 moves in
- 1 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 5%
- 2 Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants Very high +4.8% 5%
- 3 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 5%
- 4 Waiters and Waitresses Moderate +2.0% 4%
- 5 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 15% postsecondary certificate
- 85% not published
O*NET marks 85% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 19 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 27% less than high school
- 41% high school
- 16% some college
- 7% associate's
- 7% bachelor's
- 2% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 2,622 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
2 programs: Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General and Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
>75% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a certification | <0.5% | 5.8% |
| a license | not published | |
| an educational certificate | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (Manicurist). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Manicurists and Pedicurists” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/39-5092.00